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I don't talk about my anxiety a lot. Part of that, I think, is because of how mental health stigma has shaped anxiety disorder as worries or thoughts that people can't seem to get past. It's difficult to explain to those people the depth of anxiety's impact, and sometimes even for those who do have a better concept and understanding of it, it can be tough to relay exactly how it feels.
Do you wake up sometimes and know it's going to be a bad day from the outset? I do. Sometimes before I put my feet on the floor, I know it's going to be a bad day. Now, I think, for the average non-sick person, this sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy. In other words, if you think it's going to be a bad day, then it certainly will be. This is not the reality for a person with a chronic illness, though. Sometimes we know it's going to be a bad day. If you have this feeling sometimes, here's how to handle it.
Recently, I realized the importance of both fighting and surrendering to mental illness. I was hospitalized for a horrific bipolar mixed episode I suffered through for several months. I hadn't been this sick with mental illness since my four-year-long battle with postpartum depression and have never experienced anything like it. Now that I'm out of the hospital and slowly stabilizing, I'm becoming startlingly aware of a paradox in getting through mental illness -- healing isn't possible without both fighting and surrendering.
Lately, I have experienced a few uncomfortable conversations with some of my nonaddicted friends questioning the strength and tenacity of recovering addicts. I imagine the concepts and struggles of behavioral and substance addictions seem quite confusing to those who have never fought these horrific demons firsthand. I grew up in a home with addiction, so prior to experiencing this for myself, I also had a lot of questions and confusion around the topic of addiction. However, now I can truthfully say with confidence that recovering addicts are likely some of the strongest and most capable people you will ever meet in your life.
Trust is a necessary ingredient in any healing process. For those who self-harm, opening up about this habit enough to build a viable self-injury support network requires an enormous amount of trust—but the results are worth it.
Fall is my favorite season. It’s a very healing time of year for me and my schizoaffective disorder with the cooler weather and still sunny days. And this year, I’m appreciating fall as much as I can.
How you start your day can make or break your next 24 hours. There are so many ideas and suggestions about how to spend your time immediately after crawling out of your cozy bed. I've heard a lot of people say getting the hardest task out of the way first is the right approach. Others say following a morning routine will set your day up for success. After trying more morning rituals than I can count, I've learned that the best way to start my day is to do something that gives me energy. Feeling like I can tackle the day, rather than walking through the motions sluggishly, has helped me lead a happier life.
Anxiety's effects on your life can be brutal, interfering with what you want to do, who you want to be with, and how you want to be. A previous post explored six ways anxiety messes with your life. Here, we'll revisit those nasty effects of anxiety, and I offer six mindfulness-based tips to effectively deal with them. You can implement these mindfulness tips immediately--they don't need extra tools or preparation--so you can reduce anxiety's effects on yourself and your life.
There's no denying the fact that positivity does not come naturally to someone with depression. That said, trying to stay positive is important to keep hope alive and cope with depression. It is also necessary to do a reasonably good job at work. Let's take a look at some ways to do so.
As of late, I’ve been dealing with more personal anxieties than is normal. For that reason, I’ve cut down on activities that I enjoy, like reading, because at the moment, they’re too psychically taxing. One thing I haven’t cut down on, however, is music.
I read this book many years ago, just as I was entering the turmoil of remembering, questioning and doubting myself all the way (as I'd been covertly taught over a lifetime). I happened to mention to my two sisters one day, "This is so strange but I've been diagnosed with PTSD." Both my sisters surprised me by responding, "Me too."
THEN I happened upon an old book manuscript that my now deceased father had written (not published), wherein the protagonist was obviously based upon himself and he rapes his "fiancee," who had my unusual name. Yes, truly.
Then I made myself look at the peculiar memory I always had where he violently threatened me but somehow I had never been able to recall what came before or after the episode. I had to admit that was a bit strange.
The pressures and powers to forget sexual abuse are great, both in family and society. In fact, I've come to the sad conclusion that the vast majority of survivors never really deal with their childhood wounds (a neglect for which there are always repercussions).
To critique an encouragement of people trusting their intuition in such matters is really getting the prescription dangerously wrong.
Thanks!