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Healing from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is rarely a linear process. Just like any journey in life, recovering from PTSD has ups and downs. There will be times when things are good and times when things are bad. When PTSD starts getting worse, it can feel frustrating and scary. We know how to handle the good times in PTSD recovery, but what do you do when PTSD symptoms start increasing?
We can all emotionally heal. Most of us might not want to admit it, but we have an immense amount of power to heal emotionally. But we get stuck. We get stuck in unhealthy and destructive patterns from earlier in our life. Many times, we can barely remember how and when they even began. But with these steps, we can emotionally heal.
Loneliness during the holidays is something many people go through, though it may not feel that way if you're the one experiencing it. It can be especially hard if you typically struggle with feeling lonely, with the holidays being a time for people coming together. In this article, we'll discuss how to cope with feeling lonely during the holidays. 
Dependent relationships are more common than you think. For example, have you ever looked to someone else for reassurance when you felt anxious? Don't worry, you're not alone. Reassurance seeking is a common and often healthy process that everyone does to better understand and accept the decisions we make. However, when we go to someone for help every time we feel anxious, this can create an unhealthy dependence that reduces the quality of the relationship and can exacerbate your anxiety.
Holiday anxiety is a common experience. The holiday season, meant to bring peace and joy, instead can bring anxiety and misery The reasons for anxiety during the holidays are numerous and personal. Worries about money, materialism, family matters, holiday parties, loneliness, food-related concerns, alcohol use, and more can make the holidays, whether it's Hanukkah or Christmas, ho-ho-horrible. Regardless of what your holiday anxiety is like, it's real, legitimate, and can be put in its proper place: in a distant corner where it doesn't block the candles' glow. Read on for four simple, effective, mindfulness activities to reduce any holiday anxiety.
Being unproductive during depression is common; depression has a way of depleting us of energy, motivation, and momentum. Productivity requires of us all three of these things. Productivity is also an effective method of combating depression, meaning the very thing we need to feel better is the very thing that we can't have until we feel better.
As a recovering behavioral addict, I've learned quite a bit about cravings and how to manage them. Through my experience, I've determined that cravings can typically be split into three different categories: physical, mental, and emotional. Some recovering individuals are more impacted by one of these craving categories, while others are plagued with the task of fighting all three on a regular basis. Addiction recovery, like most things, does not come in a one-size-fits-all format though. You must figure out which cravings affect you the most and learn how to manage them on your personal recovery journey.
Is it necessary to dialogue with your parts in dissociative identity disorder? What are the benefits of dialoguing? What exactly does it mean to dialogue with your parts? In previous posts, I have written how important it is to communicate with your parts, or headmates as I call them. However, dialoguing with headmates is something more. What does dialoguing look like, and why should you try it?
As a child, I experienced three years of sexual abuse at the hands of a family member. As a teenager, I fell asleep drunk on a train and woke to a stranger's hand in my underwear. In the past, I've discussed the impact this abuse has had on my early experiences with sex and on my relationships with my family. Today, I'm going to talk specifically about how this abuse has impacted two of my most serious relationships.
The holidays are upon us, which means it's more important than ever to set healthy boundaries to maintain your mental health and wellbeing. Family parties, gift-giving, and the pressure to enjoy yourself can all impact your mental health during the holiday season, especially if you don't have solid boundaries set up to protect yourself. In the past, all of these things have made me miserable throughout the holiday season, but over the years I've learned how to set healthy boundaries and actually enjoy the holidays despite my mental health issues.

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Bella
Hi, Kayla. What is the first step that I need to do in order to stop biting myself and creating alarming bruises that I can't explain, or don't want to explain?
Bella
Is biting yourself till the point of where you get severely bruised, considered self-harm, or no?
Amy
I ate Healthy Choice Beef Merlot tonight. I did not even think about the fact it had Merlot in it!
I haven't had a drink in 9 years and two months.
I Googled everything on the subject and have come to the conclusion it is not a relapse.
However, I am going to read labels more carefully!
Tali
I look forward to being unconscious for 4-6 hours every night (if I'm lucky). I don't dream. It's the only relief I have. I used to enjoy video games, but my husband hated me playing them so I gave them up. I had my own business but my husband told me I had to stop, so I did. He walks out on me whenever I don't do what he wants. He's allowed to have hobbies and I better not complain, just take care of the kids. My whole life had to be given up because it suits him and I've become nothing more than a maid and a babysitter. I love my kids but I just don't think I can take him finding some new thing to take away every September when he starts ignoring all of us because of the fair he acts in every year that time. He straight out told me this year he loves fair more than me. I don't have anything left to try for, I'm not a young lady anymore. I don't want to die, but I don't want to live...live...survive anymore. I doubt what I've been doing can be qualified as living. Thing is the rest of the year he's good to us. But somehow it's always me, I'm the problem, he just turns it around. Always carry on, carried on before, like a machine. This time I don't have it in me. I swear if he says one more time to me if doesn't get to do one of his many hobbies he'll get depressed and kill himself I'm just going to lose it. He doesn't care what I've been carrying these past 12 years. Doubt he noticed. He didn't notice when he left for fair with me fresh out of abdominal surgery to take care of a newborn, 1 year old, and 3 kids under 10. Apparently it interfered with him so much he was annoyed with me for not being fully healed from it after only one week. Not sure who told him people heal from major surgery in a week, but whatever. I doubt he even notices unless it inconveniences him, but he'll only get mad if it does. I wish I had some helpful or inspiring words, but I don't. I'm just existing with no reason anymore. I had reasons before, but they don't make sense anymore. I want to cry, but even that is too much effort.
Roxie S. Mitchell
Exactly what I needed to read right now. After all, I've grown up being abused and then screamed at for crying afterwards, so this article is very insightful because it helps us realize that crying is actually a normal part of being a human. Thank you for this!