Blogs
New Year's resolutions for mental health may not be on your radar yet, but as we approach the end of 2018, many are thinking about the new year. Common goals include behavior changes like healthy eating, increased exercise, or quitting undesired habits like smoking. In year's past, my goals have also been about changing my behavior. This year, I am shifting my mindset around resolutions and creating goals focused on improving my mental health. New Year's resolutions for mental health aren't just motivated by a desire to behave differently, but by a desire to feel differently.
Many people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have experienced a mental breakdown. I often use the phrase to describe how I feel when I lose control of my emotions and ability to think clearly. This can be triggered by seemingly small events, but usually it is the straw that breaks the camel’s back, one more problem added to a pile of challenges. I would like to discuss what mental breakdowns actually are, why people with ADHD might be particularly susceptible to them, and how we can deal with them.
New Year's resolutions for eating disorder recovery can often feel like undue pressure to reach arbitrary benchmarks or perform to certain standards and expectations. But in some cases, New Year's resolutions can actually help with eating disorder recovery—if you are intentional and realistic about them.
Anxiety often seems to come from out of nowhere, interrupting your day and making it difficult to focus. This kind of anxiety can make it feel like you have no control over it, but anxiety can actually be broken down and understood as something we all have experience with: habit.
Now that the year is coming to an end, we will get a new year to make positive memories and learn many lessons. One way to start the year on a high note is to have a positive mindset about life in general. With depression, that can seem really difficult. But by reflecting on the year, you might be able to find some positive reasons to have hope and optimism. Read this article for tips on how to reflect for the new year.
Do you want to help a depressed friend or family member this holiday season? Many people do. Depression touches so many that it's almost a given you will know someone who struggles with it (or you, yourself, will) at some point. But many people don't know what to do to help a person with depression over the holidays. Here are some tips to consider.
It may seem odd to say that mental health stigma might actually be self-care, but hear me out. When we're struggling and someone pulls away, it can feel very much like mental health stigma. We might think that person doesn't understand or is being unfair. But what if that person is simply practising self-care?
When you self-harm, secrets are a priority. Self-harm thrives on secrecy. It relies on shame, embarrassment, and social taboo to survive. Contrary to the stereotype of the attention-seeking self-harmer, many self-harmers actually live in constant fear of being found out — of having their self-harm come to light.
What is covert verbal abuse? When we hear the term “verbal abuse,” it’s easy to conjure up name-calling or demeaning comments spoken in anger. Verbal abuse isn’t always so obvious, however.
I don’t go to parties, as I have confided before. This is especially hard to pull off during the holiday season. I used to party when I was younger, but now I have less of a tolerance for the noise and confusion. Here’s why this schizoaffective avoids the holiday mayhem.
I believe she will only be able to rid herself of her demons, and hopefully her BPD as well, when she's ready to confront the abuse of her father. If she can put the blame where it belongs, she may stop projecting that victim/perpetrator cycle on the present men in her life. These demons are a metaphor for the purgatory she has created for herself. That reality has consequences in the real world, but it need not be real in the tangible sense. Exorcising her demons will require the expenditure of real physical energy and probably the destruction of aspects of her personality. If this ever happens, and it's possible but not probable, then these demons will evaporate. They are only as real as one's personality is real. In short, reality is not the question, it's what you make of the things you feel to be real.