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Have you ever had a really vivid dream that affected your anxiety? Maybe you found yourself overanalyzing the dream the next day. Perhaps it was just a nice dream that you wish would exist in real life, or maybe it was a nightmare that increased anxiety. Whatever the case, vivid dreams can cause us to behave or think differently after we wake up. Read on to learn about how my vivid dreams affect my anxiety and what I am doing to cope.
The holidays are quickly approaching, and in order to cope well with depression during the holidays, we need to have a plan in place. While this may be the most wonderful time of the year for some, winter holidays can be the most difficult for others. Those of us depression may be faced with a myriad of potential triggers during the holidays; however, there are some things we can do in order to equip ourselves to cope with them and better deal with our depression during the holidays.
Quieter schizoaffective voices are new to me, compared to the loud voices I usually hear as part of my schizoaffective disorder -- a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. My schizoaffective voices have changed lately. And in a good way. But even the quieter schizoaffective voices usually come on when I’m facing stress in my life.
Stress amplifies anxiety. Part of self-care is managing that stress and doing what we can to keep ourselves from feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes this means reducing our activities and obligations, even ones we like and would prefer to keep. It is for this reason that my time writing the Treating Anxiety blog must come to an end.
You can reduce holiday anxiety, a very real experience, by coping ahead of time. Contrary to what greeting cards and advertisements depict, the holidays aren’t always relaxed and happy-go-lucky. Lots of things conspire to make our anxiety spike, and linger, from before Thanksgiving all the way through the New Year. You don’t have to let holiday anxiety dampen your spirit. Check out 7 Causes of Holiday Anxiety if you missed it. Then, take some of the actions below to reduce holiday anxiety at its core cause.
Many men carry around this idea of what it means to be a man, and if they believe that who they are--or their experiences--don’t fit into this model, then they might feel emasculated as a result. Although it can be difficult to shake off the power of masculine norms (let alone realize the effect they have on you), it is possible for men to overcome this gender-unique experience that can cause low self-esteem. But men don’t have to let cultural expectations of what it means to be a man impact their self-worth in this way.
Whether or not a person chooses to have kids is highly personal, and the fact that kids can trigger parents with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) doesn't take away from a person's ability to be a good parent. Becoming a parent is life-changing--in ways that are both uniquely rewarding and highly stressful. Each of us should be allowed to make that decision individually, regardless of our trauma history. People with PTSD can make wonderful parents, just like anyone else. Something that many people with PTSD may not consider, however, is that once they become parents, their kids could trigger their PTSD.
Sharing your struggle with mental illness is personal, so being open and transparent about mental illness can be extremely difficult. So much of the time there is a lot of shame, embarrassment, and guilt surrounding the struggle with mental illness that many who suffer keep it to themselves. But explaining to others what you are going through allows you to no longer have to hide and wear a mask and it gives you a support system that will help you feel as if you are not alone. I believe that sharing your story of struggle with mental illness can be such a powerful step forward and bring you closer to recovering from mental illness.
Being a pushover isn't what I expected to happen when I refused to acknowledge my anxiety. But slowly I began to sink into a puddle, losing my spine. I felt like I was becoming the world's biggest pushover because my ability to trust and express my opinions disappeared. Once I realized I was letting this happen, I started asking myself questions in an attempt to get better. Where did being a pushover start? How has it affected me? How can I stop being a pushover?
Gaslighting, emotional abuse that can drive a person crazy, is a form of manipulation that can lead to the victim questioning everything they have ever known to be true. Do you know someone whose interactions leave you feeling like you are going insane, either from frustration, bewilderment, or exhaustion? You may be a victim of gaslighting. Don’t panic, the silver lining is you’re not actually going crazy, you’ve just had a firsthand encounter with gaslighting -- emotional abuse and crazy-making manipulation.
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.