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To improve your self-esteem, first you must understand your self-esteem is greatly influenced by two things: Your thoughts and actions. Neither one, alone, is sufficient. Movement towards a goal or way of thinking is done through actions; not just physical actions, such as working out, but you need to take a mental step in the right direction.
I'm under a lot of stress, but I won't turn to self-harm as an answer. No way. After five years without a cut, I will never go back. That’s the thing with being five years self-harm free: I’m so proud of my success that I don’t dare step backwards. But I need to deal with this stress and self-harm urges.
Having Schizophrenia does not mean that you should be treated unjustly. We deserve the same basic rights as anyone else experiencing a debilitating illness. (Schizophrenia is an Illness, Not an Evil) Our disease is just that, a disease and nothing more. I am not a flu virus when I am sick, nor am I a bacteria when I have an infection. Why should we even call ourselves “schizophrenics”, as if our illness is attached to our very souls? We have beating hearts, and are veins bleed like anyone else. Our emotions are hurt when we are abused and our passion is just as strong, even if it is sometimes misplaced. Everyone is defective in some manner, so why should we be thought as being less?
I am not a mom myself, but I am of the age that people around me are having kids. Accordingly, it seems time to take a look at some of the challenges new bipolar moms face. Challenges for the new bipolar mom include postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis, among others.
When I was in Richmond State Hospital, I heard from multiple patients on different units that they had trouble getting painkillers that had been prescribed. In the case of Vicky, this was true even though the painkillers were not narcotics. And in Eric's case, when another doctor administered painkillers, staff were furious. It raises an interesting question, "Do psychiatric patients have a right to prescribed painkillers?"
While I suffered from bulimia, I was a very angry girl. I would use the comforts of food and the feeling of nourishment to cope with all types of stress. As soon as the comfort that came from eating would wear off, I would feel guilty, sad, but mostly angry. Angry at myself for being weak, for never looking the way I wanted, and for not performing at the level I felt I should, both academically and more significantly, socially.
According to Brownielocks.com, January is National Mentoring Month. Mentoring can be such a positive influence on any child, but especially a child dealing with mental illness. My own positive experience with a mentor has led me to a career of helping other children. Mentoring can hold many benefits for your child. Check out how I benefited from having a mentor.
I lost a friend to suicide last week. A friend who struggled, triumphed and sadly, lost the battle with his mind. I have witnessed many of my friends and loved ones struggle with mental illness and it is heartbreaking on many levels.
Yet a *blessing* appeared in the form of a friend who experienced watching another friend’s depression and wanted to understand the cycle of depression better. I will share with you what my response was.
We live in a feel-good society, a society in which happiness is valued above all else. We have bookstores with whole self-help sections devoted to finding happiness, keeping happiness, being optimistic. Magazines, from fashion to health, have article-after-article about how to be happy; be happy with your sex life, be happy with your body, be happy with you career. Right now, we just concluded the season of merriment and joy. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, God bless us every one, and Joy to the World.
When I say "being on time," I also mean "not missing appointments." Not to brag, but I'm superb at being on time. In fact, I'm just about always early for appointments that I keep. Please notice the last few words to that sentence: that I keep. I am not good at using that calendar I talked about last week. Sometimes I'll write down when an appointment is going to happen, but I do not do a good job of referring back to my calendar to see what events are upcoming. This is why New Year's Resolutions exist, I suppose.
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.