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Coping methods are personal choices, so I'm going to come out and say it: people need to stop criticizing others for how they cope with mental illness. As long as the coping methods aren't hurting the people who use them or others, I don't see the issue. Although I'm sure some are trying to joke around, when you ridicule the very tools people use to get through tough moments, it has a negative impact on those with mental illness and contributes to stigma.
I've been taking a ballet class to help with my schizoaffective disorder, but still, schizoaffective anxiety almost made me leave. Exercise helps with mental health--plus, it's fun and I enjoyed ballet all through my childhood. But in my most recent class, I had a schizoaffective anxiety episode. Here's what happened.
Do you know who you are? How's your sense of self, of how you'd like to live your life? Knowing who you are at your core can help stop anxiety so you can start living. This happens through a process of self-discovery. Think of it as an adventure into your inner workings that starts with the question: Who will you be when your anxiety is gone? At first, it might be hard to even imagine the answer. To begin to know who you are, stop anxiety, and start living, learn to simply observe yourself.
It's so important to give yourself grace and be gentle with yourself when you struggle with anxiety. I tend to get angry with myself when anxiety takes over. Running from my responsibilities and hiding is my first reaction to a stressful situation. I get behind and then berate myself for not being stronger and overcoming it.
It may seem strange to some to hear diversity being suggested as a means to fight anxiety. After all, a prime breeding ground for anxiety is the unknown – if we don’t know or understand something, we don’t know if we’ll be safe around it, ergo we take refuge in the familiar. Logically, this makes sense. In actuality, this is nonsense, and it may well be that its contrary is much more effective in combatting anxiety.
How do we go about practicing gratitude while we are struggling with depression? I will admit that I am currently trying to figure that out myself. This article is meant to help me as much as it is those of you who are reading it.
If we reduce irritability, our experience of life changes. Irritability can be a side effect of many mental illnesses ("Irritability and Mental Illness: Just Stop Already!"). However, your day doesn't need to be controlled by irritation.
What is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) and how does it create a stress response that triggers anxiety? Anxiety that comes up without any rhyme or reason is frustrating and a sign of the HPA axis in action. You can be feeling relaxed and calm doing something you enjoy, and yet somehow your body still starts telling you it's time to feel anxious. When this happens, it can be really difficult to cope because there isn't anything you can identify that is making you feel this way. In these times, understanding the physiological process involved in the experience of anxiety can help you relax through the experience and reduce your anxiety, so today I'm going to discuss the HPA axis and its role in anxiety.
A crisis text line is good for those times you might want to reach out to someone for help with depression or anxiety. Although a phone call would be ideal, you might be in a situation when privacy is not accessible. Thankfully, you do not need a quiet place to utilize the Crisis Text Line. The service is free and available to use at any time. Read this article to learn more about the advantages of using the Crisis Text Line.
Am I happy, manic, or maybe euphoric? Knowing my mood (and what may be causing it) is important to managing bipolar disorder. One of my triggers is interpersonal relationships which are, for many people out there, one of the largest factors in our moods. When things are going well, it can lead to happiness; conversely, when things are going poorly, depression is a real possibility. Today I want to focus on the other side: happiness. Specifically, how does one with mental illness identify what is true happiness, versus a manic or hypomanic phase, or what I call the euphoria of coming out of depression? Am I happy, manic or euphoric? Here's how I decide.
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.