Blogs
Have you been verbally abused when you were sick? It's horrible. We have enough to deal with when we're sick without being verbally abused when we're at our most vulnerable. Feeling unwell and physically weak makes us sitting targets for gaslighting, emotional abuse and manipulation because we're less likely to put up a fight. But is this part of the attraction to perpetrators or are we just more susceptible to abuse when our defenses are down? Let's examine what we know about verbally abusive personality types and why they target us when we're sick.
There is an overlap between ADHD and autism, although at first glance the conditions can appear to be opposites. According to stereotypes, people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) concentrate too much and avoid overstimulation, while those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) lack focus and seek constant stimulation. However, there is a huge overlap between ASD and ADHD. As I’ve written about the connection between ADHD and trauma and ADHD and PMS, I’d like to discuss the link between ADHD and ASD.
Anxiety while driving is commonplace for me. Due to generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), my brain magnifies my anxiety while driving. Even driving to a nearby store turns into a worst-case scenario in my mind’s eye. Some of this anxiety seems reasonable. Other fears involve driving activities that don’t distress the average person. When I drive, there is a specific driving anxiety I can’t conquer. I have a fear of getting into a car accident while making left turns in traffic.
Avoiding bipolar instability because you have the flu is important, but it can be difficult to maintain stability with bipolar disorder while trying to combat the effects of the local virus going around. If you are a parent of a child with bipolar disorder, a simple virus can lead to bipolar instability in your child’s mental health. It becomes a difficult cycle as increased instability with bipolar makes it hard to treat the flu and increased symptoms of the flu make it difficult to control bipolar. However, by planning ahead, parents can lessen the ill-effects of flu season and keep their child’s mental health as intact as possible.
I'm in recovery from binge eating disorder and I always find people asking me whether I consider myself "recovered" from my eating disorder. My answer is always no. I will always view myself in the terms of "in recovery" because I believe that the eating disorder healing process is a journey without an endpoint. There are people that do not side with my viewpoint, but this is my belief system: Recovery from binge eating disorder will last my lifetime.
My name is Brandy Eaklor, and I’m excited to be writing for the Getting Through Tough Times blog at HealthyPlace. I am 24 years old and have been struggling with anxiety and depression since I was around 12 years old. I lived in a toxic environment as a teenager, with a stepmother who did not want me to have a relationship with my father. The alternative was to live with my mother, who had abusive men in and out of her life. This pain also lead me to emotional eating and binge eating to cope with my emotions. I felt alone, unaccepted, self-conscious and unworthy.
My name is Kayla Chang, and I’m thrilled and honored to be a part of the Speaking Out About Self-Injury blog at HealthyPlace. I hope that by sharing my thoughts and experiences in a way that is informative, vulnerable and — most importantly — honest with you, we can build an ongoing network of support and have meaningful, productive conversations around the issue of self-injury (also known as self-harm) together.
I have a schizoaffective disorder care plan for this part of winter because, a year ago in March, I completed an outpatient hospitalization program for my schizoaffective disorder. It was part of the deal I made with medical professionals after going to the ER for suicidal ideation. I learned a lot in the program and it was a positive experience, but I don’t want to do it again. Here are some things I’m doing in my schizoaffective care plan to stay out of the hospital as late winter approaches and I feel most vulnerable.
Feelings of guilt and shame can be intense when we are depressed. Our perception of the past becomes skewed and these guilty and shameful feelings can become such a burden that we feel overwhelmed, unable to see realistically. I’ve spent some time contemplating why we, who battle depression, often feel overwhelmed with feelings of guilt and shame and what we can do about it.
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.