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We should not underestimate the effects of stressful events on depression. Modern technology offers most of us the opportunity to know what's going on all over the world at any given moment of any given day; yet, so many of the current news stories have the potential to add to our stress and possibly worsen our depression. I've been struggling with managing my depression while also trying to find a balance between being adequately informed versus becoming pulled down into a major depressive episode due to information burnout.
Overstimulation causes anxiety. Everywhere you go, everything you do, your brain takes things in. This is good. It means you're alive, alert, and active. However, the constant barrage of stimuli can work against you when "everything" becomes too much. Constant input from the world around us leads to thoughts, interpretations, and emotions and can keep us feeling keyed-up, on edge. This causes a pervasive sense of anxiety that can be vague and hard to pinpoint. Anxiety due to overstimulation can be exhausting and sometimes even debilitating. Knowing why this happens and how to refocus can reduce anxiety and leave you feeling a much-needed sense of calm.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) makes college harder. Two-point-nine, 2.9 was my GPA when I graduated from the local community college in the Winter of 2016 with a then three-week-old baby and three-year-old toddler. But I didn't care because "Cs still get degrees," and I already spent five years at that school. So how did I go from a failing teen skipping class every Tuesday and Thursday to the straight-A student on the academic Dean's List eight years later? The answer to my success with ADHD in college may surprise you, and none of it included stimulant medication.
Minimalism seemed too difficult because, for as long as I can remember, I've been bombarded with a series of commercials telling me to buy more. If only I could have a new car, the latest phone, or a wardrobe makeover, then I'd be happy. However, possessions aren't everything. In many cases, less is more. Minimalism is much more than I thought it would be.
Last week, I made an introductory post about the fire that struck my apartment last month, and what to do to keep your anxiety at bay if such a catastrophe were to happen to you. I mentioned that there would be no way to contain all I would want to say to one post; this is my first continuation of that theme.
Self-esteem is a basic human need, but it's not a primary need. It's natural that you are motivated to build healthy self-esteem, however. But did you know that there are prerequisites for maintaining the motivation you need to focus on successfully building self-esteem? I want to share a story about a time when I had poor self-esteem, and my situation demanded I focus on my primary needs first.
Battling daily depression takes a lot out of you, and going by my last few posts, you may feel that depression is debilitating to such an extent that, generally speaking, someone who has it cannot have a successful career. While it is true that depression does impair one's ability to be productive at work, this does not mean that nothing can be done about it. Like most things in life, there are certain hacks you can use to increase your mental and physical energy levels, improve your stress tolerance, etc. so that you can positively thrive at work even with daily depression.
Can the emotional freedom technique (EFT) help those living with dissociative identity disorder (DID)? For many people with DID, every day can feel like living with your head in the clouds. Dissociation, in its simplest form, is the process of disconnecting from your thoughts and emotions. It wasn’t until I entered therapy that I learned the importance of grounding myself, getting back into my head, and ultimately regaining control of my life.
When I first started having sex, I didn't know I was engaging in sexual spectation -- I didn't realize I was analyzing and directing my own behavior in the bedroom as though it was a performance. But at some point, I realized that my one and only focus in the bedroom was to make myself attractive to the man who played my counterpart.
In my experience, people in the early stages of eating disorder recovery often rush their progress. Unfortunately, this rush adds pressure to an already stressful situation, which can cause people to experience more setbacks than necessary.
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.