Reaction
It taught me to ask myself, “Is this a distress to be tolerated or a problem to be solved?” Anonymous post. Thank you for sharing! Advertisements
The inevitable
TW: death; suicide Death can be a taboo topic, but it is an inevitable one. Within the past 2 weeks, I’ve had 5 deaths impact my life. The one I really want to focus on is the first one which was a suicide. We worked together and I had only had a couple interactions with her. In all honesty, my first reaction was “I get it.” Anyone that has struggled with suicidal ideations “gets it.” Then, I became numb. That’s my defense mechanism when I’m not ready to process something… Read more The inevitable →
Being uncomfortable
This is especially for the people that feel stuck in their recovery and struggling with making that “first step” towards treatment. It is ok to be uncomfortable. Treatment is going to constantly test you. You will be pushed to places that you may have buried for years. I’ve spoken before about vulnerability and I feel like that was the hardest part for me. Something as simple as accepting hard truths was an accomplishment for me in the beginning. If you are struggling at the moment, with moving forward or accepting… Read more Being uncomfortable →
NEDA Awareness Week
Bulimia ruled my life for many years. I was ashamed of it, but it was mine and I didn’t want to let go of it. I was open about my issues with depression and anxiety as a teenager, but guarded with discussing bulimia because it was the one thing providing an temporary fix. I didn’t care about the sore throats, stomach ulcers, arrhythmia, dizziness, etc. None of that matter. So after an inpatient stay, I finally became open about it (mostly because I couldn’t purge like I wanted to) and… Read more NEDA Awareness Week →
The aftermath
I have a friend that has schizoaffective disorder and we talked about the aftermath of an episode. Episodes include depressive, manic, mixed, psychotic, etc. You go through them at weeks (or months) and at times all you were trying to do is stabilize enough to make it through them. You survive it but now you have to deal with the aftermath. This could be the missed phone calls/emails, debt from excessive spending, or things that were just once an priority that took a backseat. My friend explained it as cleaning… Read more The aftermath →
My own journey
“I’m a recovering drug addict and have learned to accept my own journey. I looked at someone else’s successes and would get disappointed when I didn’t live up to them. Once I realized I was still using addictive behaviors, just not with drugs, I was able to be real with myself. I’m now 2 years drug free and I want others to know it’s hard, but possible.” Anonymous post. Thank you for sharing!
Without explanation
This mostly goes for myself, especially with self-talk and rumination associated with anxiety. When I learned how to set boundaries for myself and not overthink, I’m more productive with myself and also being there for others. For me to constantly go over this in my head, at times, leaves me “stuck” causing more issues. I’ve learned to accept my decisions and stand firm in them. Is this something you are still working on? If you have mastered this, what helped you?
Without a cause
One of the most frustrating things, when I started therapy, was trying to find a cause/trigger/etc. I was in my early teens, so I can understand the reason for this. This continued to frustrate me over the years especially trying to explain to people my mental illnesses or how certain episodes can just happen…no rhyme or reason. This is very real for me with a depressive episode. My most recent one was subtle. There was no sadness, crying, or hopelessness. I was trying to rationalize the exhaustion, lack of interest… Read more Without a cause →
