Category

Mental Health

The Power of the Present

Trigger warning for mentions of sexual abuse beginning in the 'End of an Era' section. The End of an Era I have some major news that will change the face of the trauma survivor community. Hopefully, it will allow any of you who have experienced trauma to stay in the moment for a little bit, knowing that you are believed. The False Memory Synd[...]

Woman looking to her left with her hair surrounding her in the woods.

A Discussion on Post-Traumatic Growth

Introduction I recently discovered the term, "post-traumatic growth." As someone who has C-PTSD, I was surprised that I had never heard of the phrase. It has been recently discovered as the one positive symptom of PTSD. Of course, I use the word positive lightly because there's nothing positive about trauma. However, it is a nice light in the midst[...]

Girl standing in a field and smiling.

Reflections on Physically Losing Someone

Introduction I'm not talking about losing someone because they've passed but losing someone because of a big move, differences in opinions, changing goals, new schedules, etc.. Even more specifically, I'm referring to losing someone's daily/semi-daily physical presence. Sometimes, we lose people even when both parties are very close and don't want[...]

If a Loved One Opens Up About Their Mental Illness

Go to the end of this post to find resources to talk and/or reach out for help. I know I've written many posts about mental illness but I don't think I've explicitly talked about responding to someone who's just shared their mental illness with you. First of all, I am not a trained mental health professional. This is just what I've learned from my[...]

I Need to Honor Myself: the Logic Behind Self Love

Introduction I was listening to a podcast called Meditative Story when I couldn't sleep a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes, I'm able to fall back to sleep after listening to an episode because of the calm voices and quiet music. It's just really relaxing. Anyways, one episode really stuck with me. The guest said, "I need to honor bravery in myself so[...]

Five Ways to Improve Your Day

Introduction Recently, I've had many a long day. I've woken up at 2 o'clock in the morning to never return back to sleep or I have headaches that never go away or just don't feel great for no reason at all. There are a couple of things that never fail to make me feel a little bit better, though, and I thought I should share these self care habits w[...]

Positive Thinking for the Struggling Optimists

INTRODUCTION When you think about yourself, do you dislike yourself? Do you believe you are too far gone to amount to anything? Do you feel like you are a lost cause? Or do you see yourself with love and forgiveness? When you think about yourself, do you know that you are doing good in the world? When you think about the world, are you overwhelmed[...]

Image of a young woman in a red sweater laughing

Five Things Not to Say to Someone with a Mental Illness

This article is directed to people with loved ones or friends who do have a mental illness or to people with little knowledge on the topic, but of course anyone can read it. I want to help reduce the stigma around mental illness by helping everyone know what to say about it or in this case, what not to say. 1. "Have you tried exercising?" What[...]

A woman standing with her eyes closed in front of a white/blue sky.

A Secret for the Mad: Hope for Messy Mental Health

"It'll all make sense again."Dodie Clark One of my favorite songs, Secret for the Mad by Dodie Clark, ends with that very sentence. If you haven't heard it before, the song is a message to people who are struggling with their mental health and mental illness. That sentence has been bringing me so much comfort in this frustrating time. For some r[...]

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