Blogs
There are many kinds of dysfunctional families; mine is an enmeshed family. In my experience, an enmeshed family is one in which needs are perceived as a common unit. In simple words, individuality is frowned upon, and personal boundaries aren't respected. Such toxicity is common in India, but I'm sure it is a global issue. Enmeshment might seem like a mild to moderate inconvenience, but it can negatively impact work and life in general. With so many of us moving back home and working remotely due to the pandemic, it's crucial to know more about this unsettling phenomenon. Let's take a look.
Can gratitude really help anxiety? Surprisingly, it can. Gratitude is a concept involving appreciation and a sense of thankfulness for what is good in our lives. Anxiety is an experience involving a great deal of unwelcome thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and behaviors. Anxiety can be all-encompassing, rob us of a sense of wellbeing, centeredness, and joy, or even keep us locked out of the life we'd like to live. Here's a look at what gratitude is and how it helps anxiety by shifting thoughts and feelings away from anxiety and replacing them with appreciation and action.
This year has been pretty overwhelming for most of us, so we need some self-care hacks to cope. In addition to the general stress of 2020, we are now approaching a season that often brings pain and grief to the forefront. With this in mind, I want to share some of my favorite skills for self-care during challenging times.
Last week in a counseling session, my therapist issued me an assignment: Write a "dear body" letter to myself. In the past, I have done similar exercises, like the goodbye letter I wrote to my eating disorder in 2018. But this undertaking feels much different.
Most people look forward to taking time off work for the holidays (even if the holidays look a little different this year thanks to COVID-19). Folks who live and work with bipolar disorder are no exception. However, the work difficulties that come with bipolar can put a damper on what should be a time to relax and decompress.
In case you haven't noticed, COVID-19 has transformed how everyone gets everything done, including how we parent in this pandemic. It's especially changed how I raise a child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
It's that time of year again. It's the holiday season, and the anxiety that goes with it is here too. Even though the holidays look a little different this year due to COVID-19, anxiety is still something that you may experience. I know I do.
Whether you're looking for the best diet for eating disorder recovery or the best diet, period, there is only one answer—and that answer surprises a lot of people. The reason it surprises so many people is that the answer is so simple.
Living with borderline personality disorder (BPD) can be chaotic at the best of times, let alone while dealing with a global crisis. I've been living in Lima, Peru, since March. Peru was the hotspot of COVID-19 and had some of the world's strictest lockdown conditions.1 Paired with recent political instability, coping with my BPD symptoms has been more difficult than ever.
Anxiety makes me ache because it leads me to hold tension in my shoulder and neck area. My anxiety is a frequent occurrence in my life. This means these muscles are tense regularly and have an impact on my physical relaxation. I have used meditation and mindfulness for many years to provide relaxation for my mind. These techniques leave my mind relaxed, but my body tense after moments of anxiety.
Where do we go from here? Most of the family thinks just to let her hit bottom and then if she reaches out to help any we can. Some want to just keep paying her bills and just let her sit in the house with no responsibilities. Never been on medication and impossible to get to her when she refuses to talk to ANYONE.
Help.
On the day we agreed to videochat to make things less awkward IRL she woke up with a migraine so we rescheduled to the day after, I made sure to assure her that it was okay and to take her time. Later that day, in the late evening we had a nice chat but suddenly she stopped replying, even though nothing had happened. The day after I texted her good morning and said I hope she was feeling a little better. she wouldn't open my texts.
A couple days after I sent her a longer text saying that even though I had only known her for a short time I care a lot for her and would like to know how she are doing, telling her I'm there for her, assuring her I'm not going anywhere even though things might not be very easy. She wouldn't open it.
A week later I sent a text saying not to feel bad about not answering and that I will be there when she is able to answer again. It's been two weeks since this and she still hasn't opened my texts. She hasn't been active at all.
I don't know what else I can do. I assumed she might have fallen into a depression. I have tried to just not think about it anymore, and I haven't that much but when I do it sort of kills me inside...