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I've survived a catastrophe, and I've learned to cope with the anxiety from it. You see, a few weeks ago, a major fire started in my apartment. In the aftermath, I lost my place to live, lost almost all my possessions due to smoke damage, and came uncomfortably close to losing my life from smoke inhalation.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can get worse before it gets better when you start therapy. Find out why that's normal and how to handle it.
Many forms of self-care are absolutely essential for any healthy, functioning person, but, oftentimes, we see the same recommendations online over and over, like getting a manicure or snuggling with a weighted blanket. But what if these self-care activities aren't right for you? There are different forms of self-care that you might enjoy.
Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of media coverage about the suicide of television and radio presenter Caroline Flack. I didn’t know Caroline beyond seeing her on TV, but hearing about her death affected me deeply for some reason. I had a panicked sleepless night, and couldn’t shake the feeling of tearfulness that started as soon as I’d been told about the suicide. (Note: This post contains a trigger warning.)
Building a habit of self-care can build self-esteem. Practicing self-care regularly will lead us to accept the belief that we are worthy of loving and taking care of ourselves as best as we possibly can. Taking good care of ourselves allows us to be our best, and feeling your best will improve your self-esteem.
People judge how I cope with bipolar. Judging people is an Internet thing and it's a human thing. People just seem to feel free to tell me that how I live my life and how I deal with my bipolar disorder is wrong. I get it, I put myself out there, so that's what happens. Unfortunately, I suspect it happens to a lot of people with bipolar disorder. People just want to judge our bipolar coping skills.
I'm learning to stay calm when news coverage makes me anxious. Over the past few weeks, I've been following the news about coronavirus somewhat regularly, so that I'm up to date on what's going on. There are some pros and cons to doing this, and while it seems practical to stay well-informed, it can also be stressful. While I do think it's important to be knowledgeable about events like this, there is a limit to how helpful that knowledge is.
As Black History Month comes to a close, I thought, what better time than now to shed some light on black mental health conditions--an issue I find all too common in the black community. Now I can't speak for all black people in the world, but I can speak from my own experience and the experiences others have openly shared with me regarding black mental health.
There are some of us with depression who have experienced trauma during our lives. This trauma may have occurred prior to or after our diagnosis of depression. For those who have been through traumatic experiences, these events can have a profound effect on their depression. Armed with this knowledge, what can those of us with depression -- and those close to people with depression -- do with this information? (Note: This post contains a trigger warning.)
Exercise really helps my schizoaffective disorder, particularly my anxiety. In the past, I've found it hard to exercise in the brutal Chicago winter weather. I’ve now found a way to exercise without even leaving my apartment building that I’d like to share with you.
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...