Blogs
Your behavior can make you look insecure to others, but you don't need to look insecure. Without knowing it, you may act in a way that shows others you struggle with confidence. However, we've all done it and instead of beating yourself up, learn how to change these behaviors so that you can appear confident and not look insecure.
Hearing voices might be the most stigmatized symptom of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. When people hear about it, they imagine “what the voices tell you to do,” and even go as far as assuming that the voices command those of us hearing them to kill people. Just for the record: my voices don’t tell me to do anything, and even if they did I wouldn’t comply because I know they’re not real. Getting the message that the stigma of hearing voices is unnecessary across to people is probably one of the most important things I can do.
Researchers are beginning to shed light on the relationship between anxiety and sunlight, and it’s becoming evident that the sun is linked to anxiety and possibly even panic disorder. The connection between sunlight and depression has long been established (Relationship Between Depression and Anxiety). The inclusion of anxiety and sunlight in this mix is a development that just might illuminate more strategies to reduce anxiety.
It's possible to calm the anxiety you experience during the day simply by creating a morning ritual. Whether anxiety obnoxiously wakes you before your alarm sounds or greets you loudly the moment you're awake, beginning the day with anxious thoughts, troubled emotions, and agitated bodily sensations is exhausting and discouraging. Yet if you create a morning ritual to calm anxiety, it doesn't have to ruin your day before it even begins.
Depression counseling is a useful tool for anyone living with depression. Mental health counselors typically give advice on how to cope with depression and other mental illnesses, which is helpful when you feel you've run out of ideas. I read articles and implement new depression coping mechanisms endlessly, but sometimes I cannot give myself the help I need. I've been in and out of counseling for ten years with a wide variety of counselors, and while I didn't always like the counselor, the act of seeking professional counseling kept me on my toes as I managed my depression.
I wish my loved ones knew certain things about my mental health. But explaining mental illness to someone who doesn’t have it can feel impossible, especially when it comes to family members and close friends. We want our loved ones to support us without judgement, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Here's what I wish my loved ones knew about my mental health.
Because I'm 38, I'm starting to wonder if my schizoaffective disorder has held me back. Of course, you don’t have to have schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder to get anxious around midlife. When my mom, who doesn’t have schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, turned 40, my little brother cheerfully quipped, “Hey, Mom. Now you’re half dead.” She laughed, but I imagine the words must have stung a little bit. However, for someone with a mental illness, evaluating your life at midlife means wondering how much—and if at all—your schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder has held you back.
Three health-related bonuses to eating disorder recovery are given to us as we walk down recovery road. When we're healthy we often take that health for granted, but when we're sick we long for health and lament that we haven't been appreciative of it. But recovery teaches us that the body, mind, and soul are more resilient than we might have thought. There are at least three health-related bonuses to eating disorder recovery.
There are actionable steps in my anxiety action plan that you can take to manage your anxiety. All too often, I find myself in a position where I feel an unwarranted sense of worry, fear, or panic. Even when there is no pressing issue, I often find myself looking for ways to manage anxiety. This is the anxiety action plan I use to manage anxious times.
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...