When Mental Illness Symptoms Return: What To Do

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• When Mental Illness Symptoms Return: What To Do
• From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs
• Video: My Personal Bipolar Stigma Story
• Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans
• Mental Health Quote

When Mental Illness Symptoms Return: What To Do

Have you ever experienced a time when your mental illness symptoms were mild (or even gone), and you enjoyed feeling well and participating in your life on your terms…until your symptoms returned out of the blue and with a vengeance? This is a common experience when you live with a mental illness or a personality disorder, and it can be incredibly discouraging.

It’s natural to feel disheartened when this happens, but the return of mental illness symptoms might simply mean that it’s time to troubleshoot your mental health. Think of it as your brain communicating with you that it needs a tune-up. Like an engineer or a mechanic, inspect yourself and your mental health to fine tune anything that isn’t running optimally. For example:

• Inspect your power sources. Are you eating healthy and drinking plenty of water? Are you getting enough quality sleep?
• Are you operating smoothly or sluggishly? Is it time to increase daily exercise times?
• Is your system overloaded with stress? Are you relaxing and practicing healthy self-care to keep your brain from being agitated and overstimulated?
• Have you been bathing your brain in oxygen by regularly taking slow, deep breaths and, weather permitting, stepping outside for fresh air?

By troubleshooting what you’re experiencing and how you’re feeling, you can repair neglected areas and regain mental health and wellness.

Related Articles Dealing with Repairing Mental Health

• 10 Mental Wellness Tips To Improve Your Mental Health
• Your How-To Guide for Troubleshooting Anxiety
• Overwhelmed by Stress and Anxiety? How To Deal with It
• 30 Tips on Dealing with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) at Home
• Is There a Quick Fix for Mental Illness?
• How To Develop a Mental Health Wellness Plan

Your Thoughts

Today's Question: What do you do when you notice your mental illness symptoms returning or worsening? We invite you to participate by sharing your thoughts, experiences, and knowledge on the HealthyPlace Facebook page.

From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

• The Future of Bipolar Treatment: What I Hope Will Change
• How Child Sexual Abuse Impacts My Schizophrenia
• How to Maintain Healthy Relationships Despite Work Stress
• How a Feng Shui Home Helps with Being Present
• Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal: Do You Know All You Should?
• What Is the Relationship Between PSTD and Shame?
• I Expect Myself to Snap Out of It--Schizoaffective Disorder
• Responding vs. Reacting to Verbal Abuse: What's the Difference?
• Explore Your Low Self-Esteem So You Can Raise It
• Anxiety and Fresh Starts: It's Never Too Late
• 4 Self-Care Activities for a Snow Day
• Want Less Anxiety? Have Fewer Friends
• Knowing When to Cover Your Self-Harm Scars
• 4 Ways Your Period Can Affect Your Mental Health

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

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From HealthyPlace YouTube Channel

I'm Hannah. I Have Bipolar 2

My Personal Bipolar Stigma Story

When you live with bipolar disorder or any mental health condition, stigma is the most significant challenge to confront. As someone who is public about my life with bipolar 2 disorder; I face bipolar stigma on a daily basis. To many people's surprise, it does not bother me as much as you may think. Why? I don't believe or absorb the messages that bipolar stigma sends to me or the general public. (Watch Hannah and subscribe to the HealthyPlace YouTube channel for more great mental health videos.)

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Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans

Here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook fans are recommending you read:

1. What Does Healthy Self-Esteem in Relationships Do For You?
2. PTSD Stigma: Why People with PTSD Can't 'Just Get Over It'
3. Writing a Resume as a Job Seeker with a Mental Illness

If you're not already, I hope you'll join us/like us on Facebook too. There are a lot of wonderful, supportive people there.

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Mental Health Quote

" I am exhausted from trying to be stronger than I feel."

Read more mental health quotes.

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That's it for now. If you know of anyone who can benefit from this newsletter or the HealthyPlace.com site, I hope you'll pass this onto them. You can also share the newsletter on any social network (like facebook, stumbleupon, or google+) you belong to by clicking the links below. For updates throughout the week, circle HealthyPlace on Google+, follow HealthyPlace on Twitter or become a fan of HealthyPlace on Facebook. Also, check out HealthyPlace on Pinterest and share your mental health pins on our Share Your Mental Health Experiences board.

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