Documenting Experiences
with Mental Illness
& Neuro-Divergence
Living in the Aftermath of Suicide
Losing someone you love to suicide changes you, and you look back at every conversation you’ve had with that person and see everything as a sign and wonder how you could have missed them.
Making A Safety Plan
Every new therapist or psychiatrist whose practice I visit, makes me do the same thing in our first session— make a safety plan. The safety plan is a document that lists the different methods you’ll try if you’re ever in a mental health crisis or feeling suicidal.
Tips for Taking Care of Yourself in Depressive Episodes
When you look online for depression tips most articles will tell you things like “drink more water, eat healthier, practice good sleep hygiene.” Today I wanted to share different tips for how to take care of yourself in a depressive episode where you are low functioning.
Managing Relationships in Depression
I was depressed, and as such, all I could see in front of me was my own pain. I was consumed with it; it was a lens through which I viewed the entire world and I couldn’t escape that. The problem was I hadn’t communicated that to my friend and she felt neglected. After explaining the situation, she was able to extend grace to me and I was able to meet her halfway and put more effort into our friendship. Since then, I‘ve compiled a list of tips to get better at maintaining my relationships.
Cycling
I know that recovery is not linear and yet? Every time I start to cycle I feel like a failure which may be why I never want to share when I’m not feeling well.So what to do when I feel like I am spiraling/ cycling into feeling poorly?
Suicide Prevention Is Better Than Awareness
What does it really mean to “be there for” someone who is fighting against themselves for their own life? To help ensure that you know what you’re getting into when you post such promises, I would like to share some information with you that I learned in the Mental Health First Aid course that I took last November!
Update: Why I’m Still Not Cancelling 2020
There is still so much purpose that I can live out in the midst of this chaos. Despite everything, and there is so much to be encompassed in EVERYTHING, 2020 has still been the best year of my life since 2012.
Good Grief
Pros and Cons to Mental Illness Medication
One of the first things you’re told when you’re diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder is that you will have to be on medication for the rest of your life. When I heard that I was distraught. It’s a hard pill to swallow, pun intended, and I even bawled my eyes out the first time to do so come. The nurse on duty at the psychiatric hospital I was staying in was very kind and understanding. She told me not to be ashamed. She asked me if I judged people with cancer for having to get chemotherapy and assured me that there was no difference between the two. I would come to hear similar sentiments echoed in the following months.
March 2019: When It Poured
When I think about it, there are so many ways in which my life would still be stuck if I hadn't gone through March 2019. While it rained, it definitely poured, but last year the March showers led to April flowers that led to an entire garden.
Giving Up The Fight
The idea of having to fight my mental illness every day until the day I die is one of the things that triggered my suicidal ideation the most often. What good is living life if you don’t even get to enjoy it because you have to fight to survive?