Mental Health Survival
When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
Mental health matters!
When it comes to treatment as human beings, its the example we set of how we choose to treat others in which indicates how we want to be treated. Well I wouldn’t necessarily say “wanted” but rather chose to without even thinking about this method. Which is treating others how you wanna be treated.
If you treat someone with disrespect or any kind of negative treatment, they will most likely treat you that way in return. But if you want things to be at peace, both needs to surrender and make amends with what both partners in any situation are at war with. And work on a settlement or some kind of plan that treats both teams (partners) equally with no discrimination, stigma/shame or any kind of problem that puts hate or any kind of negative treatment towards another person of any kind.
It’s not whether you should because they may go against someone’s values or core beliefs but rather more to listen to someone else’s side of the story for them rather than being selfish and being well “blissfully ignorant”. If I were them, I would prefer to be “pained and aware”.
Would you rather be blissfully ignorant or pained and aware?
An important subtopic that I’d like to cover here. And that is all that was part in the “Think Before You Type” episode of “Date My Dad” tv series on Tuesday nights at 9pm. Here’s the description of the episode below:
When a boy starts to admire Elisa, the popular girl makes her the laughing stock of the 6th grade; Mirabel quickly understands the downsides of being an Instagram celebrity and Rosa finds her calling as the elementary school’s counsellor.
I can’t really say much here just go watch the episode for yourself and you’ll learn some interesting and educational things that will change your perspectives on things that are covered in the episode.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” – Albert Einstein
So much of life can be more than challenging enough to really impact our lives and make us stronger and wiser in ways we never knew nor saw coming! We want so much in our lives and more than enough of us give up when things get even a little hard or challenging. But we have to push ourselves to be challenged because that’s how we will change.
We cant stay in our comfort zone. Nothing happens there. Outside of our comfort zone is where everything happens! If you don’t challenge yourself, you won’t change. And so that brings me to my experiences with this. And when I say what I’m about to say, I mean it with all the truth, logic, intelligence and education that I have and that I gained from making the choices I made.
It wasn’t easy and there were numerous times where I wanted to give up but I chose to hold on because of how badly I wanted those things I was working towards. Even regardless of how hopeless I felt, I held on because of how badly I wanted the things I wanted. And because of how I chose to respond, I ended up with great success and I continued to improve myself, feel more like the real person I was meant to be!
And for all that I worked hard for, in so truly grateful and happy for it all and for myself! For all that I did, I’m so proud also for myself! For all those sacrifices I made and the choices I made that my own parents and sister did not like nor approve of and wanted me to respond their way because that’s what they thought I needed to follow as a responsible citizen of society! And for where I’m at today, I’m so thankful for it all!
When it comes to silencing the mind, many think that you have to not think at all, but its not just human nature to think but what the brain has to do to function. The heart needs to beat, and your blood needs to pump the blood in your body. You need to think.
And so the truth of success when it comes to silencing the mind, you must work on it to the extent of feeling calm and use aromatherapy like lavender to help maintain and control your racing thoughts so then you are able to think clearly. Think of your racing thoughts as you being a famous celebrity and all the paparazzi are all asking you many questions at once, it becomes hard to know how to act and rather to say; hard to focus on answering everyone’s questions honestly and accurately.
Human nature is when you do something out of being human but when you do it on repeat and don’t correct your mistakes that come in result from doing something, it’s becomes rather a bad habit and it can makes things worse on the level of long term mental health issues. When you think about it, you are thinking how could anything we do that becomes a bad habit cause mental health issues.
But when you educate yourself as well with knowledge from experience, let’s just put it this way; nothing is impossible. But it’s within our own control as long as we don’t have/live/suffer with depression (even if the bad habit caused/triggered depression or even PTSD), we can use that self control which comes from the responsibility of the grey matter in our brain to correct and control our emotions. Which also comes along with emotional intelligence. As well with the responsibility of the hippocampus/amagdala which works with emotions and memory.
I watched “13 Reasons Why” Beyond the Reasons on Netflix again and I can completely relate to so many things they are talking about mental health and all else that they cover in the 29 minute episode! With the depression, PTSD, trauma, yet overall the mental illness. As well with advocating for mental health. Bringing mental health into the teaching curriculum.
One other thing so that I can’t imagine what it’s like for others like Jessica’s character who experienced sexual assault. I really don’t know but it’s something that’s important about being a victim yet a survivor of sexual assault where one is able and more than capable of moving past it in a way that doesn’t necessarily forget about it, but see all these kinds of huge and life-impacting moments can teach us, and then just focus on walking forward with our heads held high and proud of who we are, and all that we have become and all that we want to achieve with our life ahead!
For the fact that life is never formed into the life we all want to live the way we want, we have to come with acceptance of the terms that a lot of things in life that we want won’t come easy nor the way we want or expect. We have to accept that these things we want in our lives will come to us just taking the long cut to the finish line.
If you want something badly enough, you need to start working on the terms of what is necessary and needed in order to earn the results which are the things you want in your life. And that won’t be an easy path nor simple. It’s rather challenging enough to change us for the better. Doing so means stepping outside of our comfort zone (where change happens) and allow yourself to experience everything with mindfulness (without judgements and be present in the moment), challenge yourself no matter how hard it may get and which also includes committing to this whole process in order to gain the things you want. Like Amelia Shepherd quotes:
“If you aren’t willing to keep looking for light in the darkest of places without stopping, even when it seems impossible, you will never succeed.”
Thinking Creatively
When it comes to being creative and living a creative life, it takes a lot in someone to fully succeed in doing so!
If you want to succeed in living a life of your dreams, you must remember what Amelia Shepherd quoted in Grey’s Anatomy: “if you aren’t willing to keep looking for light in the darkest of places without stopping, even when it seems impossible, you will never succeed.”
If you want something badly enough, you’ll do whatever you have to do and what it takes to earn what you want in your life. Remember, you only get to live one life, so make it worthwhile!
Why do we go with the flow? Why take an easier road? Why are we playin’ it safe? Love came to show us the way. Love is a chance we should take. I’m movin’ out of the gray!
Nothing is impossible yet impossible seems to be so hard to beat. To beat that we as human beings are possible of achieving and becoming the impossible! But in order to do that you must follow what Alice Kingsleigh inspires: “The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.”
“Dreamers need to stick together.” ~ Tomorrowland
When it comes to learning in life each and everyday, it’s something that’s not an easy thing to do for many of us. For example, it can be easier for some people who are more mindfully aware of looking for a lesson in everything we do whether its a good or bad outcome. And for others, not so easy to see the lesson in each moment and to allow ourselves to experience everything without any denial or refusal of experience.
Nothing in life is easy, if it were easy, nothing and nobody would ever change. So we must allow ourselves to step outside of our comfort zone (as per no change happens in a comfort zone) and let ourselves feel uncomfortable and choose the right risks with the method we choose to earn change in result.
And for me, it took me plenty of time to adapt and accept the things I couldn’t change and allow myself to be impacted and to experience life with both the good and bad characteristics of doing so. Which I did not like but I know I had to experience it anyway so I could learn from my experiences. And because of that, I have become quite stronger and wiser in the long run which I”m confident and proud of!
We are all trying to fit into our own world that we are live in. But with all those important and necessary labels, expectations and standards, it becomes rather unhealthy. For example, society portraying their definition of “perfect” is wrong on so many levels.
How? What’s my reasoning and proof of this belief/theory?
Well I can say a few things. But the main problem about the whole perfection goal that society demands us to become and follow in reality: is that its unhealthy because it’s not reality. For example, people say to ask ourselves when we want to do something, “is this realistic?”. But in all reality it is. And another definition that comes to mind here is how we define the term: impossible and possible.
We think so many things are impossible and some things need to stay impossible because they shouldn’t happen. These things need to stay and remain impossible because they aren’t good for our society and for our world.
Next, being perfect doesn’t work anymore because no one and most things aren’t perfect. And that’s not gonna change anytime in the future. Striving for perfection only causes more problems and more struggles to succeed perfection. So I want to proper everyone to stop striving for perfection and rather more towards imperfect.
We are all human and part of being human is making mistakes. We will continue to make mistakes and that’s part of being our imperfect selves. It’s our time to change how we view perfect and choose imperfect instead this time.
It’s time that we continue making changes in our lives to make mental health part of our reality and part of our lifestyle. Because it’s part of our health and we need to take care of ourselves! Give yourself the best life while being the best version of yourself that you can be!
For me, I’ve seen it happen. I can’t. I’m not gonna be stupid enough to…for me to let that happen to myself because I have a good head on my shoulders. Maybe I might make a few mistakes, sure I’m 19 but I was raised like Sunday school every Sunday. My mom broke down to me like “this is who you are. Your gonna be a good person. Your gonna help people, your gonna quick to forgive. Your gonna be a humble, genuine person and if your not, there’s gonna be consequences. She doesn’t agree with some of the decisions that I make sometimes. All moms don’t agree with. But she knows I got a good head on my shoulders. She did what she had to do to raise me and she did it wonderful job. I’m super super grateful for her!
It’s an inevitability that a young person can become a train wreck. Do you think about that? And are you conscious that you are the perfect candidate to become a train wreck?
Justin Bieber: Since day one, I had never thought that he would inspire so much in all beliebers like me. To inspire the great and important things in life!
Fight Song: Prove I’m alright song
I wanna prove to everyone that I’m getting better. That I’m working on myself, getting better mentally, physically and socially! And that’s gonna take time! There is no time length in recovering and getting better. You just have to be patient that it will be worth that time length to finally meet the “new and improved” me!
The music plays and until it stops, and when it does, “what have you learned and what do you believe?”
Do you believe this hype or are you creating something greater, a deeper passion that will not only help to articulate who you are as an artist but also help people to be able to identify with you.
Believe means: be who you want to be, do what you wanna do and isn’t stop believing in yourself. Just go for it!
No matter what religion, no matter what race. No matter what you are, you can always believe. It’s all about positivity! All about believing in something great. Believing in higher power. Believing in yourself. Believing that you can do anything if you set your mind to it!
When you reach a certain part of your life, there are people out there who sit, waiting, wanting to see you fall. But rather than let gravity take you down, sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands and fly!
What does it mean to be a “belieber?”
It’s a promise to love and support him every single day of this amazing journey he’s on! To never judge him, to have his back, just like he has ours.
After seeing this video, it really inspired me! It also changed my life, and has encouraged me to do something like these remarkable women! “You meet these remarkable women, and you realize it really is true: one person can make a difference in the world!” Please watch this video below and watch the 4–5 individual stories of each of these remarkable women! To know what they have created and have inspired and impact on the world! ⬇️
When we put on clothes we like, we feel good. When we put on clothes we love, we feel empowered! ~ Allyson Ahlstrom.
Coming from abuse, definitely damages everything about you, because you always wonder “what did you do to deserve what you got!”
“When a child has been through something horrible in their past, it’s important that they heal from that!” ~ Rebecca Welsh
They’ve been through so much in their past and they can take that and apply it to their future. It’s like not necessarily the negative piece but because they’ve been through so many obstacles, these obstacles are nothing to them!
You give them a little faith, and they start to open up. And then you give them a lot of faith and they just soar!
There’s always a bright side to everything. Just like on a coin: there’s always a head and a tail. One of those sides is your lucky side. You just have to pick the lucky side.
Is it possible for these kids to truly break the cycle from their past? Yes
It’s you who has the ability to forgive and to forget. It just depends on you.
This amazing women inspired me from her story where she saves dogs from “Dead Dog Beach” and placing them in homes. She also mentions that she fights so the dogs don’t have to. That’s amazing!
Your not as alone as you feel. You can remember that, it would be easier to take a RISK! – Radio Rebel
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. – Lao Tzu
I’m writing this happier moment to share my most recent discovery that just became aware to me some time today while thinking about my recovery progress.
First, I’m really having so many great helpful, useful, healthy, positive, inspiring, logical and creative thoughts that I’ve learned from all my expieriences in my previous depressive episode, recovery, relapse and my return in recovery again but on new antidepressant trials. But still think and believe I need to write them down here and/or in the notes app on my iPad to help explain to my parents (at the right time) of how all these life lessons, thoughts are the right way to start inviting change in all our lives like I have been for so many months now.
Suffering and overall living with mental illness is never easy, nor is living life in anything either. But recognizing that fighting our own brain every single day is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s something to be proud of. Along with thinking of all the things you’ve accomplished and how far you’ve come.
I’ve thought about how far I’ve come and all the things I’ve accomplished with my mental health and I’m not one bit ashamed to admit to anyone nor gonna hide from anyone anymore/any longer.
And 2nd, I’m really feeling more now, maybe this first antidepressant may be the right path to take to continue it’s purpose and use in my recovery. My upcoming appointment with Dr. Kao is November 9th to discuss progress, symptoms and experiences in the first trial of the first antidepressant.
I’m really enjoying, learning a lot from my experiences with my mental health. I’m also grateful to have all your support here in the Medium community! Thank you all so much for your support, guidance, help, advice, tips and everything in between. It means the world to me, and so do all of you along with my friends and family too that I now have more support here with my recovery as well.
Attended the 2nd meeting of 6 of the intro to mindfulness for more practice, learning and helpful tips with improving my mental health even more than I have done all for myself and on my own intiative with all your help as well! I love mindfulness.
But still even before starting the mindfulness group, I started trying to work on being more in the moment in the shower. It’s not easy.
My mind has been more focused on day dreaming and/or thinking of what I plan to do after the shower, my day plan, things that are coming up and things that I need/should remember for many different things.
And lastly, I’d like to add that I’ve really come to awareness and to realise that I’ve come a super long way with my progress in my recovery since I came home from college last April. And I’m ever so proud of that! 😇👍🏻😉😎😜😍💫⭐️🌟❤️🙏🏻
Each morning we are born again, what we do today is what matters most.
Where is yours? Is your body and mind both in the present?
Reckless: Yeah, I’ve done a few reckless things in my life, but that doesn’t mean i am reckless overall my past! No, it means I am strong, take risks, stand up for what I believe in, and achieve my dreams with plenty risk too! You can call me crazy all you want: crazy is the basis of genius! One day, will be the day people will see what that looks like in action and with their own two eyes! And that will teach them of what is right and wrong and what’s going over the line in overall life!
For more than two years now, I’ve been feeling down and negative almost everyday.
For more than two weeks now, I’ve been feeling hopeless, like there’s no point in living.
Ever since I was young, I haven’t been close to anyone because I’m afraid of being judged or not liked.
Over the past year, I’ve been unable to stop worrying about things no matter how hard I try.
I’m very scared of things they remind me of something awful that happened to me a long time ago.
For more than a month now, at times I’ve felt extreme fear or panic, and I worry a lot about when this will happen again.
For more than two years now, my frequent negative moods have made it hard for me to focus or make good decisions.
For more than two years now, my depression has caused me to eat or sleep abnormally almost everyday.
Ever since I was young, I’ve strongly believed I’m not good enough for many things in life.
Over the past year, my moods changed so fast that people close to me got worried.
Since I was young, I’ve been unable to stop bad thoughts from occurring over and over again in my mind.
Over the past year, my worries have gotten so big that my body is often restless, tense or tired.
I still think much too often about a terrible thing that happened to me a long time ago.
For more than a few months now, I’ve been harmony myself on purpose, or have been doing risky things without thinking.
For more than two weeks now, it’s been hard for me to feel happy doing things I used to enjoy.
Sometimes I relive a terrible event that happened to me a long time ago.
For most of my life, I’ve had low self esteem and have been afraid of people rejecting or leaving me.
For most of my life, I’ve often had sudden urges to do things that make me feel bad or guilty later.
Ever since I was young, morals or the law have never stopped me from getting what I want.
For a long time now, I’ve known that there’s something wrong with my body even though doctors tell me I’m fine.
This guy right here: Justin Bieber! Is who I’m thankful for today, forever! He has inspired me in is many areas that has impacted and influenced my life in a bigger than than anyone would ever expect from anyone. He has inspired me to be who I want to be (the girl in my dreams) and dot he things I want in my new and improved life and self! He is so special to me! He means so much as he is such an influence on me!
Never, may have lost sight ofmy dreams, but I’m focusing on the fact that I have them back! Gonna start putting them into actions! Everyone: be ready for some unbelievable, unexpected things in the near future! Because these dreams of mine are big, inspiring, happy and beautiful!
This is my fight song!
This is my fight song. I want to prove to everyone that I’m getting my life back for what I can and that is possible and right! I’m gaining power, control, courage, strength in doing exactly that! And I won’t let anyone stop me in the process!
I remember a day where I had such a rough day that I just let it shape the rest of the day including myself! It brought back those bad thoughts back, lack of interest in hobbies, lack of energy, power, control, happiness, appetite, motivation to do anything, except lay in bed and lots of pain, more than I have ever had!
It sucked completely! But at that time, I had started seeing a counsellor on campus and she helped me talk about depression and how it has affected me and my life! Like even in more depth and detail, of what being depressed is like, and how it can take control of someone for the worse. Yeah for sure counselling did help but not enough to keep the good things and qualities in the good me permanently!
Being misunderstood: people don’t seem to be able to put themselves in our shoes for a day or so, so they can be able to understand what it’s like for us in our life! We are constantly being judged for every little detail and quality about ourselves! For someone like me, they treat me badly, give me looks, say bad things to and behind my back.
I get offended everything. I tried once showing my real emotions once in high school and in college, yet both had the same results! So I decided to put them back inside where they belong. And it completely sucks because no one wants to do that!
We put too many walls up being attached with our emotions and thoughts! Why do we do this? Because we feel too vulnerable to reveal our true emotions for fear of getting hurt ourselves or scaring others! For all the times we feel and identify ourselves as “depressed” which people don’t always take seriously!
We need to convince/teach/inspire those who apply to this, to treat and act on depressed people properly and the way we deserve to be treated! If you know of anyone who has depression as a huge part of their lives and/pr past, and others who don’t take us depressed people seriously, overall the whole subject of “Mental Health”, please know that they are not alone, and to find people who they are comfortable with, and so on, and the ones who don’t take us seriously and make fun of depressed people, to act on that!
Teach them a lesson by putting it in a perspective that they are able to understand from our side! It makes all the difference! It may not remove mental health overall, but it will decrease a few symptoms and triggers of mental health problems! Thank you!
Struggling with every day challenges is exactly what this quote says! People tell “depressed” people to “be happy” or “not be depressed”, it’s not that easy! It takes a lot of inner human skills to be fully able to do that! If someone treats someone with negative words, depressed people will only react with negative actions.
Where in situations like that, positive results are not the results on our end. These people that treat us like that, don’t know nor understand how hard it is to be happy. We never asked to be depressed, depression chose us!
And everything tied with depression, makes it almost impossible for us to do exactly that on our own! We need therapy, and those who aren’t like us, to treat us sensitively for we are more sensitive to all negative things in life more than anything else, negative only!
Inspirational Reality
Society is f*** up and yeah sorry for the language here. But its the truth that society will tell us to be ourselves yet they judge us anyway. We all have been down that road where we give in to the power of focusing our minds on meeting the expectations and standards from society where in result only makes us unhappy regardless of the real reason: to be accepted.
But the only person who should accept ourself is ourself. We are the only one who should matter with who we should accept ourself for. We want to be accepted by society but really it isnt’ healthy nor what we should do to receive or in other words, gain acceptance from. We shouldn’t focus our minds on this kind of method or way of thinking.
The only way to be accepted by society is to meet their expectations and standards of what they want us to be: wrong!
If you want to be accepted, accept yourself. Whoever you want to be, be that person. Screw society, don’t let them get in your way to being all that you wanna be and all that you wanna achieve in your life. Because that’s what matters.
What you think of yourself matters more than what others think of you.
When it comes to those results, I’ve come to learn and share that I have been down that road for many years too long. I was a prisoner and I so desperately wanted to be accepted. It started in my first year of high school. When I heard Selena Gomez’s song, Who Says and watched her music video, I was really inspired.
Before going further in my story, I’d like to add one thing I’ve come to learn a few years later; I came to analyze and realize that I was all caught up and focused on being healthy as those Victoria Secret and magazine models. I wanted to be as skinny as Nicole Scherzinger.
I wanted to be healthy and skinny because that’s the definition of healthy that I believed. So I focused on that and struggled a lot in high school with losing my muffin top in which I did lose but gained it back with a short amount of time.
It’s easy to gain weight. But hard to lose it.
Out of my family, I have always been the one that’s always found creative ways to lose weight and not make a huge deal or beat myself up if I do something wrong, make a mistake, or even worse fail at succeeding in losing the goal weight and look. I’ve just always found ways creatively to make it work without beating myself up or losing hope. One example of this is:
Trying many methods to help me slowly gain more control of my bad habit of picking my nails constantly. Yet I still never lost hope that I’d find a different, creative method with restoring my hands and nails to their healthy state and finding coping method that works.
One day, I decided to wear coloured nail polish, moisturize daily and work hard at my on and off warehouse job, keeping my hands occupied and busy. I started doing this in September 2015 and around October, I noticed my nails were looking healthier and I also didn’t feel that urge inside of me to pick my nails. That feeling was amazing! What a humbling experience!
