recovery

Your illness does not define you. It's your resolve to recover that does.

Art May Save Your Life
Imagine being underwater and you're swimming to the top and, just when you make it and catch that gasp of air, you're being pushed back down. Sometimes you're deeper. Sometimes the water is calm and quiet. Sometimes there are sharks around you. Sometimes you're completely alone. This is what Borderline Personality Disorder feels like. You're always feeling a different emotion from the last and they come crashing in like sea waves, leaving you breathless. Happy is ecstatic. Love is over joyful. Pain is gut-wrenching. Heartbreak is the end of you. Feelings weigh so much heavier on us than we can handle, so much that we sometimes give up trying to withstand it. Being normal and having normal reactions isn't an option and our coping mechanisms are greatly unhealthy. It's not a rollercoaster to me. It's an abyss. At least you can see where you're going on a rollercoaster ride.
By Jane Insane8 years ago in Psyche
Treating Mental Illnesses with Neuroscience
Approximately one in five adults in the United States experiences some aspect of mental illness in a given year, with one out of twenty-five of them reporting that the mental illness is “serious” and “substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities” (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2018). In the past, mental health disorders and disabilities have been viewed in a negative light, and treatment for these afflictions has been lacking, if not entirely ineffective. Historically, patients were placed into isolation, often in insane asylums, where they were subjected to repetitive, reprehensible tests. Their skulls were drilled in the process of trephination, blood was drained from their bodies in bloodletting, and bodies were repeatedly purged of their “evil spirits” through ritual religious means. After this heinous poking and prodding came slight medical advances, and many patients were subjected to lobotomies, insulin coma therapy, or Metrazol therapy, in which individuals’ brains were cut, injected with compounds, or compromised in other ways in a vain attempt to “fix” their problems (Hussung, 2016). Despite these somewhat progressive medical treatments, mental illnesses were not cured, and researchers had to look further to discover the proper means of treatment.
By Emily Leister8 years ago in Psyche
My Own Unhappiness. Top Story - April 2018.
PMA Growing up, my father used to tell me that the only person making me unhappy was myself. It was infuriating. Some situation or another had me wallowing in self pity, and here comes dear ole dad telling me to get over myself. Getting over yourself is not an easy feat for a sullen teenager. So I shrugged off his advice and continued on my self destructive path, blaming everyone but myself for my discontent.
By Shelby Schulten8 years ago in Psyche
Mental Health, Alcohol, and Finding Yourself
"Who are you?" "What are your interests?" "What are you good at?" "Where do you see yourself in the future?" All of these questions. At age 23, still unanswered. How do you respond when you haven't known yourself in years, and are unsure if you ever did? My denial started 15 years ago. My diagnoses six years ago. I was always the quiet one. The girl who did not have many friends, and avoided relationships when I could. The girl who could not figure out why she lacked interest in activities. The girl who spent her days sleeping, and in online chat rooms, pretending to be someone else, avoiding actual human contact. At eight years old, all I wondered, is why I was so different than my peers. I spent many years wondering but eventually grew to think that, how I was feeling, was just who I was. I sat envious of the girls who seemed to have it together. The ones who were so popular and made friends easily. When people would try to talk with me, I gave short responses, if any at all. I spent all hour of the day and night locked away in my room, talking to strangers. "I am fine. I just did not sleep well," I would respond when people asked me what was wrong. I would burst into tears in the school counselors office, not knowing why I was crying. I could not control myself. Towards the end of high school, I was asked what I wanted to do in the future. But how could I respond to that question, when I did not see myself being alive after the age of 18. Two failed attempts at my life, and I was determined to get it right eventually.
By L8 years ago in Psyche
To the Girl Who Didn't Eat Today
To the girl who didn’t eat today, I know it’s hard. I’ve been there. I know how it feels. I know what it’s like to go to bed so hungry but so angry at yourself, because how dare you be hungry. You’ve had an apple today. That’s enough, right?
By hannah irelan8 years ago in Psyche
Emetophobia
For many people the title of this piece will be a foreign term. It ends with "phobia," so clearly it is about fear – but of what? A phobia is defined not just as a fear, but as an irrational fear of something. Common phobias include irrational fear linked to fire, spiders, snakes, heights, germs, etc... Emetophobia is a lesser well-known phobia, despite it being not all that uncommon. It is the fear of vomit, vomiting, people who are vomiting or who will potentially vomit. Vomit, vomit, vomit. Even writing that word several times is an exercise in exposure therapy. The mere word can trigger panic.
By Lauren Friesen8 years ago in Psyche
Battling Depression. I Chose to Be Here
12th of October 2009. That’s the date I was diagnosed with Depression, Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. I was 15 at the time, in high school, and couldn’t explain or comprehend when I was drowning. I thought I was weak—strong people didn’t need help. I didn’t understand.
By Sophie Rose8 years ago in Psyche
Addiction and Rehab - Everything You Need to Know...
There is still some taboo about rehab, however, it is one of the most effective ways to counter an addiction and despite what you may think, addiction in America is a growing issue with the Surgeon General stating that one in seven Americans will be affected by drug or alcohol addiction, a problem costing the country over $442 billion each year.
By Wilf Voss8 years ago in Psyche
Dealing With Mental Health Issues
Growing up, I always struggled in school. There was never a year where I could just sit back and relax and not have to worry about failing all my classes. I was "diagnosed" with a learning disability at a young age, though, so I was able to get the extra help that I needed, but it was definitely never enough. I also struggled at home, constantly forgetting to do chores or small tasks my mom would ask me to do and I would always get in trouble for it. I was never the kid to talk back to their parents. My mother wouldn’t tolerate it if I tried anyways, but it wasn’t like I was a bad kid. The only times I would get in trouble was me just "forgetting" about something either at home or at school.
By Sarah Burr8 years ago in Psyche
How to Ease Ascension Symptoms and Work the Steps
There is a great awakening occurring right now, at this very moment. Many souls are choosing this point in time to awaken from their slumber and become present and active in the 3D world to prepare for the ascension to the 5D. Many of us are addicts living in recovery and on our own, special spiritual path of the steps. What does this mean for us? What does the ascension process mean for us? While the future points along this path hold great promise, the steps along the way are not always the easiest, especially for the recovering addict. However, with the daily practice of the 12 steps we can achieve a bit of a head start and ease the ascension process.
By Lady Red8 years ago in Psyche
Happiness
I know way too many people with mental health problems, and one of these people is me. I have always been someone that loves to spend time by herself but in the last four years these moments became dark. I felt lonely even though I had friends. I had some traumatic experience in life. I know many people had experienced worse things in life and that those people came out stronger. Well with me it was the other way around. When my parents divorced, I blamed myself and because of that I tried to take care of my little brother who was two at the time. Now he is almost 13 and I still do it, but he hates it. I am always trying to keep everyone around me happy. I didn’t care about myself because as long as my loved ones were happy, I could move on. This sometimes came to moments where I cried myself to sleep because I didn’t show how broken I was. I still don’t show it.
By Unknown Love8 years ago in Psyche
Suicide Survivor
So, my kids' dad and I split up almost a year ago. We were having issues for quite some time, he says that it was before I even got pregnant that they started. After I had the twins it became worse and worse. I was constantly home with the kids alone while he was out working or doing his kickboxing. My mother in law would come and help me as much as she could. When we split I pretty much went into a downward spiral. We had voluntarily signed custody over to his parents while we figure ourselves out because neither of us were financially or mentally capable of being full time single parents doing it all on our own.
By Brie Smalley-Melmore8 years ago in Psyche