coping
Life presents variables; learning how to cope in order to master, minimize, or tolerate what has come to pass.
Too Much of a Good Thing...
There’s a whole world in your mind isn’t there? There are characters, problems, climactic resolutions, and emotions; all only for you to witness and feel. They’re your personal story reels and you’re the star of it all. Everything can go your way-or against you- and it feels like the only semblance of control you can manage in a world where the decisions of 7.53 billion other people can and will affect you in some way. You’re a star in your mind but you feel like a nobody when you open your eyes. The sobering realization is enough to push you back into your head, isn’t it?
By Liv Longue6 years ago in Psyche
Sometimes it’s Ok to Not Be Ok
I consider myself to be a pretty strong, independent, and resilient woman. I like to accomplish things on my own and find it difficult to ask others for help. Asking someone for help was viewed as a weakness to me for most of my life. It was quite normal for me to say "I'm fine" regardless of the chaos that was occuring in my mind. It took me a long time to realize that pretending to be ok all time was making me sick. It would manifest itself into some very physical ailments due to my constant anxiety that people were going to find out that I wasn't fine at all. For many years I experienced chronic stomach pain, IBS, nausea, rashes, and eczema. I was always tired and wanted to sleep all the time. I was clinically depressed, but I truly believed that I just needed to "suck it up" and take care of my obligations. I felt a great deal of anxiety and shame because I couldn't seem to snap out of it and stop being such a downer. When you are in the midst of a depressive episode, telling yourself to "get over it" is pretty counterproductive as it just seems to pick away at your feelings of self-worth.
By Stacey Broad6 years ago in Psyche
Human
HUMAN! (Marilyn Monroe) “I can be selfish, yeah, so impatient…” I used to think that motherhood would change me. That somehow the person growing inside me, could make me a better one. Never taking the time to realize, that the notion of my unborn child absolving me of my shortcomings (selfishness being one), was the very definition of selfishness.
By Alaine Hay6 years ago in Psyche
Saying I'm Fine When I'M Not
I try to educate most people around me into understanding that I have a mental illness, because I do not want to have to pretend I'm fine when I'm not. This was something people did in the 1990s, when saying you took medication was not as common as it is in the present. The thing is, many expect a lie to be told. I believe that this gets to ridiculous levels since nobody mentally ill wants to be felt sorry for so we try to hide our feelings around you normal people who manage to sleep by just shutting your brain off, although for some reason, you guys seriously drink a lot of coffee.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez6 years ago in Psyche
How Criticizing My Emotions in Childhood Created an 'Emotional Storm' Inside Me
When I was growing up, I was labeled as a “shy” and “sensitive” child. I would cry often, and I would be criticized for it, which contributed to my quiet demeanor. Whenever I would express anger, I was told I wasn’t allowed to be mad, or that being angry was wrong. I learned that sadness and anger were “bad” emotions, and whenever I experienced either emotion, I felt ashamed as though something was wrong with me for feeling them. Throughout my life, I learned to internalize my sadness and anger, which has led to chronic self-harm and digestion issues. Soon into adolescence, the inability to express sadness or anger led me to lose the ability to express any emotion properly — even feelings such as happiness. In my life, I have also experienced relationships where my feelings were invalidated and gaslighting was a factor, which only contributed to my internalization of emotions and my distrust of my emotional experience.
By Ashley Nestler, MSW6 years ago in Psyche
Pretty & Motivated
I am a 15 year old girl who suffers from post tramatic stress disorder among a few other mental illnesses and this a piece of my long story. When PTSD comes up people think about military dads that come home changed, broken, but it can be so much more than that. In my short life I have lived I’ve made it through being molested and raped, physically and verbally abused by the people who I called my parents. Watched drug deals and angry people. Heard sirens and called the rescue teams to help save the ones who were supposed to keep me safe. Parents aren’t supposed to tear you down and scare you, but sometimes kids can be placed in the wrong hands but I can tell you right now there is not one stuggle in your life that you can’t find a healthy solution to without enough knowledge. Knowledge you can gain from reading and researching, become familiar with your demons and tame them. This disorder isn’t always easy to cope with, it’s hard to focas on school and boys and making it out of high school with the rest of my graduating class to be a role model to the 4 younger of my 5 siblings despite not knowing where I’ll come up with the money to pay for drivers ed. or college afterword. But that’s just a part of life and we can’t just sit in self pity because you will get stuck there. I try to breathe when I start shaking in class trying to forget a scary thought that pops into my head when I see a guy with a hat or a pair of purple pajama pants some girl is wearing or even just a soothing lamp in the guidence counsilors office that brings me back to these horrible times and almost sufficates me in the memories. How am I supposed to read about World War I when I got World War III’s beginning on my mind?
By Arianna Rose6 years ago in Psyche
A Decade To Remember
I’m not sure why I ever stopped writing. As a child you couldn’t tear the notebook from my hands. I’d fill up one after the other, using the moonlight to scribble whatever came to mind in the comfort of my bed, afraid if I turned the light on my parents would know I was up way past my bedtime. I could never concentrate on anything in daily life except the stories in my head. I dreamed of becoming an author one day. I wish I could say that they trampled on my dreams and forced me to get a “real” career because that would make me feel better about having failed up to this point, but instead it was quite the opposite.
By CJ Morrell6 years ago in Psyche
Compassion: Mental Health's Best Friend
Mental illness is too much of a taboo topic. Don’t talk about it. It’ll go away. Those with mental illness are scary. Mental illness only happens to criminals, murderers, and crazy people. These thoughts leave those attempting to accept and deal with their health feeling alone and unwanted. The worst part about it is that we already feel alone and unwanted. We already feel unwanted. We believe we must have been bad to be this way. None of this is true. We need compassion and understanding.
By Fire Dragon Lit6 years ago in Psyche
