Navigating Solutions and Darkness

  My mind is great because seconds after my therapy session closed, I've no memory of what she asked me to do. 

A while ago I made an alt purely for talking openly about heartbreak and love.  

It feels as though I'm drowning inside my own brain. My eyes won't work, my head feels hotter, and I need a cigarette except my lighter won't work. Well, it's been quite a day. 

Sometimes, what many of us really need is someone to just listen. Someone we can tell our worst thoughts to, without fear of judgement. Someone who can call us out on our bullshit, if necessary.

She said she thinks I'm "handling it great."  I'm not handling it great. 

Photo by  ActionVance  on  Unsplash Acceptance  Avoidance of negative emotions can be a very compelling approach. Facing negative emotions can lead to depression, can disrupt daily functioning. But in the long run, avoidance serves to compound the negativity.  Acceptance is a willingness to experience your emotions.  Experiencing emotions without pushing them away can be the first step towards healing.  Mindfulness  Learning to notice the present moment and paying attention to your internal state.  Self as Context  Exploring how we see ourselves using descriptors  Gaining some distance from those descriptors  Labels are words to describe you, but not the total essence of you.  Exploring Value and Action  Identifying and committing to what you truly value in your life.  By identifying what is important to you, you can start to figure out how you want to change your behaviour....

Photo by  ActionVance  on  Unsplash Therapy can be frustrating for multiple reasons. On the one hand, you have to talk about things you really don't want to talk about. You have to talk about them to someone else, when you won't even give them thought-form inside your own head. Trying to get past that means turning on honest-mode no matter what, which can lead to... blabbering. Because you're so uncomfortable, and now you're forcing yourself to talk and god knows what the hell you're saying anymore. Yes, I'm confusing myself AND my therapist. That's great. But as I said during the session today, I want to write things down so that they may be made sense of. If I'm being honest, I would rather NOT be the person who has to go back and make sense of this stuff. I would rather NOT be in touch with some of my thoughts? Why is that though, because I've been telling myself that I have no thoughts I'm ashamed of - I accept myself, flaws an...

Photo by  STIL  on  Unsplash Mindfulness  Building awareness of the present moment.  Focusing attention on emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations.  Focus on the five senses - sight, smell, hearing, skin sensations, and taste  Paying attention to what's going on without judgment.  Interpersonal Effectiveness In each interaction with people, we juggle various priorities.  Those priorities vary from person to person and context to context - sometimes we prioritize our relationship with a person, other times we prioritize goals or achievements  DBT can help figure out those priorities and provide road maps to achieving them.  Emotional Regulation  There may be situations where your emotions become uncontrollable - anxiety, anger or sadness.  This is especially the case when you feel vulnerable - when you're hungry, tired, sick, or exposed to unpleasantness, for instance.  Sleep, exercise...

Behavioural Coping Allowing yourself reminders of the trauma can cause overwhelming anxiety, depression, or anger. This is a legitimate concern . Grounding skills can help you regain your focus on the present moment and remind yourself that you are currently safe.  Relaxation and breathing techniques serve the same purpose  These techniques help when you are reminded of the traumatic event and during painful flashbacks.  Exposure Therapy  A lot of energy is often spent avoiding people, places and things that remind you of the traumatic experience.  In the short term, avoidance strategies work fairly well. But in the long term, these strategies can cause your life to become very limited. Premise: Talk about your traumatic experience in small, planned and manageable portions. (Talking, writing, or confronting in small steps situations that remind you of the traumatic event.) Based on the principle of systematic desensitization:  Pairing...

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) has been effectively used in helping people who have difficulty managing emotions and forming close relationships, as well as with thoughts of self harm. DBT was originally developed to treat Borderline Personality Disorder. Recently it has also been used to approach other conditions including PTSD. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) ACT is a treatment that focuses on helping people observe their thoughts and emotions without judgement. The need to identify your values and take action, regardless of your internal state, is centred. It doesn't focus on trying to change thoughts or feelings, but emphasizes how changing your behaviour can help you feel better. ACT helps develop psychological flexibility - the ability to see things from various viewpoints and react to stressful situations with resilience .

It's a pity we don't have a mental Olympics. Maybe people around us would be happier to acknowledge the work that goes into recovery if there was, since such tangible demonstrations seem crucial to understanding and acceptance. But that's a whole other discussion. 

"I've got anxiety worming its way through my body..."