recovery
Your illness does not define you. It's your resolve to recover that does.
Happiness
What do you want to be when you grow up?” The famous question asked by relatives, family friends, doctors or teachers, normally accompanied by earnest grins. The question that was once answered with a smile from ear-to-ear, and eyes bright with wonder and aspiration as different career choices were pondered upon meticulously. However, the pubescent years turned to faded memories, and the reality of the world became abrasive. The same question that was once answered with a variety of specialized professions and ambitions, slowly began to be replied with shrugs, tired eyes, and a despondent aura that filled the breathes between conversation.
Malayna RockPublished 7 years ago in PsycheIt's Always Fine, Until it Isn't
Let me preface this entire article by saying that anxiety and depression have been an active part of my life since I was 14. Now, as an almost 21 year old, I have learned how to handle these two destroying illnesses way better than I ever thought I would be able to. I have been able to find coping mechanisms and exercises that keep me right side up while my world is toppling down around me.
Renee AntoniaPublished 7 years ago in PsycheSelfish Act of Kindness
I was once called "the most negative person" someone had ever met. It didn't hit me until years later. Maybe that person was actually right.
ayla.jenniferPublished 7 years ago in PsycheBody Dysmorphia
Body dysmorphic disorder is a mean, nasty, debilitating mental disorder that can really destroy you. You constantly obsess over the smallest of “flaws”, a bit too chunky around the thighs, your skin is too spotty, or your hair isn’t luscious enough. This obsession slowly breaks you down, and then starts breaking down your relationships. It’s a persistent niggle in the back of your mind, and its damn near impossible to ignore.
Fear of Living
Maya Angelou once said that the fear of living was,"...being pre-eminently afraid of dying. It is not doing what you came here to do, out of timidity and spinelessness." She was probably right. She said it to inspire, but without experience, how could she really know?
Amira BaluyutPublished 7 years ago in PsycheHow I Overcame Body Dysmorphia
Before I begin discussing this topic, please be aware that there will be themes of mental illness, depression, eating disorders, and self-harm.
Ruby-Jessica SmithPublished 7 years ago in PsycheBroken to Blessed
A brief history of my 20s: Lost, found, lost, found, lost, found, lost, found. To be completely transparent, most days I feel like one giant contradiction.
Brittany BurtonPublished 7 years ago in PsycheAdult Child of Alcoholics
My honest journey from dysfunctional adult child of alcoholics to functioning adult. Chapter One We live in a world where drinking alcohol is part of our social makeup. You go out with friends, go to social occasions, christenings, weddings or funerals and alcohol is always readily available. It’s human nature. We grow up witnessing our parents drinking socially with friends. Everyone is happy and laughing and you grow up thinking that having an alcoholic drink is fun. As a young child these were certainly sights I witnessed, alcohol to me was just something my parents and relatives did. Every adult I knew drank alcohol. That was the way of our world. I’m sure past generations behaved no differently and I don’t believe at this time my parents behaved any different from a lot of my peers' parents and relatives but what happens if in the blink of an eye if tragedy strikes your family and your once happy social parents don’t drink to have fun anymore? They instead drink to numb the pain of an unbearable tragedy that took them from loving functioning parents to alcoholics.
Claire dysonPublished 7 years ago in PsycheSnapshot
It’s been five years since I first stepped foot into a treatment center and received my diagnoses of Bulimia Nervosa and Bipolar II. Through these last five years, I have suffered the lowest of lows and enjoyed some pretty euphoric and satisfying high points. I have faced relapses, stared down my illnesses in the eyes, taken countless losses, but yet I managed to stay strong and come back more resilient each day. I get questions from strangers asking me what it’s like to live with an eating disorder and a mood disorder. The simple answer would be a rollercoaster that is on fire, primarily consisting of loops, making you dizzy and sick, that teases you with momentary pauses, that never ends. This is the more detailed answer to that question. This is, at five years into recovery, a snapshot of a day living with an eating disorder and a mood disorder.
Chris MondaPublished 7 years ago in PsycheHow to Find Meaning in the Suicide of a Loved One
On Thursday, July 21, 2011, my twenty-year-old son left work early and never came home. His body would be found six days later in a remote area overlooking the Sweetwater Canyon, a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, and my life would never be the same. One year later, my wife took her life.
David StonerPublished 7 years ago in PsycheAn Open Letter to My Abuser
How are you doing? I am doing alright, it’s been a while since you thought of me, hasn’t it? I think of you more than I should. What you did to me taints my every action; it forces me to second-guess every single person in my life. Does that guy really like my shirt, or are his eyes looking to my breasts? Is she grooming me, or is she genuinely my friend? Who is using me and who isn’t? Every day a question like this passes my mind, and to be honest I blame you. You took my innocence away when I was 13. You stole the last drops of my childhood and forced me to grow up. I remember exactly what you did, no detail has moved from that day.
Eadlyen GreenwoodPublished 7 years ago in PsycheHow to Overcome Depression in 3 Steps
Thousands of years ago, Buddha said, "Life is dukkha". Dukkha has been translated from Pali into English as "suffering." This doesn't mean that Buddha himself thought that life was miserable and thus there was no point in living it with some positive purpose or meaning. What he meant is that life by its nature involves suffering.
Vanessa DiasPublished 7 years ago in Psyche