selfcare
The importance of self-care is paramount; enhance your health and wellbeing, manage your stress, and maintain control under pressure.
10 Ways to Maintain Good Mental Health
Our mental health and wellbeing are as important as our physical health. By maintaining good mental health, you can function better, have positive self-esteem, have great relationships, and cope with the ups and downs of life properly. This is especially important amid a pandemic where our physical and mental health has been negatively affected.
By TechsSocial3 years ago in Psyche
9 Years Later
Like many others, I was bullied as a child. It started in the 4th grade. It was one girl mainly and sometimes two more of her friends. I thought that year forever changed me. I blamed my bully, for who I am today. For years I let myself believe that I was shy because of my bully, that I struggled with people skills because of my bully, that I had low self esteem and confidence because of my bully. Yes, the bullying did factor in. But it was my choice of how I let it shape me. I had to accept that this is who I was, and if I wanted I could work on it or let it be. I had to let it be known to myself that it was my choice if I wanted to change. When I would get frustrated with my shyness or fear to speak in school, I looked for something to blame, someone to blame. At the time I thought who better to blame than my childhood bully. I made myself believe that they shaped who I was, and for 9 years I never forgot. I mean it’s hard enough to forget an experience like bullying. But I wouldn’t let myself move on. I wanted answers, but more so a deeper part of me wanted to know if she remembered. If she remembered what she did to me. Because if she did, that would mean all those years of flashbacks and thinking about everything she did to me wouldn’t be in vain. My suffering wouldn’t be for nothing. I thought it’d be even better if she was sorry, which I figured would be a shot in the dark. I came to a point in my life where I wanted to be happier, I wanted self-growth and I wanted to terminate some demons that lived rent free in my head. So I started where I thought it began, with my bully. Now for years I was afraid of her. After what she did to me, I thought she was cruel. It was 9 years later that I decided I couldn’t live in fear anymore. Already I was on a journey of facing some fears, so I wanted to face this one too. I sent a message to my bully through Facebook. I was polite but explained how I felt and asked some questions that have been nagging me for years. My heart was racing and after sending the message I instantly regretted it. I didn’t know what I was thinking. A notification popped up on my phone and it was her. She wrote that she did remember, not exactly what she did but she knew she hurt me. She apologized sincerely many times and explained she didn’t like who she was back then and has worked on bettering who she was as a person. I was beyond surprised by her response and suddenly felt a relief life from my chest. After 9 years, 9 years, I was finally able to confront something that always troubled my mind. We need to remember that bullies are human too. Everyone is facing their own struggles and we can’t dismiss someone because we think they are bad. We have to try to understand where their actions come from. Because of my fear I missed out on 9 years of forgiveness, relief, peace, and a chance of making an acquaintance. That’s the problem when you let fear dictate your life - you’re not really living, or moving foward. You’re just being. It may have taken 9 years but there was a lot of lessons to be learned. We ending up messaging a bit after those initial messages and I was relieved we settled a long over due issue that I realized affected us both over those years. My choice in reaching out made such an impact that she put of a Facebook message apologizing to anyone she bullied or put down in the past and said how she was working on her growth as a person. I was shocked because this version of this person, I’ve never seen before. Not all stories like this may end like mine but I knew that if mine didn’t end as well as it did, at least I would have faced the fear I always had and tried. At the end of the day I know we all have many demons from the past that we let eat us alive, we let them live rent free in our minds, we let ourselves blame our past for how we are and how our lives are turning out to be. But in reality it’s we who choose to let those demons dictate our lives, and while it’s not easy, it’s not impossible either. Everyday we write our own chapter, line be line, word by word, no one writes it for us, or no one has too unless we let them. And we let them a lot. We’re under the impression and delusion that it’s not our fault. We think, maybe it’s easier to put the blame on anyone and anything but ourselves so we don’t have to live knowing it’s our fault that we aren’t happier, our fault that our lives aren’t changing. We don’t want to know that it could be our fault. Yes, the past does effect us. It can play a role in how we are, but it doesn’t have to define us entirely. We can make the effort to change if we want too. And there’s always hope in moving on and moving forward. There’s always hope. Don’t be a bully to yourself and keep yourself from living the life you could have. I promise you, taking the leap is always worth it whether it’s lesson or a blessing.
By Ariana Yeager 3 years ago in Psyche
The Addiction to Ink...Tattoo Ink
For as long as I can remember, I have always loved and appreciated tattoos. I always saw them as beautiful and a way to be free, even when I was too young to have any, I always enjoyed looking at the tattoos on other people. I like to believe I am a creative person, at least in some ways and I always love to find different ways of expressing myself. I have been dying my hair since I was 8 years-old and have recently hit the 20 year mark of doing so. I am proud to say that my hair has officially been every color that is available for hair dye, and a few months before my 18th birthday, my body became a canvas. Where I live, the law dictates that you have to be 18, but I got my first tattoo shortly before by a guy in his house and blessings from my mom. For my first tattoo, I chose a loose representation of the NYC skyline with different elements that remind me of my best friend because I knew then that she would always be a large part of who I am, no matter where life takes us.
By Crissy Cornwell3 years ago in Psyche
Balancing Your Sylph and Your Nerd.
Hey there Gemini. Wow, it’s been a tough year for you! Your usual inquisitive, bubbly, uber chatty self has been forced to embrace the other side of your twin, the introverted, reflective, nervous-nelly side. Yikes! Too much time inside that head of yours has been kind of dizzying. There’s been a lot of adjusting between both your inside voices.
By Mary Haynes3 years ago in Psyche
Stress-Buster tips
I don't know anybody who has woken up in the morning, and the day turns into such a nightmare, that they wish they had never woken up. You know the days I am talking about; those days when you wake up with a smile and by the afternoon we feel exhausted, and like we have aged before our time. Many of us both young and old have been here. You might be coping with work, children, housework, illness, and family drama! Now there is that word 'family drama!' the one issue that makes us all want to disappear into a vortex, never to be found again. I don't know about you, but in the evening, I want to put the television on and relax, however just to stress me out further, the news suddenly shows something that makes me feel annoyed and I want to throw my television out!
By Carol Townend3 years ago in Psyche
How to Thrive as a Highly Sensitive Person . Top Story - May 2021.
Being a highly sensitive person comes with both challenges and perks. The question we need to ask, then, is: How to thrive as a highly sensitive person? The answer is that there are lots of ways to do this! Even better is that most of them are incredibly easy to implement.
By Emma Jarek-Simard3 years ago in Psyche
The Ritual of Reading Cards
As I cut away the burnt bits of sage with my scissors, ash and dust falling into the bin, I begin to cleanse my space. With new twigs revealed, I flick on my lighter and watch as the flames turn the dried herbs into wispy wands of smoke, clearing the energy of the space where I will carry out my craft.
By Nati Saednejad3 years ago in Psyche
When Words Become Triggering
Words are often one of our leading guideposts when it comes to interacting with each other in society. Non-verbal gestures may be what we first come to know—such as smiling when faced with something pleasurable—but we can often express ourselves best through the use (and nuance) of language.
By Jillian Spiridon3 years ago in Psyche
Running For Your Life
When you hear the statement, running for your life, you consider that the author is running from adversity. Whether or not they are running from violence or anger, they are scared. The emotion is that of fear. Running for your life, yet for many of us, we need to run.
By Ben Shelley3 years ago in Psyche