If you can't stop thinking about the worst possible outcome, try imagining the opposite. A nice and comfortable situation that makes you happy. To take up space in your thoughts and orient you towards more pleasant emotions
That thing you like doing that makes you feel better? Stop it.
Instead do this thing that is tedious/boring that you never look forward to.
Eventually you will fool yourself into enjoying this boring/tedious task and trick your brain into releasing dopamine when you perform it.
I was still a kid. At my first session I opened up hard. I spoke nonstop for the whole hour.
When I was walking out I asked them “now what?” And they replied “Now it’s a long battle”.
That stuck with me.
It's minimal how you can change other people. But you can change your own environment, actions and worldview. Even though it might take a long time for your body, nervous system and brain to change and adapt.
Even if your parents want to change themselves for the benefit of your health, it might not be possible for them. But you might be able to help them by changing yourself, and then indirectly change their environment.
Please remember to bring exact change next time.
a therapist I had helped me rethink problems in terms of pragmatically adjusting my environment or conditions to nudge my behaviors rather than relying on willpower or behavioral changes that were slow or simply not happening
a small example was moving my computer out of my bedroom and developing a night-time routine that included reading a book before bed to help reduce compulsive computer use
realizing I am somewhat deterministic in my behavior, and my behavior is caused by conditions I have some influence over, was a helpful insight and got me past just constantly failing to live up to my expectations for myself and never moving past that - I can treat my psychological problems like puzzles to solve
It’s ok to look back at a painful event and have empathy for that younger person, then you can either stay there or accept any wisdom to be learned and write the next chapter but you can’t live in both places at once.
If you think you picked a bad partner because there's something wrong with you because of how you were parented, actually a bad partner sought you out because they saw those vulnerabilities in you.
Be the leaf
"If someone met your expectations would you be mad?"
"No"
"Then maybe your expectations are too high?"
"When you're fighting with someone, think of it as tug-of-war. You choose how long you hold that rope, but you can put it down, or not even pick it up. Either way, neither of you are really going anywhere until one of you chooses to walk away."
There's a member of my family I strongly dislike, so I had to work on not taking the bait.
This has been what I do with mine. Most of it is pretty fucking "well duh" type stuff, however working with people to hold you, and you hold yourself, accountable for making progress in these ways. The part of having someone to hold you to account, this is often where a therapist is the most useful. However, in this situation, this isn't an option, so you need to reach out to others.
Take your meds. If you need meds, but can not currently access them due to finance issues, there are sources out there that may be able to help. This is not often easy to navigate, but it may be something that saves you.
Try any method you can find, that is from a reputable source, to keep your sleep on a schedule, and get at least 6 hours per night. This is way more important than many wish, but generally everyone knows it is vital to health, including mental health.
Make yourself accountable to someone for daily improvement progress - eg find a friend, family member, online gaming buddy, whatever, that you report to, on a routine basis, to report the regularity of maintaining these routines. This means whatever you need to do to keep your living space clean, and in order, routine exercise, adherence to a healthy diet, maintaining the framework to keep yourself on track, like keeping your phone calendar up date, keeping lists of chores/errands you need to do, working on maintaining a hierarchy of needs (most immediate things to do, and most important), etc. This is the big one though, this person is allowed to criticize you in your failings on this, and you need to take that criticism, and use it as a call to focus on these areas. You may need more than one person willing to help. If you are isolated, there are online groups for these things. No this isn't a great alternative, but it is better than nothing, and living in despair.
You need to audit your behavior. You need to make a record of the things you do that are mentally taxing, and thus can harm your mental health. Do you spend all day, every day, at work, or stressing about work? You need to find a place you can vent this stress, and look for advice on how to disengage with work enough stop burn out, but still do what is expected. If what is expected is just too much, you need to recognize it, and work on finding a lower stress income. Do you doom scroll? Well look into apps that help you regulate the time you spend online. Also, audit your experience with the platforms you engage with. If you find one is mostly something that adds to your stress, depression, despair, etc. work on just cutting that out completely. Look at your personal relationships, and really try to assess whether or not your relationships are healthy, if not, how can they become healthy? If there is not foreseeable way to make it healthy, go low-contact, pilot no contact. If your daily life has any improvement because you no longer maintain contact, then it is time to drop them.
Social activity. This will depend greatly on how much socializing, and what kinds, you can handle, etc. This one is much more tricky, especially since anxiety, anhedonia, and other negative aspects of your mental health really affect how hard this is. However, you need to work on getting some sort of in person social contact. It needs to be regular, and I don't mean like all the time, but that there is a routine set-up for it. Local hobby groups, activities at the local library, publicly held events you may attend, try to work out a specific time period where you, and at least one friend/family member, can spend that time together doing an agreed upon activity.
Do things that allow you to put your thoughts into more of an order than they may currently be. This could be a journal, personal blog, etc. Just something where you can dump your brain, look at what came out, and apply some structure to it.
Spend time outside. Be it with people, or alone, just force yourself to spend time outside, especially in places you can see nature, see green, etc. If you just sit there observing it, it will help to maintain wellness. This is subtle, and takes a while, however it does have a real impact.
There is more, and I can ask my therapist, when I see her this week, for resources for all this, and I can update with what she says, if she is willing, which I do not see why she wouldn't be.
Yes its *possible, but not plausible_
Set boundaries and enforce them.
You clearly find it easy to stop doing things that are bad for you (drinking, drugs, eating meat), but you struggle to start doing things that are good for you (exercise, cooking, eating enough/well).
She was right. I still don't do the bad stuff and started doing the good stuff and now my life is so much better. Ironically it was quitting the last bad thing (weed) which allowed me to start taking care of myself. It's not enough to not hurt yourself, you have to be good to yourself too.
What issues are you dealing with (if you feel like sharing)? I can speak from my experience being in therapy for AuADHD, anxiety, depression, childhood traumas, and a few other things.
ETA: Some generic things from my therapist that will help most people:
- Drink enough water. This alone can have a significant impact.
- Try to do regular physical activity that you enjoy, if possible. Even if you don't feel like it.
- Check your posture. If you find yourself hunching, try fixing that.
- Do things that you know that you enjoy when you are not depressed, when you are depressed. Our brains are weird and "fake it 'til you make it" kinda works - by doing non-depressive things, you can trick your brain into being happier.
- Try to engage socially, if you find yourself to be a hermit. Our brains are evolved to be social animals and isolation can be damaging.
- If you are having trouble with the state of the world and things that you do not have control over, try engaging in things that you do have control over. This can be as simple as deep cleaning your sink or fixing a squeeky hinge. The amount of frustration caused by inability to impact important global happening is problematic for maintaining good mental health - our brains evolved in environments where life-threatening problems had immediate solutions but humans have built societies that don't work that way.
Important items
- Be patient and kind to yourself. Especially your past self. We all did cringy things when young with brains not fully-developed and/or without the information that one has currently. If you have trouble doing so, try mentally taking a step back and pretending that you are dealing with a close friend who you care about deeply. Would you judge them and make them feel bad about their past mistakes? I hope not.
- Concern and depression about the world at large is a very valid way to feel. It's important, especially for those of us with mental health challenges, to take the airplane safety spiel "put your own mask on first before helping others" approach to rendering aid to others. If you are in or near crisis, you are not in a place to help others and need to focus on getting to stable ground yourself first. Needing to do this isn't slacking off or "not doing your part". Not everyone is equipped to be out marching all the time (some are not equipped for this at all). If someone offers unhelpful criticism of inability to engage physically due to mental or physical health, they are best ignored rather than responded to.
Whisper posts shudders
Get a hobby, get outside. Doesn't have to cost much either.
Sometimes in the summer I go to the beach before work and cook my breakfast there on a camping stove burning driftwood as fuel.
I put together a website a while back:
I'd make more of an effort to distribute it if I was happier with it. in particular I think it needs simpler language.
Mine just said, "You're right, but thinking about it isn't helping."
I countered with, "People not thinking about it is why we're here."
They replied with, "Yeah, probably."
"So what do I do?"
"What can one man do?"
"That's what I'm paying you for. What can I do?"
"🤷♂️ Maybe stop listening to Democrats."
Fucking hate Kentucky.
Also, I filed a complaint and didn't go back; their practice is now closed, but I don't know if it's just because they moved to a different location or if they genuinely had to stop practicing. Haven't really thought about it much.
I will share and highly recommend this resource: Western Australia's Centre for Clinical Interventions's Self Help Resources. Of course, these are applicable to anyone, not just Australians. There are various pages for different types of conditions (anxiety, assertiveness, procrastinating, eating disorders, etc.), and most of them take you to self-directed workbooks you can fill out yourself. They're not only informative, but they also guide you through your thinking about these issues and how to deal with them and grow from them.
You are a hairless ape whos been plucked out of the grassy plains of Africa and put in an artificially lit world where each day contains more hostile stimulation than you would normally process in a month. Your brain isn't built to handle the information overload that social media, commuting, taxes, work, news, rent inspections and basic modern life contains. You are right to feel a constant sense of fight or flight at this bizzare and hostile alien world.
If feeling overwhelmed, do the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding method.
Find and make note of:
- 5 things you see
- 4 things you touch
- 3 things you hear
- 2 things you can smell
- 1 thing you can taste/recall tasting
And the idea with this is to stop dwelling on your negative spiral, and to focus on immediate surroundings.
Therapist also said to feel free to mix and match the sense with the number. For example, I don't have a good sense of smell, so I do 2 things I can taste/remember tasting, and 1 thing I can smell.
I'm sorry OP, the hour has ended. Try not to -you know- yourself till next session. Have a nice weekend
I have a few but my absolute favorite was when he said " Imagine there's a woman, maybe she is homeless or on drugs, and she shouts at you as you walk by across the street. She says you look like a cockroach. What would you do? " "Probably laugh" "Exactly, think of your parent as that woman. They have no effect on your life but noise" I'm paraphrasing but I liked the idea of my negative thoughts ingrained by generations of trauma being like a random shouting on the street.
The advice is usually pretty common sense and likely nothing you haven't heard before. The main benefit is having a safe space you can discuss your anxieties with a professional and having someone who will listen with minimal judgement. Also sometimes you need to be reminded of common sense when you lose sight of it.
Basically it's a paid friendship without all the other benefits of friendship.
Honestly I wouldn't be going if it weren't fully covered by my husband's insurance.
Right, kick ass. Well, don't want to sound like a dick or nothin', but, ah... it says on your chart that you're fucked up.
May be kinda specific (and poorly worded), but basically she said that negative feelings come from places where my mental image of the world conflicts with objective reality. This was mostly related to my relationship with my father, as i was looking up to him and seeking his approval, while ignoring the fact that neither he should be a role model or i can be a person whom he would accept. I found this advice applicable to many other situations, but unfortunately i mostly use it after the fact — i get disappointed or angry about something and then i ask myself "Ok, but what i imagined things would be? What else am i wrong about?"
"Some people can't be fixed. Just try not to be yourself when your decisions affect other people so you minimize the harm you cause them. When you have an instinct to do or say something, the correct action is probably the exact opposite."
Apparently they hate trying to treat people with BPD (Edit: Borderline personality disorder, not bi-polar) because it's damned near impossible and the options available are questionably effective at best.
"being aware of, and able to accurately diagnose the type of mental illness you're dealing with is not the same thing as actually working to fix it"
And
"That's bullshit. Honestly. That's bullshit. Just because you can articulately attempt to justify it doesn't mean it's justified"
Also
"Sometimes things just suck and you have to deal with that for a long time"
Your misery cannot possibly be the result a structurally oppressive society, look at how well I'm doing. Now go kick your mom in the vagina and suck dick for therapy fares, and come back next week.
If you’ve chosen to take in the weight of the world, no amount of therapy can solve your problems.
Schizophrenia isn't real and you are the way you are because of social anxiety.
NO! THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE MATTER! I DON'T CARE ABOUT SCANS OF THE NEOCORTEX! THESE
10077 CASES THAT WE CHERRY-PICKED FOR THEIR RESULTS ARE ALL THE EVIDENCE I NEED TO MAKE MY CASE!YOU'RE WORSE THEN THE TENURE COMMITEE!
I HOPE ALL YOUR PETS DIE AND YOU KILL YOURSELF!
It seems like you escape your inner conflicts by being industrious.
Not professional advice but instead of going, you could halt posting for a moment and focus on your breathing. It will assure you that you are safe, and you can let the conflicts become a bit more aware without feeling overwhelmed by the terror. Do this for some time and you create the space to transform your conflicts.
Headspace app, omega 3 supplements, amphetamine, CPAP machine
Mine explained my emotional dysregulation patterns and helped me identify the triggers and how to address them.
By far, the most useful technique they shared with me was the TIPP skills technique, which helps me come down when I am having strong emotional reactions as a trauma response or from anxiety. Essentially:
- temperature - use cold temp to lower heart rate, warm to raise it
- intense exercise - helps manage overwhelming energy levels
- paced breathing - I'm not big on breathing but it works for some
- paired muscle relaxation - my favourite as it also interrupts thought patterns
Hope you're able to access help though, obviously it is much better when personalized and you also get the safe space to release your fears and anxieties
I got a lot of professional advice and guidance in the moment to kick the door to mindfulness wide open. I wish I could share any one thing specific to help anyone replicate the experience. I honestly think this kind of Gnostic awakening has to be tailored to the individual. Also, I was told I was a quick study at this - so sadly, it may take a long time to get there (months to years even).
One exercise we did that helped a lot was to have a discussion with your younger self, and explore what you would say knowing what you know now. Like with a lot of this stuff, the key is to verbalize - it's fundamentally different than talking to yourself with your inner monologue. So you're gonna need a close friend that you can share a LOT of deeply traumatic experiences. Pulling punches and censoring your own speech is just going to get in the way. Fundamentally, this is what we pay counselors for: privacy, not judging, and helping to take out the trash. Group therapy may help here too - I have yet to try this, so YMMV.
On a more specific note, I used to be obsessed with root-cause-analysis for my own psychological problems. I almost got into an argument with my counselor over it, until he was able to help me see the light. You can absolutely figure out why and even how you got this way, but that information will absolutely not help you if you're already in a safe space. It can help you break free of someone or a bad situation, but stuff that happened 30 years ago? Not so much. When you get down to it, there's no "undo" button for trauma, no matter how much you know. Instead, one must look to the present, exercise mindfulness in the moment of anxiety and triggers, and practice walking your headspace back to a more rational place.
Edit: this was all during the pandemic, BTW. I can't say that compares to what we have going on today, but I can confidently say that it's possible to focus on self-help despite all that. It's really possible to separate "things that are going on in the world" and "things that are just me" in your own head, and work on the latter.
They always tell me "sorry, you're too complex, go somewhere else"
Check out some DBT / cbt techniques on YouTube or the like, whatever is easiest to access, find some that resonate with you and make them your own / tweak them so they fit your life / vibe.
I did a DBT course, and while I hated every minute of it, a lot of it is super great and hugely helpful for coping in hard moments and a great recipe for a way of living that's more calm and balanced. I feel like I hated the DBT course I did because the people presenting it had never even stumbled on a rock in their lives, let alone lived through a hard moment and needed any of this stuff for real, and their privilege read as saccharine condescension.
BUT! I'm never one to throw the baby out with the bath water, I believe you can turn anything to your advantage or upskill or just build knowledge, if you're industrious enough! You take those muthafking lemons and you make champagne, fk them. Plus they just mostly showed us clips on YouTube, so lol. The DBT course I did felt more like the break room from severance, having to admit how faulty you are and how this new enlightening thing they just told you seconds ago is going to benefit your life, as they announce each section. They didn't even give you time to process, let alone leave room for if that was something you already knew or already utilized, but, I powered through and just paid lip-service, got my upskill, moved on.
Easier path, just look up DBT on YouTube, find people explaining what you like, give it a go on a regular basis.
Whatever assumptions you have about the universe and other people are wrong. They all want to connect and love/be loved.
They told me about a Dark Plagus dude and some tragedy. I spaced out but I’m pretty sure the lesson was to always keep partying.
The last advice my therapist ever gave me will hang with me forever: "If you're not willing to open up to me you won't get much from these sessions."
Being kind to yourself is apparently pretty important.
My father once said don't stick your dick in crazy.
It's one of the more true and less offensive things he told me.
Your emotions and feelings are your brain and body’s way of communicating with you - listen to them. If you take some time to feel your feelings with a sympathetic lens, you can better understand what’s wrong. While fixing it will be a lot longer of a journey, simply allowing your self to listen will be a good first step.
They tried to figure out which one of my sensory issues is tied to which one of my traumata. I'm autistic.
I'll tell you my PERSONAL experience. I was on therapy and I learned to 1st Identify your triggers (what makes you feel sad? Is it the news? Is it specific news?! Like politics or violence? What ruins your day/week?). Once you know what makes you angry or sad you can actively avoid reading or looking for it. Block people that keep pushing it on you, remove communities that post about it, maybe even social media as a whole (Lemmy is the only social media I still have and it has been amazing for my menral.health). If you feel stable enough and in control you cam work towards changing it. You can be a volunteer or do some work for it.
Finally, since in my case this wasn't enough, I went to a psychiatrist and now take an amazing medication. 1 pill a day changed my life radically. I recomend
Maybe a change of scenery will do you some good.
Go live your life. Make some mistakes worth talking about then come back.
Still working on it. Turns out all the stuff I was so scared to do with my life wasn't so dangerous after all.
sleep just take a nap an do things when you wake up an listen to music
I can't heal you. You have to learn how to manage your situation. That I would be glad to help you with.
I know she said it differently but that's how I remember it. I've never been so terrified in my life but she helped me (so far) to get really excited for change.
Life doesn't happen on your schedule.
"We're raising our hourly rates"
(...) just take your meds
"never challenge worse"
think about all of the shit that makes life suck. think about the things that make you miserable. now imagine ✨pouring your love✨ on those things like a great big waterfall.
...what do you mean that didn't help? you aren't cured now?? welp, that's all we have time for. see you again in two weeks.
"I think you should come here twice a week to work that out"
I'm not sure how that helps you though.
