Simple Tricks for Managing Impulse Control
Impulse control can feel like an overwhelming challenge to tackle. When we step back, we see there are some simple steps we can take to manage it.
When Best Practices Fail You
Too often, we take these best practices as gospel-truth and get frustrated when we don’t see the results we expected. So what goes wrong?
Gain Comfort and Safety with a Cope Ahead Plan
The point of the Cope Ahead Plan is to remove us from the position of victim and put us into a place of strength. We empower ourselves to take safe action.
I Have a Routine and It Sets Me Free
I savored my routine-free, spontaneous life, not realizing how much it was costing my mental health. Embracing routines has been my key to freedom.
Micro-Steps Are Critical to Success
One thing I’ve learned is that your baby step may be my long jump. Sometimes, even baby steps are too big. That’s why I advocate for micro-steps.
I’m Not Setting Any Goals This Year
This is the time of year that every personal development writer starts using a dirty word: Goal. This year, I’m rebelling. I’m not setting any goals.
A Mental Illness Diagnosis Means a Better Life Is Possible
It’s exciting to witness that moment when someone realizes that their diagnosis means that a better life is possible for them.
Asking for Help Is an Important Skill
There are several excuses we give ourselves to explain why we don’t ask for the help we need. None of them are accurate, though we believe they are.
Crisis Survival: How to Control the Uncontrollable
Emotional crises can happen anywhere and under even seemingly simple situations. Learning to manage a crisis scenario is critical.
When a Cycle Causes a Mood Change
Many of our mood changes are cyclical. By tracking our moods, we can learn the identifying factors of a cycle change and take steps to manage them.
Cycles and Triggers: An Overview
We can learn to manage our cycles and triggers and influence their impact upon our mental health. Doing so helps us get to a place of peace.
Giving Means Letting People In
One piece of standard advice from mental health professionals to those on the road to recovery is to start giving. Sure, I’ve had a few moments when I’ve been glad I volunteered, but I’ve also felt resentful of the imposition on my time. Resentment and a giving heart do not go hand-in-hand. This time was different.
How I Changed My Relationship with Alcohol
I’m not an alcoholic. I’ve never attended meetings, no DUIs, nothing matches what you might expect. Yet, my relationship with alcohol was a problem.
The Grieving Process: The True Stages
When we suffer a loss, we go through a grieving process. You may be surprised to learn the true stages of grief and how we experience them.
Grieving the Little Deaths in Our Lives
We often define grief as big, profound losses. What we miss in this simplistic definition are all the “little deaths” we experience in our lives.
Mindfulness As a Tool to Overcome Emotional Numbness
When we are numb to our emotions, we lose control of our environment and feel disconnected from those around us. Getting back in touch with our emotions helps us accelerate our return to mental health. Mindfulness is the key to uncovering and rediscovering our emotions.
Meditation As Part of a Self-Care Plan
Meditation. It’s one of those words that brings up instant reactions for most people. For many, it brings with it a sense of spacey-sounding music and chanting. For others, there is an association with religion — particularly Taoist and “Eastern” philosophies. In reality, meditation is simply the practice of being still.
Coping Strategies: What Are They?
We hear a lot about coping strategies, and it’s not always clear what the term means. Eating better? Exercise? How are “coping strategies” different from “daily self-care?” Do we use them differently? All good questions. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Positive Coping Strategies: A Better Way of Living
Positive coping strategies help us handle the bumps and bruises life sends us. For some of us, using positive strategies doesn’t come naturally. Maybe we’ve tried before, with mixed results. We may even be afraid to change the way we respond to situations, because it could have impacts that we are not prepared to handle.
Negative Coping Skills & Shame
It’s almost a given that those of us living with mental illness have and use negative coping skills. Often, we know exactly what they are, too. I’ve sat in more than one group reading off a list of negative skills and with quiet nods of agreement all around me. Where they enthusiastically check off items on a list of positive skills we can try, the negative list is often left blank.
The color of shame.
The reality is negative coping skills exist for a reason. Somewhere we’ve learned them, for some reason we’ve developed them, in some way they benefit us. Understanding what these skills are, how we likely developed them, and what they do for us is important work if we want to learn how to live a better way. A healthier way. A less destructive way.
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