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Put A Band-Aid On It? Why?

A very odd name for a very special reason.

We all have had that day as an Elementary School Student. The recess adrenaline is too much. You fall on the pavement, and scratch your knees and hands. There very well could be rocks, wood chips, or other items lodged in your skin, but your lovely school nurse cleans it with some water, puts some Band-Aids on your hands and knees, and tells you to go play.

This may be effective for a few days, until the debris begins to slowly infect your body. This could’ve been easily avoided if the proper steps were taken to prevent infection and disease. However, the lack of care and support from somebody who is supposed to be helping you caused your health to decrease even more.

Do you see what I’m getting at? Mental health has a dangerous stigma around it that causes people to be scared to speak up. Personally speaking, I know how hard it is to ask for help. It’s even harder getting degraded, shamed, and pushed away when you need help. I want people to truly understand mental health. You cannot “Put A Band-Aid On It” or essentially not put effort into your mental health.

I believe that everybody should be able to openly communicate about mental health, and for those who cannot get professional help or medication, I want to give them resources and tips from somebody who has gone through the same thing. Throughout my almost 5 years of outpatient therapy, I’ve been through a lot of different mechanisms and coping skills that could work for lots of people.

I want to educate, not cure. I hope that this blog becomes a stable place for those who are struggling with mental health and looking for resources.

Support

Support is hard to find. The world is very cruel and hard to navigate sometimes. However, finding people who will support you no matter what is ESSENTIAL to maintaining good mental stability.

I suggest using a few different methods to find people to talk to. Sharing private information, such as your own mental health issues, is very scary, and you need to be able to trust the person you are talking with. Hopefully my tips can help you sort out who to talk to, and you will be able to navigate and maintain your mental health a little bit better.

TIP #1:
Has this person supported everything you’ve done?
If this person has not supported you in everything, this is a major red flag. Friends and family should support you always, and never make you feel bad about telling them things about your life. You want to make sure that this person has had your back no matter what.

TIP #2:
Make sure you respect their opinions.
They may say things you don’t necessarily agree with in regards to mental health, but you have to have an open mind, and you will be able to openly communicate with people. Make sure they are respectful to you too, though, and don’t let yourself be disrespected when trying to open up.

FINAL TIP:
Always fall back on family.
It’s scary to open up to your family, but if it’s safe for you to do so, go to your parents. They likely have been through similar things, and they will always be there for you. You have to remember your family wants the best for you, so even if you can talk to a sibling, do so.

It’s hard to ask for help, so making sure you’re telling the right people is crucial. Make sure to be clear with what you are saying, and discuss your feelings! Don’t be afraid of your emotions, EXPRESS THEM!

Emotions and mental health are completely normal, and you should never feel embarrassed to share them. Support and help from others are vital, and trust is very important. Live life to the fullest, and don’t let yourself fall into your mental illness. Rise above, and keep conquering the world. You got this.

My experience with Mental Health

Mental health has been an important factor in my life since I was very young. However, I don’t really want to bore you with my whole life story, so I’ll try to keep it short.

My first experience with mental health was one I was unaware of until two years after it happened. I was ten years old, only in fifth grade, when my sister was a freshman in high school. She got involved with the wrong people, and then she made some bad decisions. I wasn’t aware that any of this was happening at the time. However, one day I woke up, and she was gone. It was like this for a week or two, and then she showed back up. She said she went somewhere for help and showed me a fun unbreakable pen that she had gotten.

I later learned that my sister had gone to a mental hospital. I was not aware of this at all at the time that it was happening. My parents obviously knew I wouldn’t understand at such a young age. When I got into 7th grade, I came upstairs one day to my mom pleading with my sister. She wanted my sister to eat something. I didn’t understand. I brushed my teeth, and I went to school. When I got home, my dad took me out to dinner. He explained to me that my sister had an eating disorder, and she needed to go to an inpatient facility in Minnesota. I was devastated, and put a lot of blame on myself.

This is the crucial point where my mental health started to go downhill. I started to isolate myself, and with my parents being preoccupied with my sister, they didn’t really pay much attention at all to it. I became severely depressed, and I began hurting myself. Eventually, I didn’t want to live like that anymore. After a month and a half, I told my parents. They brought me to a therapist who I didn’t like, and I lied my way through the sessions.

The helpful part of those sessions was when I got diagnosed. I got diagnosed with depression, anxiety, mild-severe obsessive compulsive disorder, and self mutilation risk. I was upset about my diagnosis for a long time. I didn’t want to believe that anything was wrong with me, and I still had lots of thoughts about doing bad things to myself.

Eventually, I decided to see the therapist I see now. She’s very wonderful, and I enjoy working through my issues with her. I’ve struggled through a lot, but I’m proud to say that I came out bigger and stronger from the situations I’ve encountered. I would never eliminate any of those experiences from my life because they made me a better person.

My point of this is IT DOES GET BETTER. I was in the headspace too of feeling like it’s never going to be over, but time does heal. I used to hate living so much, and now I wake up in the morning, have my coffee, and I am grateful as heck for being where I am today.

I did it, and so can you. Stay strong warrior; You got this.

Healthy v.s. Unhealthy Coping Methods

Mental illness is very scary. And you’ve probably heard this a million times. I was never really scared of my mental illness until I started thinking about lots of crazy things.

The mind is capable of amazing things, but also is capable of some really scary things too. This is important to remember when you are going through things like depression and anxiety so you can be rational and logical about the decisions you make.

Coping methods are probably something that you’ve heard a lot if you’re diagnosed with a mental illness such as depression, anxiety, OCD, etc. Coping methods are ways to cope with your mental illness, but not all ways are exactly “healthy.”

The important difference between unhealthy and healthy coping methods is what you are doing to yourself to cope. For example, if you are hurting your body in any way, shape, or form to cope with your depression, that’s an unhealthy coping method. Coping methods are put in place to help you without hurting you even more. Drinking, smoking, self harm, popping pills, and oversleeping are some of the most common unhealthy coping methods.

There are healthy coping methods. They may not be as easy to follow through with, but they will help you more in the long run. Instead of picking up a cigarette or joint to feel better, try taking a walk or going on a run instead. Doing this can help clear your mind, and if it’s sunny out, the vitamin D can actually boost your mood as well. Find hobbies that you enjoy doing, and do these things when you feel like your mental illness is getting to you.

Remember, not all coping methods work for everybody. You have to try many different ones usually before you find the right one for you. However, once you do find your coping methods, it will help calm your mind, and can help you get out of your funk. Try not to get frustrated, and always keep going. Keep your eye on the prize!

Emotions v.s. Mental Illness

There are many different emotions that humans experience in their day to day lives that could easily be confused with mental illness. It’s important that you know the difference between emotions and mental illness. The line between these two is very thin, and it’s always important to be aware of our emotions and how they are affecting us.

Many people easily confuse certain emotions with mental illness. The crucial difference between emotions and mental illness is the way they are affecting our lives. Emotions are always going to be apart of our lives, but the way that they affect us can actually be mental illness.

For example, let’s say your grandpa dies. You naturally are going to be sad, want to cry, be angry, etc. Just because you feel these emotions for a week does not mean you are depressed. However, let’s say you got a bad test score back. Naturally, you will be upset, mad, and maybe just a little bit sad too. However, let’s say when you get this bad test score it makes you feel like you are worthless. Then, you start thinking about everything you’re bad at. Then you begin to fall into a pit that feels impossible to get out of. This would not be considered a “normal” reaction to a bad test score, deeming this a possible mental illness such as depression or anxiety.

Some other key differences is how they affect your day to day life. If you are sad once a week, it may not affect your life that much. However, if you are sad six out of seven days in a week, that may start to take a toll on your day to day life. If this is occurring, this could be possible signs of mental illness.

The important thing is that you know the difference, and want to seek help when you think it’s necessary. Being happy and loving yourself is key to good mental health, and when you start to feel horrible about everything, it’s really hard to maintain mental stability.

Always seek out help when necessary, and work towards a better you!