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Mostrando entradas de febrero, 2018

Running

One of the hardest things to accept when you are diagnosed with a mental illness (especially at a young age) is accepting the changes you must make to your lifestyle. Yes, being mentally ill pushes us to change to a healthier lifestyle; there's no point in fighting it. These lifestyle posts will talk about these changes, sometimes with baby but very brave steps.  Exercise Running A couple of years ago I found a magical book that changed my life. "The psychic power of running" by Valerie Andrews. I'll just leave a little of Valerie Andrews' wisdom:  The basic synchronicity of the body and the mind : She wrote that about the relationship between emotions and body feelings. Backed by Wilhelm Reich who argues that undischarged emotions are kept hidden in sections of the body, blocking energy flows, which make mental health possible and early emotional insecurities trigger body responses; also called psychosomatic diseases. They're not alone, Austin

Exercise

One of the hardest things to accept when you are diagnosed with a mental illness (especially at a young age) is accepting the changes you must make to your lifestyle. Yes, being mentally ill pushes us to change to a healthier lifestyle; there's no point in fighting it. These lifestyle posts will talk about these changes, sometimes with baby but very brave steps.  Exercise Oh, yes, the many many benefits of working out; the XXI-century-media-obsession with being skinny and fit. Exercise is wonderful: Improved sleep Increased sex drive Stress relief Increased energy and stamina Weight reduction Increase mental alertness Improved cardiovascular fitness Improved physical endurance Resilience Reduced cholesterol (Sharma, 2006) But, there's a whole list of excuses I found online as to why people don't work out: The naggy ones: "I hate sweating","I hate sore muscles", "I hate being out of breath", "I hate people in the gym&

How do you get where you want to go?

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DISCLAIMER: THIS GUIDE IS EXTREMELY THOROUGH AND WILL BRING UP FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, AND EVEN PHYSICAL SENSATIONS. TAKE TIME TO COMPLETE IT AND SEEK A THERAPIST IF YOU CONSIDER IT NECESSARY. MAKE A SPACE TO MEDITATE YOUR ANSWERS AND A SPACE TO REST AFTER.  Self-awareness in this day and age is vital. It is the essence of your individuality. It is what makes you competitive in work or school, it's what makes you who you are. Adolescence is an important stage because it's when kids start to question their parents, their ways of thinking and start forming their own selves. However, some people never find themselves or lose themselves seeking external validation, social approval or because of other triggers like fear or guilt. This is the fourth part of the self-awareness questionnaires, to review the previous ones click on 1 , 2 , 3 . These questionnaires are designed to help you increase your self-awareness and your quality of life. We have defined who you are and where you wa

Where do you want to go?

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DISCLAIMER: THIS GUIDE IS EXTREMELY THOROUGH AND WILL BRING UP FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, AND EVEN PHYSICAL SENSATIONS. TAKE TIME TO COMPLETE IT AND SEEK A THERAPIST IF YOU CONSIDER IT NECESSARY. IT DOES NOT REPLACE ANY KIND OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AID. MAKE A SPACE TO MEDITATE YOUR ANSWERS AND A SPACE TO REST AFTER.  Self-awareness in this day and age is vital. It is the essence of your individuality. This is important because it is what makes you competitive in work or school, it's what makes you who you are. Adolescence is an important stage because it's when kids start to question their parents, their ways of thinking and start forming their own selves. However, some people never find themselves or lose themselves seeking external validation, social approval or because of other triggers like fear or guilt. “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 'I don't much care where

Who are you?

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DISCLAIMER: THIS GUIDE IS EXTREMELY THOROUGH AND WILL BRING UP FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, AND EVEN PHYSICAL SENSATIONS. TAKE TIME TO COMPLETE IT AND SEEK A THERAPIST IF YOU CONSIDER IT NECESSARY. IT DOES NOT REPLACE ANY KIND OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AID. MAKE A SPACE TO MEDITATE YOUR ANSWERS AND A SPACE TO REST AFTER. Self-awareness in this day and age is vital. It is the essence of your individuality. This is important because it is what makes you competitive in work or school, it's what makes you who you are. Adolescence is an important stage because it's when kids start to question their parents, their ways of thinking and start forming their own selves. However, some people never find themselves or lose themselves seeking external validation, social approval or because of other triggers like fear or guilt. This is the second part of the self-awareness questionnaire, where we'll talk about who you are today. You might find incongruencies in what you thought about you and what you

Where do you come from?

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DISCLAIMER: THIS GUIDE IS EXTREMELY THOROUGH AND WILL BRING UP FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, AND EVEN PHYSICAL SENSATIONS. TAKE TIME TO COMPLETE IT AND SEEK A THERAPIST IF YOU CONSIDER IT NECESSARY.  IT DOES NOT REPLACE ANY KIND OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AID. MAKE A SPACE TO MEDITATE YOUR ANSWERS AND A SPACE TO REST AFTER.  Self-awareness in this day and age is vital. It is the essence of your individuality. It is what makes you competitive in work or school, it's what makes you who you are. Adolescence is an important stage because it's when kids start to question their parents, their ways of thinking and start forming their own selves. However, some people never find themselves or lose themselves seeking external validation, social approval or because of other triggers like fear or guilt. I didn't realize how little self-awareness I had until one day, in rehab, during an exercise, the description of me from others was completely different to my own. This meant that I was presenting myse

The journey: How to tell that you're NOT enjoying the ride?

BEFORE READING THIS POST GO WATCH  "THE GOOD PLACE" ON NETFLIX. Easy clues that you hate your life: 1. You have a toxic relationship (or more than one). 2. You hate your work. 3. You're bored. 4. You complain all the time. (Linked article that I liked while researching content: https://www.joe.ie/life-style/signs-that-you-hate-your-job-so-much-that-you-need-a-get-out-now-538865) Yeah, yeah, we know. And there are a bunch of articles and stuff about that so I won't get into it. I don't want to talk about hating your life. It's shit, it's hard, but it's not so hard to notice. I want to talk about NOT loving it. Watching "The good place", the point is how torture works. They shaped horrible things to particularly turn heaven into hell for one person but managing to make it seem like heaven and I thought "Do I have things like that? Do I live life thinking this is a good life while I'm actually suffering?&quo

Let's talk about addiction: Personality check

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Addiction is a mental illness.  It has all the characteristics of a mental illness along with being a tabu and stigmatised subject, and therefore a hidden conversation between families and friends. These posts regarding addiction urge to raise awareness and understanding of the process of AA, common behaviors and personality traits of addicts.  STEP TWO "The main characteristic of a "typical addict" is the self-centered and narcissistic feeling of omnipotence, forever searching to maintain that inner integrity." The causes change depending on the person, but somehow, most addicts share this bloated sense of self that is merely a repeated lie. We can't accept (sometimes even grasp the understanding of) not being in control. On the last post about addiction, I talked about the second step following and explaining (my interpretation) of the AA literature; so now I'll explain a bit of how this personality defect actually manifests because that 's

Let's talk about addiction: Step two

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Addiction is a mental illness.  It has all the characteristics of a mental illness along with being a tabu subject, and therefore a hidden conversation between families and friends. These posts regarding addiction urge to raise awareness and understanding of the process of AA, common behaviors and personality traits of addicts.  STE P TWO "We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore our sanity." As I said in the first step, AA literature has been misconstructed and misunderstood by those who enter with closed minds and hearts. That is the point of the very first step. To admit that you have failed, that you do not know everything and that not everything is under your control. Not even your life. And then, opening your mind, your perspective with humble eyes. Not to be fooled into anything but to listen and understand what accommodates you. Ok so, on the first step: You must admit complete defeat and surrender. Compared to admitting bankrup

My relationship with shame

We've all heard that depression isn't about "just feeling sad" or "just tired". Then what is it really about? I've decided the best way for me to raise awareness has to be opening up on how these episodes affect me and my everyday life in these posts called: My depression today. I was first told I had depression in high school. No surprise, I was a sixteen-year-old kid who went at least once a week in PJs because I couldn't deal with choosing an outfit. Basically, I survived Monday through Thursday barely, and on Friday I would make an effort to go out to a party and self-medicate with alcohol and sex. Fun times... Not. My mom and I struggled as I gathered myself to go to therapy. It wasn't easy. Peer pressure assured me there was nothing wrong. My heart knew otherwise and my mom as well. My drinking habits escalated. Until one day, begging and crying, my mom asked me to go to see a therapist. I did. We talked. We were all relieved. For a