Espejo

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...

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 ...

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?...

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 ...

"Love is a bridge, not a wall." Capheus Onyango - Sense 8 My mom is an amazing boss. She has grown professionally so much, especially considering the "disadvantages" she had to struggle with. She now has become the ultimate millennial boss: she validates her employees' efforts, home-office is always an option, creativity is welcome and encouraged and freedom is a constant. She is one yoga and meditation space short of being every new-age-vegan-creative-alternative-living-young person's dream. However, the other day someone asked her about working with millennials to what she answered "Omg, they're the worst, so emotional and want a participation medal every time. Entitled and whiny". Of course, as her millennial daughter, I was offended af. So I tried to figure out what's up with "us", and why we are like this: lazy, mopy, mess. And I found out, what must of us already know: we are a pretty cool generation immersed in a profu...

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.  STEP ONE I got into rehab at 18 and to my surprise, I wasn't the youngest there. Age and addiction was a repeated pattern made in many conversations. Older addicts, even therapists believed that young addicts weren't going to rehabilitate as easy as a grown up, coming for the first time. It was either "they just haven't hit rock bottom, they haven't lost enough" or "they still have a lot of partying to do". At the moment this seemed bizarre, I had no actual way to relate. To me, yes, I had partied enough and I had lost plenty. But, I hadn't felt many of the things these people were saying. Sure, I've felt pa...

Last week I lost it. I've been calling out all the people who wronged me both internally and externally, as a way of liberating myself from some rotten resentment and anger, including my parents. My mom said those repeated and misunderstood words: "You're an adult, at some point, you have to stop blaming your parents." I have so many issues with this, I don't even know where to begin. ... Yes, I do: First of all, culturally, we tend to overestimate willpower.  Let's say I want to start a workout routine and just fill my head with cheap motivation from youtube, and don't really inform myself in how to personalize it: how to exercise for my body type, how to eat properly, sleep and gradually adapt those changes into my lifestyle. We tend to think willpower is simple. You just need to stay focused, you need to not be a quitter. You just need to be strong, dedicated, get your head in the game, focus on the finish line. Sometimes our minds, their ro...

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.  STEP ONE "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol (or whatever poison you chose)- that our lives had become unmanageable" As any bibble, in any religion,  AA literature has been misconstructed into just uttering the words "hey, I'm an addict", as if just nodding to the problem was enough. For now let's stay in the first step which, surprise, my friends: this is way deeper, that's why it's the hardest one. You must admit complete defeat and surrender. Compared to admitting bankruptcy, you have to look in the mirror and say "I don't have more power, more will. I've lost all self-sufficiency and stre...

Sometimes I can't sleep and I write unfiltered unedited stuff that pop in my mind; I call these creativity and energy peaks: midnight rants. Ode to my codependent lover When I first saw you I didn't pay much attention, you were just another boy in a crowded high school, with whom I didn't have many conversations. When you first saw me, your heart raced, your jaw dropped, and your palms got sweaty. You didn't know what to say, you froze. Time went by and nothing happened. I didn't notice you, you didn't do much. How could you, when you got choked up just by being near me? How could you if your heart had already suffered enough with normal humans, what would happen with an idealized person? Years after, a simple invitation changed everything: a birthday party. Your birthday party. I went because I had nothing better to do. Now it was you who didn't notice me. Next days we talked, with innocent mockery and simple fun. Nights without sleep, clinging to ...

Have you given a hard and honest look at those things that surround you? Do you like them? Or more importantly, did you choose them?  It's never too late to analyze where we are standing in order to redefine our course. Amazingly I found a wonderful life coach that actually shares content that goes deeper than "trust your inner you" and "listen to the universe". Here´s the eighth dive into  Kathy Caprino 's  9 crucial life lessons to learn before midlife . 9. LET GO OF PAIN, ANGER, AND RESENTMENT "Life is full of incredibly hard bumps that can leave us broken and bloodied. But life can also be so very stunningly beautiful, shining and radiant that you’re brought to your knees with amazing gratitude and humility at the sheer beauty and wonder of it." I think this is a dangerous statement because of the western obsession with happiness. We tend to see "negative" feelings as something wrong, something that needs to be fixed. W...