ohsofrannie-blog

[ohsofrannie-blog]

Hey guys! So I’m working on getting back into my blogging routine and I’m trying something new. Instead of one long weekly post, I’m going to focus more on shorter, more personal posts. It feels more natural for me to convey my thoughts in short spurts rather than one long post. 🔵 I’m blogging on WordPress now, so check it out!

[ohsofrannie-blog]

This 15-20 minute survey is designed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors associated with mental health. he survey results will be used to inform and guide The NAN Project's work with young people and enhance efforts to increase knowledge about mental illness and understanding about available interventions. Please help us advance our efforts to strengthen the conversation about mental illness and suicide by answering the following questions openly and honestly. This survey is completely anonymous!

[ohsofrannie-blog]

[ohsofrannie-blog]

Growing and Expanding

Hey guys! I’ve expanded my platform to word press, as well. So head over to the page and like, share,and reblog my previous posts! New one coming soon!

https://somewhereundertherainbow540792382.wordpress.com/

[ohsofrannie-blog]

Love Black Women

[ohsofrannie-blog]

self-care instruction manual

forgive yourself : it’s okay if you didn’t wake up early, go for a run, or finish that assignment. you’re only human

start slow : don’t set your expectations too high when you’re just starting off

keep learning : getting to where you want to be is a process. don’t expect perfection overnight

be kind to yourself : you’ll make mistakes along the way, but don’t let that stop you

[ohsofrannie-blog]

Listen up, hearing people.

Can parents out there teach their hearing children not to mock or make fun of deaf voices/accents? It can affect deaf kids for life and discourage those who would like to be oral from working on language skills.

Personally, I have never really been oral (I’ve found the majority of profoundly deaf people aren’t)

Reactions to my laugh and the small things I tried to vocalize as a kid have definitely stuck with me and influenced the way I choose to communicate. It took me years to build up the confidence to even introduce myself to others using my voice (and that is not unusual for deaf young people that were mocked or shushed as children for sounding different.)

Basically, don’t be an asshole and remember to respect the autonomy of deaf kids. Encourage them to talk if they’d like or respect their decision not to.

(This isn’t exclusive to children, either! Adults, take note)

—I encourage hearing people to reblog—

[ohsofrannie-blog]

[ohsofrannie-blog]

"Be not ashamed women, …You are the gates of the body, and you are the gates of the soul." -Walt Whitman

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[ohsofrannie-blog]

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"Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." -Hans Christian Andersen

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[ohsofrannie-blog]

Set Yourself Free

One thing that can be said to be true about life is the fact that dark days are inevitable. No matter how positive your outlook, rain will still come. What matters in how you handle those hard times. Navigating life is a complex journey, let along throwing a mental illness into the mix. Recently, I have dealt with my own darks days due to a personal situation. My natural instinct and what seems to be the easiest way of dealing with things is to push everything to the furthest corners of my mind and power on. However, the rational side of me realizes that is probably the worst way of dealing with my emotions. And as I am sure most with OCD know, it tends to be difficult to not overanalyze a situation no matter how hard you attempt not to.

Recognizing and honoring the feelings that I am experiencing does not give me the option of packing it all away. Burying them away does not help me move past the emotions, but allows them to brew for a much more explosive outcome. So, if I need to cry, I am going to cry. If I need to scream, I am going to scream. It is important to express myself freely, while not allowing my emotions to completely overtake me.

Also, I find a companion to share what I am going through. My circle is small, but I know I can count on those handful of people to have an open ear, inviting arms, and truthful mouths. It is not only important that you trust who you confide in, but they also do not just tell you what you want to hear. Those that I choose to share details of my personal life with care enough to tell me when they think I am wrong. We all need that kind of honesty in our lives.

In short, dark times are unavoidable for even the happiest of people. The things I mentioned that work for me may not have the same results for you, and that’s okay. There is only harm in not trying. That is all for now! So long, farewell, until we meet again!

-Frannie

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Persistence and Consistency Wins the Race

I would like to start this post off by being a little selfish. It may not seem huge to many, but I have been making positive steps in my battle with Trichotillomania. If you are new to reading my posts, TTM is a behavioral disorder that is characterized by the pulling of one’s hair. If you want to read more about what TTM is and my experience with it, check out my post Breaking the Habit. To give a brief summary, I have struggled with picking the hair from my scalp, eyebrows, and eyelids for over a decade now. In later years, the interest in the hair on my scalp seemed to nearly disappear as the focus on my eyebrows and eyelids amped up. Even now, in the last 2 to 5 years, the focus has become more centered on my eyelashes. When I would over pick my eyebrows, I always had the option to fill them in and try to save myself some embarrassment. When it comes to over-picking my lashes, I do not have the same cover up options. Even now, it is something that I am extremely self-conscious about. But my good news is, that I have made some major strides with my picking and I want to share how!

The main reason my picking is so hard to stop is because a good bit of it tends to be done subconsciously. When I am stressed or going through an anxious time period, it seems like my eyelids contain some kind of magnet that my fingers cannot resist! I tend to pair it with other mindless activities, like scrolling through my newsfeed. The times when I am subconsciously picking are my hardest to deal with. What I am doing to try and combat that is to allow myself to do an activity that gives my idle hand(s) something to occupy them.  As I mentioned in my previous post on TTM, my fidget spinner and Chinese stress balls have been two of my biggest tools in fighting urges. Something else I have started to incorporate more is the use of my adult coloring book. That’s right people. If you have not already heard, there are hundreds of stress-relieving adult coloring books out there. Those anxious feelings that lead to picking can sometimes be subdued with the simplest of tasks.

I have also started to make it harder for myself to get a grip on my eyelashes. I try to fix my nails in a manner that makes it hard for me to grip any hair. Fake nails tend to be the best method, but if you prefer your real nails, I have found that gel polish helps me. Gel polish tends to be thicker (and lasts longer) than regular polish. I try to form a seal on the edge of my nails so it will be blunt. Not being able to grab the hair discourages the picking as a mindless habit. I think that is one of the best ways to break a ritual like this. We tend to be creatures of habit and have a hard time breaking that. Take away the means of enforcing the ritual and watch the routine begin to crack.

I do not have any hidden secrets or magical solutions to controlling my picking impulses. I just have acceptance of my illness, the willingness to change it, and consistency to keep at it. There are not many things that can transform over night when it comes to behavioral and mental issues. It takes awareness, education, and motivation, just to name a few. If you are a TTM sufferer reading this post, whether you deal with it on a more or less severe level, know that it can be controlled. Just 7 or 8 months ago, I was looking in the mirror, disappointed with myself for stripping my beautiful eyelashes away. 3 days ago, I put on mascara for the first time in nearly a year. Hope is always alive. That’s all for now. So long, farewell, until we meet again.

-Frannie