#mental health advice

[greenstudies]

Random pieces of advice

The world is less scary and chaotic if you lie down on the floor

Noticing different kinds of light (stars, candles, sunshine or city lights) can bring back the feeling of wonder and hope

If you can't shower, washing your hands and face will help you feel better and cleaner

If you can't clean anything else, changing and/or washing your bedsheets can do wonders

Fresh air and being outside in general can help with depersonalisation

Spending time around animals can help you recognise what's important and calm anxious thought cycles

Techniques for emotional regulation in children can really help adults too

Putting random asortment of food on a plate without creating an actual dish still counts as a meal

Drink something warm

Delete that app

Treat yourself as if you were a kid. Buy yourself a toy, play around, learn about cool new things

Fast paced life isn't morally better and it's not good for everyone

There is no good reason to keep yourself hungry

Singing to your full lung capacity can be a great way to let out built up emotion

Tension in the face can cause headaches. Try to massage your face regularly

Nothing is as important as your health

You are a whole person on your own, you don't need someone else to be there to deserve love and attention. Your life can be full as long as you are present

You should cry things out whenever you feel like it

Slow walks are still movement and they do count

It's never as bad as you imagine it

Try changing your toothpaste flavor if you hate brushing your teeth

Anything can be a stim toy - one of my favourites is a heavy dragon necklace that has a complicated surfice. It's fun to touch and hold and it's not even "actual" stim toy

Procrastinating and feeling bad about it is true waste of time. Learn to truly rest. It takes the same amount of time but it is useful

Sometimes you have to force yourself to do the things that make you feel better

Don't trust the thoughts you have after not sleeping for a while

Friendships don't have to be forever to mean something

[jayvespertine]

don't think your dream college is gonna magically fix everything or make you feel whole. honestly, it could mess you up even more and make you hate yourself. chasing after that one college you're obsessed with might end up causing serious stress and depression. i'm not trying to freak you out, but your happiness shouldn't depend on a place that might not give a damn about you. sure, some colleges are normal, but i've never seen a creative soul or someone trying to heal/find themselves genuinely happy with their college life. don't hype this up too much. you're capable of way more than just nailing that college admission.

[diaryofanenchantedprincess]

Daily reminder 🤍

You are worthy of receiving love. Just like that. For who you are right now at this very moment. You have been worth being loved every step, every minute of your life and you always will be. Let that sink in.

It is safe to give love. You will not run out of it for giving it out. On the contrary, your capacity to hold love in your heart grows as you give love. You won’t run out. I promise.

It is the most natural thing to give, receive and want love. Please don’t deprive yourself of that beautiful gift.

[aurivelles]

WONYOUNGISM ep 1 ｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+ | motivational acc

EPISODE 1 : Mental health

🪽 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 🪽

— Hello and welcome to my wonyoungism episode 1, today I will be teaching you how to finally enter your wonyoungism era!

— The wonyoungism aesthetic that's been going viral around tiktok, tumblr and basically everywhere, is not just about glowing up physically but also mentally!

— "How do I improve my mindset?" "How do I become more confident?" Well you've come to the right place my love!

— Coming from someone who just got into their wonyoungism era!

1. Be kind to everyone! If you wanna start with confidence and mental health, I recommend being mindful of your surroundings and be considerate of others feelings. I recommend this a lot because people will start looking up to you and your kindness personality that's likely borrowed from an angel. ♡

2. Set boundaries! Yes, be nice to everyone but being nice to everyone doesn't mean you have to let other people treat you like nothing! If someone disrespects you, I recommend cutting them off because those people will never help you get anywhere but only bring you down to their level. ♡

3. Stay organized! Having an organized bedroom, backpack, closet and basically anywhere you roam around is such a nice feeling! Clean environment = Happy environment! Deep clean your room and throw out everything you don't need or don't use anymore and start fresh! ♡

4. Make a journal, write anything you want in it such as your planned occasions, routines, make it your daily diary and basically anything you want! ♡

5. Have an organized sleeping schedule and don't always stay up so late! It can be both physically and mentally tiring for you and stress is not for girls like you! You deserve some proper rest. ♡

6. Don't stress yourself, over academics, selfcare, confidence, or anything! Remember, we have to take baby steps before we get to the big ones. ♡

7. Listen to some calming music and try to detach yourself from social media to get a relief and a sign of relaxation and freedom from social media attachment!

8. Read books, draw, do anything productive that can help you become happy! Don't spend your day laying on your bed, I promise that won't get you nowhere. ♡

— That's all (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ I hope you enjoyed reading this xoxo, follow and come back for more future tips!! ♡

[bismutharts]

a zine about how to rest

as usual with my zines with advice, i hope it helps some people, i know it won't help everyone

this is part of my project to make a zine a day in april

also i'll probably put this zine (possibly a version 2 of it) and other printable zines up on gumroad for pay-what-you-want at some point, tell me if you want to be tagged when that happens

[sunrisethoughts02]

All of the things you need are already within you. Even if it feels like you lack knowledge for a situation or circumstance, you contain all the necessary building blocks. You are not lacking; you are full of potential.

[neuroticboyfriend]

psych survival tips for ppl in the US, not sure if it varies by hospital. but if an ER doc is adamant you go to the ward, going voluntarily puts you on a 3 day hold - i.e, you can discharge yourself after 3 days.

meanwhile, if you're an involuntary admit, you're stuck for at least 2 weeks. after that, they might give you an application for voluntary status - you cannot leave unless you're on voluntary.

but please note, i said "application." you can ask to apply for voluntary before those 2 weeks. you do NOT have to wait for them to give it to you. my application form also said if they want to put me back on involuntary, they have 3 days to appeal.

each unit also has a lawyer assigned to it. you can contact them for other things too (like malpractice), but if you apply for voluntary status or get put back on involuntary, a lawyer can help. you can also contact Project LETS, an antipsych org that works with people surviving the system.

so TL;DR, if you know you're high risk of being sent involuntarily (ex: suicide attempt, complications from drug use, etc.)... you can play along with them and get out in 3 days. and even if you're an involuntary admit, there are still options!

[schizopositivity]

what to expect when being admitted to a psych ward (this is from my own personal experiences of being admitted to a mixed involuntary/voluntary facility and a valuntary facility, both for adults, both holding people of all genders):

•when being admitted they are going to ask you a lot of personal questions (mental health history, drug use, triggers, etc), sadly you will have to get used to talking to strangers during your stay

• when they tell you the name of the facility try to remember it, you might be asked where you are later to check your awareness

•they will take your picture for the records

•they will confiscate your phone (this is to ensure that you cant take pictures of other patients)

•they will confiscate all other belongings you have on you and keep them until you are discharged

•they will confiscate your clothes and shoes and have you change into scrubs and the famous grippy socks

•you might be strip searched to ensure you arent hiding anything and to take note of any distingushing birthmarks, scars, tattoos, etc (in my experience this was done by someone who alligned with my sex assigned at birth)

• you will probably have a physical medical exam or just talk to a dr about you medical history and what accomidations or meds you may need during your stay, you may be subjected to blood and/or urine tests

•the doors will be locked and you wont be able to walk out anytime (even in voluntary you have to go through the discharge process before leaving)

•if you use nicotine, depending on the place they will either provide you with nicotine patches/gum or allow you to have cigarette smoke breaks (you have to provide your own cigarettes or have visotors bring them to you and they dont allow vapes because they cant monitor what is in them)

•obviously no recreational drugs or alcohol is allowed

•the place itself will feel bland and clinical (think hospital but devoid of anything you could hurt yourself with)

•you will probably have your vitals checked everyday like compression arm cuff, heartbeat finger monitor and temperature taken

•you might have to wear a face mask at all times in the facility

•if you have a wristband from a hospital you can ask staff to cut it off for you

•you may or may not be roomed with other people (i was roomed with a female since i am afab nonbinary, idk how they room binary trans people)

•the bathrooms will either have a curtain or a door you cant lock (this is for your safety)

•depending on the place and your risk, you will be monitered by staff (in the mixed facility they had to physically see me every 15 minutes, just come into the room and check off a clipboard)

•there will be a front desk that is staffed at all times, feel free to approach and ask for things, ask questions or even ask if they want to play board games with you

•there will be a schedule for meal times and activities, it will be the same every day

•the food will be cafeteria food, think hospital or school cafeteria or possibly worse, they will already be aware of any medical dietary needs of yours but from what ive witnessed they do not do the same for religous or personal dietary needs (like a friend i made in the ward asked if the food was hallal, the staff didnt know but encouraged her to eat it anyway) they will also let you opt out of the prepared meal for something like a sandwich or snacks

•they will also have snack times in addision to the meals, but if at any point you are hungry, ask staff and you might get an extra snack or sandwich

•there might be coffee, it will probably be decaf, and the hours they serve it might be limited

•there might be patients who scream, cry, swear or have psychotic breaks

•there might be patients who are detoxing that might gag, puke or cough repeatedly

•there might be patients with visible self harm/suicide attempt wounds or scars

•there might be patients who are violent and/or sex offenders (the staff should keep you safe, but a patient hurting you is a possibility)

•if you have an outburst or hurt yourself or others, you might be physically handled by staff, given sedatives agaisnt your will, placed in solitary confinement or all three (this should only be done when nessasary to keep you or others safe, if the staff do this without reason or otherwise abuse you, you should report it to police when you have the chance)

•if you cry you will probably be left alone, staff might ask if you want to talk to them

•there will be cameras inside the facility but not in bathrooms, and depending on the place not in bedrooms either (this is for safety, so in the event of abuse there will be proof, i witnessed a patient to patient assault in the ward and the police used the footage to convict the perpatrator)

•there will be landline phones you can use, there may be limited phone hours, and they may limit your time on the phone, the phones are placed by the front desk so staff will be able to listen in on your conversations, they will let you write down phone numbers while you still have your phone during intake so that you can have the numbers later when making phonecalls (in my experience the time limit depends on the staff thats around so some will let you talk as long as you like)

•the phones you use will not allow you to call 911, if you are having a medical emergency you should inform the staff if possible (they will treat you or take you to a hospital if nessasary), if you need to report a crime you should ask the staff to call the police or otherwise file the police report after discharge

•there will be communial TVs with limited hours, you will need to ask the staff to operate the remote (one ward only had cable and the other one only had DVDs and us patients took turns choosing the movie)

•there will be daily group therapy, depending on the place it could be manditory (in the voluntary ward i asked why i hadnt seen any group therapy like the schedule said, and they said no one was asking to go, so i asked and i was the only person in the group therapy lol)

•they might have activities like yoga, art therapy, craft time, music time or other things (if you see it in the schedule you can ask them to tell you when its happening)

•there might be outside time in a fenced off area or there might be no outside time at all (this is for safety)

•the windows might be frosted, tinted or have a dotted film over them (this is for privacy)

•there will probably be activities that you can always access like coloring pages with crayons and/or colored pencils, puzzles, board games and paperback books

•you will get your clothes you came in back probably the next day, they might wash it

•visitors can bring you clothes but it has to have no strings (like drawstrings or shoelaces) no metal bits, and no graphic or offensive prints on clothes

•jewlery is not allowed unless its a piercing

•visitors can bring you books as long as its paperback, and journals as long as it doesnt have a metal spine, and other safe activities like paint by sticker books

•visitors cant bring blankets or towells, that will be provided by the facility

•anything visitors bring has to be checked by staff before they can give it to you

•you might not be able to recieve calls unless the person has an access code that they will provide for you, so you have to call first

•there can be meetings with visitors, it could be limited to certain days of the week or certain hours, your visitors may be subjected to a search, and your visiting time might be monitored by staff

•you will be given your psych meds as normally perscribed, they may have you open your mouth and lift your tounge after you take them to show that you actually swallowed them, you might be able to meet with a perscriber to get a med change

•you will probably have short daily private appointments with a counselor, this wont be as in depth as therapy but rather a way to check your progress, it could even just be like "on a scale form 1-10 how depressed are you?"

•you can still have any phone/telehealth appointments you already had planned, just inform staff and you might be put in a private room with a computer

•ask staff for things! like deoderant, toothbrush, toothpaste, blank paper, to print out an image of something that can cheer you up, honestly anything just ask

•ask staff if you want to shave, clip your nails, or apply makeup, you will probably have to do it in front of staff at the front desk

•for showers ask staff for towells, shampoo, conditioner and maybe body wash (the shower usually has a soap despensor in it) the shampoo and stuff will come in little cups, also if you can, ask for extra towells to place on the floor for when you get out

•your shower time might be limited, the shower probably wont get very hot (to avoid people burning themselves) and it will probably be a timed button that sprays water for 30 seconds at a time so youll have to keep pressing it to shower long enough

•the bed will probably not be very comfy, like thin foam matresses and scratchy sheets

•you can ask the staff for over-the-counter meds like ibuprofen, laxatives, sleeping pills, etc

•the days will feel long, try to keep yourself occupied with activities and phonecalls

•i encourage you to talk to the other patients! you can connect and relate to people in simular situations, older mentally ill people with experience, and just to make friends while youre there (ive even witnessed two men agree to have a romantic relationship only during their time in the ward, they called eachother "hospital boyfriends")

•i encourage you to journal about your experience and feelings while youre there

•how long youll be there really depends on your situation, although both times ive gone they said the usual stay was one week or less and thats how long i stayed both times

•they may require you to do certain things before you are allowed to discharge like get a med change, improve your mood, set up appointments with drs or counselors in the future, get stabalized on meds or show recovery in other ways

•even if you are voluntary, you will need to go through the discharge process before leaving like signing paperwork, collecting your belongings, setting up a ride to leave, and confirming that you have somewhere to go (ive witnessed staff hire taxis, and help people apply and get into shelters)

i dont say all this to scare you or keep you from volunteering yourself into a psych ward, just to warn you about things so that you dont have to be shocked by a totally new environment all at once like i was

everyones experience in psych wards is different, every place is different, i didnt cover psych wards for people under age 18, or gendered wards, or addiction recovery wards or otherwise specialized wards because i have no experience there

but despite the bad parts, my time in psych wards has seriously helped me, it kept me safe from myself when nothing else could, literally saving my life twice, it gave me very important med changes, and it gave me experience with other mentally ill people, like the older woman who told me "as mentally ill people we cant always trust our insticts" and other advice that has helped me

it may feel bleak, it may make you feel trapped, you may feel like you dont belong there, but the bottom line is this is place meant to help you, even if just in the most basic form of keeping you safe, housed, fed and properly medicated

and remember youre still a human, you still have rights, if anything unjust happens to you there you have every right to report it to the police

[celestialhypomaniac]

how to maintain a friendship with a bpd person

(advice from someone with bpd)

Hey there!! I see a lot of hate toward people with bpd and their notorious inability to maintain friendships. however, i'm doing pretty well socially, and here's some things my friends do to make sure i don't overwhelm them ->

people with bpd are very very expressive. if they're too much for you, let them know, but one thing to never do is discourage them from showing their excitement for something!!

set boundaries. i'm not scared to say this, but people with my disorder can hurt people around them often. communicate, and make sure your friend knows your boundaries

whenever your friend is having a hard time, distance yourself without cutting them off completely. you can be supportive and reassuring without always seeing them

validate their feelings!! let them know that they don't have to feel guilty about feeling the way that they do <3

please please please pay attention to sh or suicidal behavior!! 10% of people with bpd end up committing suicide, so take these things very seriously!!

thank you for reading, and i'll see you again soon <3

[the-anxious-skeleton]

Tips for anxiety (that actually help)

Draw what you're feeling, it doesn't have to be good or even make sense. Just get it out of your system.

Get up and DO SOMETHING, and by something, I mean shake it out, run till you can't breathe, scream, flail your arms, headbang aggressively to the heaviest music you can find. Again, just get it all out. Raise your heart rate doing something healthy, rather than just sitting and panicking.

Tell someone about it, whether it is a stranger online or a good friend. Let someone else give you a more rational or humorous perspective on whatever you are facing. It's more cathartic than you think.

[thedepressexpress]

hi! when I get depressed it's really hard to make sure I'm eating as much as I should so here are some things I eat when I don't have the energy to do shit

these are depression meals so they are in no way balanced and an ideal diet, this is to get you through it. if you have depression, some of these on your shopping list are a good idea. I update this list whenever I remember something

I'm also assuming the only equipment you have is a bowl, spoon, sink, microwave and at most, a can opener. in no particular order:

granola bars and adjacent things like nuts, dried fruit, etc

frozen sausages: break them in half and microwave, if they're too cold to break you can run them under hot water or leave them out for a couple minutes, you need the break them or they might explode

canned corn: open and eat with a spoon, you can strain and microwave if you want it hot

cheese: put it in a bowl and microwave till it melts or till it's crispy, your choice but if you do just cheese don't use a porous bowl

instant noodles: don't use a pan, use a bowl, empty the contents in the bowl, add water till at least half of the noodle thing is submerged, microwave for 2-4 minutes, mix and eat

regular noodles: use a bigger bowl than you normally would, add some dry pasta to it and enough water to cover the pasta but not much more, it might overflow, and microwave for a few minutes more than the package says to boil, drain the water and put in whatever, condiment, sauce, cheese, sausages, frozen veggies, and microwave again, it's more time intensive but also more nutrients so

canned beans: you can eat as is if it comes in a sauce, but if you got the ones with the clear liquid you can strain and rinse and if you don't have a strainer, open the can just a little from the tab and open a faucet, let the water run into the can and adjust the position of the lid till the water can go in without any of the beans coming out, it'll dissolve the liquid and it'll flow out, leave it for a bit then shake it, turn it upside to drain, let it refill then leave it again, repeat till the water over flowing isn't that weird liquid

crackers/biscuits: keep a stash of biscuits that you can eat, bonus if you can eat them with milk or tea or coffee or juice

juice: buy your favorite and keep a bottle in the fridge or frozen if you suspect you're starting to spiral and might need it in a few hours

readymade meals: whenever you go to do your grocery shopping, buy just one premade meal

vegetables: keep a vegetable you like that you can eat raw like cucumbers or carrots

fruits: keep a fruit you know you can eat or you know you can drown in something else, for example I don't like apples but I can eat them if they're covered in peanut butter

sweets: you can keep a favorite hard candy to get yourself salivating idk for me if helps activate some hunger while getting rid of the painful part of being hungry

butters and spreads: you can find premade sandwich spread with chicken in them, or jams or spreads that are savory like peanut/almond/cashew butter or sweet like a chocolate/vanilla spread

rice: if you make rice and ever have some left over you can freeze it and eat it later, you can also do that with rice in a bag

tofu: you can eat it raw as long as you drain the liquid it comes with

condiments: almost all of these things can be improved or 'seasoned' with ketchup, mayo, mustard, ranch, tartar sauce, marinara, etc. it'll give some flavor and make it taste better but don't microwave sauces unless they're properly mixed with the food especially mayo based ones, they can get weird

frozen vegetables: any time you're using the microwave to make these things, throw in a handful of frozen vegetables and microwave for a little longer

cereal: pair cereal with foods like yogurt instead of milk, you can add chocolate drink powder to the yogurt before adding the cereal which is really nice, you can also make it directly in the yogurt container if it's small enough

electrolytes: you can make them a bottle using two dashes of salt (1/4 tsp), a 2second squeeze of a honey bottle (2 tsp) and some kind of juice for a better flavor

potatoes: stab them all around with a fork, microwave for about six minutes, turn it over then microwave again, keeping microwaving and turning till it's soft on the inside and you can eat it

order out: if you can afford to order food, order it, some tips to get the most out of what you order 1. order a family box of food to store in the fridge 2. when you microwave it, do it with some water in a glass with your bowl/food in the microwave

if opening the tab on a can is keeping you from eating, try this. it'll open the can, you can use a knife, the back of a spoon, etc.

if it keeps you from spiraling, it's worth doing. and if it's worth doing, it's worth doing poorly. eating something is better than eating nothing.

hope this helps, if you can, please add more things!

[jayvespertine]

People let social media posts from those "Couple" pages govern their foundations of relationship with their partners and then wonder why they're in such a dark and confused place.

[diaryofanenchantedprincess]

Rarely ever be emotional. Your default is under emotional. Always observing, looking at how you can turn certain events to have a favorable outcome for you and where you can benefit from. Save your emotions for your children or your pets or for when you write or paint or express yourself. Save it for your journal to put them all down in and sort through them. Process your emotions in private, with someone you trust, or with a therapist. Practice mental hygiene every night where you put them down on paper or say them out loud. But your emotions are a currency.

Say you only have so much currency to spend every day. Would you be giving them out as freely as you do and to people who didn’t even ask for it?

[asking-jude]

Do you want free mental help? What about remote, pay-what-you-want counselling? Visit askingjude.org.

[misopod]

Hey my American friends, even more so my teenage friends, come in close because this is actually important

You know those depression sheets the doctors are required to give you before your appointment? Those are *not* for you. They can't help based on that. They *won't* help based on that. Those are just for KOSA, for statistics that they don't tell you about. They'll use that to prove that kids need KOSA. Please please just write no for all the boxes even if it does apply. You're just a statistic to them

[spidergrotto]

question what do you do after high school if you have no passion or will to live and also aren’t good at school and overall are just a walking zombie? university and college? or do i just like yk poof and say peace out