recovery
Your illness does not define you. It's your resolve to recover that does.
Society's Impact on Body Image
How often do you scroll through Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, or any other social media platform, and see beautiful women, gorgeous men, and individuals that appear absolutely perfect? For me, it’s daily. As a freelancer and lover of social media, I use my platforms often, and I’ve grown tired of the unrealistic standards society has created. This image that everyone has a perfect life, a rocking body, and a mountain of money is a lie. No one is perfect, not even that Instagram influencer model with the perfect tan, beautiful house, and travel history one dreams of -- she has struggles, worries, and dreams she wishes to achieve just like you and me.
By Shaley Speaks6 years ago in Psyche
Swimsuits and Lingerie for Mental Health Awareness
Last year I had the absolute pleasure of being part of the UK Calendar Girls competition, rasing funds for Mental Health Awareness and The Chestnut Appeal for Prostate Cancer, two charities I find particularly important in our current times. My gorgeous and always supportive husband Stephen drove me to the photoshoot and later on did all he could do so I got a lot of visibility, furthering my modelling career at the same time as promoting the two charities. It was overall a hugely enjoyable and worthwhile experience!
By Sandra Tena6 years ago in Psyche
Broken and Rebuilt
It didn't start out the way it ended, in the beginning it was a good relationship but slowly things went south over the course of years. In 2014 is when it began to fall apart. Our workplace shut down for a remodel so we were relocated to another store an hour and half away. We worked the same shift, so it was easier on the both of us. This is when it became apparent I wasn't as important as I thought. While he ate out at restaurants with his crew, I wasn't eating or if I did it was the cheapest I could get. I would dig for change in the car sometimes just to get something to make it through the day.
By Lisa Staires6 years ago in Psyche
Willpower is a concept designed to demonstrate we will fail
I have worked with behavioral change models, hypnosis, meditation, and performance improvement for over twenty five years. I’ve become increasingly skeptical about the concept of willpower, and concerned by the marketed self-help obsession that surrounds it. It's always in the media how you might be broken and how you can pay for a product, service, or experience to get you on the path to being better. What I am sharing here is the accumulation of many years of thought, research, and exploration on this topic.
By Joseph Crown6 years ago in Psyche
The girl who was afraid of her voice
Let me tell you a story about a little girl who grew afraid to talk. She was a chatterbox. She loved attention. She loved love. The thing she loved best was giving hugs, because she always got one back too. She was happy and vivacious. She doesn’t remember exactly when it happened, when the Change took hold. At some point, she was told to keep quiet. She was told no one cared to hear her. She started learning that she talked too much. She tried to be quieter. She would bite her tongue until it bled. Then, she was told to shut up. “Shut Up-It’s not Your Place to talk". She was told that the word ‘love’ meant it’s ok to hurt people, as long as you say you’re sorry afterwards; as long as you buy them a treat or give them a hug. She was taught to ‘be seen and not heard’ and when she was heard there would be hell to pay. Her voice brought beatings, her voice brought lectures, more punishments that exceeded her crimes. She was taught that respect was owed, not earned. She learned that her body was not her own, her mind she was not allowed to make up. She was taught that to love someone, you had to fear them, actually be afraid of them, of displeasing them in the slightest. She learned how to read every minute nuance of body language. She found out when she could get away with using her voice and when she better not even try. Her body was stronger than his, but she had been instructed in such a way that her head was unaware of this possibility.
By Sabrina Hunt6 years ago in Psyche
Recovering from Domestic Abuse
It's been over a year since I left an abusive relationship I was in for about 15 months. It doesn't seem to be a long time to be in a relationship but it really messed with my head. A year seems like more than enough time for recovery but I am still struggling. Just like our perception of domestic abuse can be lacking, our perception of the recovery from an abusive situation can be lacking too.
By Rebecca Clark6 years ago in Psyche
Second Chance
I always craved the nightlife. However I was vastly over weight for a majority of my life, meaning I was never very good at being a part of it. As I now know, having bipolar is something that means I shouldn't allow for the nightlife much in my life anyhow; it was fall and the bipolar delusions were strong and I was struggling very hard internally with the paranoid thoughts that flooded my mind day in and day out. The thought of being talked about behind my back, and people not liking me, was never far from my mind. I never felt like I fit in, it didn't' matter if I was at one of the kid's football games or at work at the strip club I felt like no one liked me. I never stayed at a job for much longer than six months because I would get overwhelmed with the feelings that my coworkers were out to get me. The struggle had me in full force by 2008 when I had lost all the weight after my gastric bypass surgery.
By Tosha Maaks6 years ago in Psyche
Murder, Mirrors & Morgan Harper Nichols
A Note: This piece contains content relating to disordered eating and mental illness. 1. Murder I've never been much of a crier. Even as a kid, my eyes were, for the most part, dry. Tears and tantrums, they were my brother's department - youngest child syndrome and all that. I joked, I giggled, and on the occasions when something hit an inch too close to home, I would quietly wander away and sit, alone with it all bottled up inside of my head.
By Gracie Delaney6 years ago in Psyche
A Cycle of Anger
DISCLAIMER: Those suffering from Depression, Anxiety, PTSD or other such distressing conditions, please be advised that this piece deals with subject matter that may be triggering. Recounts of panic attacks and violent behaviour are mentioned. If you find this post upsetting, please let me know, and contact one of the following helplines and counselling services:
By Miss Riggie6 years ago in Psyche
Recovery in Progress
My admission date to New Hope Rehabilitation Center was October 10 2019. It was the culmination of a history of persistent drug abuse (alcohol, benzodiazepines, and heroin) the untimely death of my girlfriend from a drug overdose, and the entertainment of suicidal ideation that prompted me to seek and accept help. I was referred by New Hope’s Nivi to consider Philip House as my aftercare treatment plan for a suggested 6 months upon discharge from New Hope.
By Hypodermically Speaking6 years ago in Psyche
