It's All In Your Head: Archive

Dude. Good to know. Thank you for saying that. I feel less, idk, singled out/isolated/etc. knowing someone else did and recovered. <3

Trigger warning: Self Injury

<3 I felt exactly the same way.

Even though I knew others who self injured when I was going through a particularly bad period, I didn’t know of anyone who went to the lengths I did to self injure. When I found out more about self injury from my therapist at the time and that other people did the same thing.

It made me feel so much better. I think it always helps to know you aren’t alone in the case of any self injury or mental illness.

-Kris

Jun 18, 2012

#Anonymous #ask MIM

(TW: Self injury/Breaking) It's not so much a matter of can I recover. I had a streak of about 4 months going up until this week. It's just totally surreal to be on all these community support group sites and never hear anyone talking about breaking. Maybe it's just me. lol

That’s understandable.

No it’s not, though less common and certainly not talked about as openly there are individuals who do the same thing, including myself in the past. Though admittedly not on a frequent basis.

-Kris

Jun 18, 2012

#Anonymous #ask MIM

Just wanted to say for the previous anon: I self-injure by scratching too. I used to only scratch but now I mostly bruise myself and beat myself. You're not alone. And recovery is possible.

Jun 18, 20123 notes

#Anonymous #ask MIM

(TW Self Injury. Scratching. Breaking. Nail pulling.) I feel like I'm the only person who breaks bones/scratches/pulls nails as a means of self injury. Granted I know I've been off the deep end on self injury, but I've seriously only met other people who scratch. Is it really just me?

No certainly not.

In the past I personally have self injured by doing similar things. In fact I also recently just read an ask on stopthepainnow about self injuring by scratching.

Please know that your not alone in this and that recovery is possible.

-Kris

Jun 18, 2012

#Anonymous #ask MIM

(tw- family issues, cutting) in february, my house burned down, which was my #1 worst fear. that was the same day my mom left to go to an institution in california because she was a diagnosed alcoholic and had borderline personality disorder. i never really had a proper mother. my house burning down and being sensitive about my weight and not having a mother is really starting to affect me around now, and i've started cutting. i'm not sure what i'm asking... support, i suppose?

Oh anon I’m so sorry that this has happened to you. It is hard enough to have something like this happen to you without everything else on top of it.

I’m very glad that you have sent us this message and we will try and give you as much support as we can. Do you have another family member that might be able to give you some much needed support at home?

I would suggest that you might look into seeing a therapist or doctor yourself if you aren’t already. Alternatively you might also find it helpful to call a hotline or crisis line that are free to call or even just talk to a trusted friend about your problems.

You might also find it helpful to read these posts ways to avoid self-injury and alternatives to self-harm. These blogs are also great support networks for people who self-harm: stopthepainnow & lets bandage it up.

Here are a few tips on how to help yourself keep emotionally well when someone in your family has borderline. Although the article is based around having a partner with borderline, I think these tips might be very helpful for you: 5 tips for borderline personality. This site list some tips on how to help cope with an alcoholic parent as well:An Alcoholic Parent.

I hope things start to get better for you anon. Please don’t hesitate to message us at any time.

-Kris

Jun 18, 20121 note

#Anonymous #ask MIM

Jun 18, 20123,668 notes

#queue

Causes of depression

clinicallydepressedpug:

Causes of depression
Loneliness

Lack of social support

Recent stressful life experiences

History of mental illnesses in your family

Marital or relationship problems

Financial strain

Early childhood trauma or abuse

Alcohol or drug abuse

Unemployment or underemployment

Health problems or chronic pain

Depression in men
Depression is a loaded word in our culture. Many associate it, however wrongly, with a sign of weakness and excessive emotion. This is especially true with men. Depressed men are less likely than women to acknowledge feelings of self-loathing and hopelessness. Instead, they tend to complain about fatigue, irritability, sleep problems, and loss of interest in work and hobbies. Other signs and symptoms of depression in men include anger, aggression, violence, reckless behavior, and substance abuse. Even though depression rates for women are twice as high as those in men, men are a higher suicide risk, especially older men.

Depression in women
Rates of depression in women are twice as high as they are in men. This is due in part to hormonal factors, particularly when it comes to premenstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), postpartum depression, and perimenopausal depression. As for signs and symptoms, women are more likely than men to experience pronounced feelings of guilt, sleep excessively, overeat, and gain weight. Women are also more likely to suffer from seasonal affective disorder.

Depression in teens
While some depressed teens appear sad, others do not. In fact, irritability—rather than depression—is frequently the predominant symptom in depressed adolescents and teens. A depressed teenager may be hostile, grumpy, or easily lose his or her temper. Unexplained aches and pains are also common symptoms of depression in young people.

Left untreated, teen depression can lead to problems at home and school, drug abuse, self-loathing—even irreversible tragedy such as homicidal violence or suicide. But with help, teenage depression is highly treatable.

Signs that your friend or family member may be depressed

He or she doesn’t seem to care about anything anymore.

He or she is uncharacteristically sad, irritable, short-tempered, critical, or moody.

He or she has lost interest in work, sex, hobbies, and other pleasurable activities.

He or she talks about feeling “helpless” or “hopeless.”

He or she expresses a bleak or negative outlook on life.

He or she frequently complains of aches and pains such as headaches, stomach problems, and back pain.

He or she complains of feeling tired and drained all the time.

He or she has withdrawn from friends, family, and other social activities.

He or she is either sleeping less than usual or oversleeping.

He or she is eating either more or less than usual, and has recently gained or lost weight.

He or she has become indecisive, forgetful, disorganized, and “out of it.”

He or she is drinking more or abusing drugs, including prescription sleeping pills and painkillers.

Jun 18, 20125,597 notes

#depression

Jun 18, 2012698 notes

Jun 18, 20121,842 notes

#please don't give up

tw: I've had suicidal thoughts since I was 11 and now I'm 23. I've never been on meds or had therapy and the only person who knew about this was my best friend, who I no longer speak to. She just couldn't be bothered to make time to see me or send me a phone call even though she had the time and lives only a few blocks away so I decided I'd also stop making the effort and this is what happened. No communication at all. She was the only person who knew me really and now I have no one to talk to.

Anon,

I think you should try talking to your friend about how you feel and how you’re hurt about her lack of contacting you or her lack of effort to support you. If she is truly your friend, she will try to be there for you again. And if this is the case, let her know how best to support you.

Please don’t hesitate to contact hotlines or crisis lines either. They are there to help you and you can talk about whatever is on your mind with people at these lines.

Also, our ask box is always open and we’re here if you have anything you want to vent or talk about. You don’t need to go through this alone, anon.

Stay strong~

-safet

Jun 17, 2012

#ask MIM

Thank you to that person who recommended F lux. It is the best thing to happen to my life recently(and sadly). Immediately I felt calmer, and within 30 minutes I was lulled into sleep.

Jun 17, 20123 notes

#ask MIM

As well as rainymood(.)com, there's also simplynoise(.)com which is a free white/pink/red noise generator. I find since rainymood goes quiet sometimes, having simplynoise on red noise in the background at the same time can help make sure there's no quiet times when my thoughts can creep in and ruin everything. Simplynoise also has pay-what-you-want downloadable soundscapes so you can take it with you on train journeys etc.

Oddly enough, FLux helped me fall asleep the most. I installed it and ended up falling asleep with my laptop next to me on my bed, as it was playing rain noises. There are no particular monsters a counselor could tell me about, however, they're just any pop-culture or movie monster I've seen in past few days with a mash-up of (TW: Suicide) images of a friend who killed himself recently. When I'm scared, I can't stop imagining & seeing all of those things no matter how hard I try. Thank you all.

Glad you found something that worked for you :]

Ah, that’s understandable… thanks for clarifying on what you meant by monsters. The first thing that came to mind were the humanoid-like hallucinations that wander around my room at night x - x …

Sorry for your loss :[ That’s a lot to have on your mind at night..

If you or any other followers just want rain noises to listen to, rainymood is a nice website that just has looped tracks of rain sounds.

please stay strong and hope you sleep well

-safet

Jun 17, 20125 notes

#ask MIM

Tricks I use for falling asleep: making a list of everything I can think of that worries me, and taping it to someplace I know I'll see in the morning. Eat a small amount of carbs. Take a warm shower and make sure to scrub/wash every single inch of my body. Counting backwards from 1000 by 7s. Progressive tension/relaxation. The "wiggle your toes ten times" trick (that's actually the most effective for me.) Making myself yawn. Pretending to be asleep even though I'm not.

Jun 17, 20126 notes

#ask MIM

For the anon having trouble sleeping, I have generalized anxiety disorder, and I am obsessed with listening to Stephen Fry ready Harry Potter. That man's voice is amazing, and pretty much regardless of the situation he calms me down. Sounds odd, but it really works (for me, at least.) I recommend everyone with similar problems to try it.

Jun 17, 20124 notes

#ask MIM

I stay up really late and sometimes even go to bed once the sun rises. I just downloaded F. Lux and I already really really like it. Thank you to the person that recommended it!!!

Jun 17, 20122 notes

#ask MIM

Jun 17, 2012105 notes

#mental illness #queue #mentalillnessmouse

For the Anon with the nightmares I found that putting a nightlight in my room helped out a lot. I also combine it with a lot of the other things mentioned before like a nest of pillows and tea.

Jun 17, 2012

#ask MIM

Oh and also try using F. Lux on your computer as it creates a lovely warm glow between sundown and sunup that is supposed to not mess with your sleep cycle the way a normal screen will. (I think that's all - for the record I've been having problems sleeping since I was 12 - I know all the tricks)

Jun 17, 20124 notes

#ask MIM

I also use Valerian root (can be found in teas, but also in "herbal supplements") and melatonin, but the second one is Dr prescribed though you can buy the supplement. I started with 3mg and it had me out like a light.

Jun 17, 20121 note

#ask MIM