Showing posts with label self help. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self help. Show all posts
Dec 1, 2010
7 Quick Tips to Avoid a Meltdown By Therese J. Borchard
When you feel like strangling the guy in front of you at Target, read these 7 Quick Ways to Calm Down, I laughed at the art that went with it because, well, I sort of looked like that the other day.
I needed a reminder of them, and I thought maybe you could use one too.
1. Walk Away
Know your triggers. If a conversation about global warming, consumerism, or the trash crisis in the U.S. is overwhelming you, simply excuse yourself. If you’re noise-sensitive and the scene at Toys-R-Us makes you want to throw whistling Elmo and his buddies across the store, tell your kids you need a time-out. (Bring along your husband or a friend so you can leave them safely, if need be.) My great-aunt Gigi knew her trigger points, and if a conversation or setting was getting close to them, she simply put one foot in front of another, and departed.
2. Close Your Eyes
Gently let the world disappear, and go within to regain your equilibrium. Ever since my mom came down with blepharospasm (a neurological tick of the eyelid), I’ve become aware of how important shutting our eyes is to the health of the nervous system. The only treatment available for this disorder is to have surgery that permanently keeps your eyelids open (you need to moisten them with drops, etc.). Such a condition would be living hell for my mom, because in closing her eyes she regains her balance and proper focus.
The only time I recommend not using this technique is on the road (if you’re driving).
3. Find Some Solitude
This can be challenging if you are at work, or at home with kids as creative and energetic as mine. But we all need some private time to let the nervous system regenerate.
I must have known this back in college, because I opted for a tiny single room (a nun’s closet, quite literally), rather than going in on a larger room with a closet big enough to store my sweaters. When three of my good friends begged me to go in with them on a killer quad, I told them, “Nope. Can’t do it. Need my alone time, or else none of you would want to be around me. Trust me.”
My senior year I went to the extent of pasting black construction paper on the window above my door so no one would know if I was there, in order to get the hours of solitude that I needed.
Be creative. Find your space. Any way you can. Even it involves black construction paper.
4. Go Outside
This is a true lifesaver for me. I need to be outside for at least an hour every day to get my sanity fix. Granted, I’m extremely lucky to be able to do so as a stay-at-home mom. But I think I would somehow work it into my schedule even if I had to commute into the city every day.
Even if I’m not walking or running or biking or swimming, being outside calms me in a way that hardly anything else can. With an hour of nature, I go from being a bossy, opinionated, angry, cynical, uptight person into a bossy, opinionated, cynical, relaxed person. And that makes the difference between having friends and a husband to have dinner with and a world that tells me to go eat a frozen dinner by myself because they don’t want to catch whatever grumpy bug I have.
5. Find Some Water
While watching Disney’s “Pocahontas” the other day with my daughter Katherine (yes, I do get some of my best insights from cartoons), I observed the sheer joy the main character shows upon paddling down the river, singing about how she is one with the water. It reminded me of how universal the mood effects of water are, and how healing.
On the rainy or snowy days that I can’t walk the double stroller over to our local creeks, I do something the global-warming guys say not to; take a long shower, imagining that I am in the middle of a beautiful Hawaiian rain forest.
“Water helps in many ways,” writes Elaine Aron. “When overaroused, keep drinking it–a big glass of it once an hour. Walk beside some water, look at it, listen to it. Get into some if you can, for a bath or a swim. Hot tubs and hot springs are popular for good reasons.”
6. Breathe Deeply
Breathing is the foundation of sanity, because it is the way we provide our brain and every other vital organ in our body with the oxygen needed for us to survive. Breathing also eliminates toxins from our systems.
Years ago, I learned the “Four Square” method of breathing to reduce anxiety:
1. Breathe in slowly to a count of four.
2. Hold the breath for a count of four.
3. Exhale slowly through pursed lips to a count of four.
4. Rest for a count of four (without taking any breaths).
5. Take two normal breaths.
6. Start over again with number one.
7. Listen to Music
Across the ages, music has been used to soothe and relax. During the worst months of my depression, I blared the soundtrack of “The Phantom of the Opera.” Pretending to be the phantom with a cape and a mask, I twirled around our living room, swinging my kids in my arms. I belted out every word of “The Music of the Night.”
“Softly, deftly, music shall caress you, Feel it, hear it, secretly possess you…”
The gorgeous song–like all good music–could stroke that tender place within me that words couldn’t get to.
Nov 21, 2010
Are You Highly Emotionally Sensitive?
People who are highly sensitive to emotions often experience the world as unsafe and feel helpless. When you’re emotionally sensitive you’re frequently overcome by emotion and have trouble tolerating emotional pain.
Click here to read more and contribute your success strategies ...
Via: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Understood
Click here to read more and contribute your success strategies ...
Via: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Understood
Oct 12, 2010
Mental Earth Community is a peer to peer community...
It is the mission and motto of Mental Earth Community (MEC) to provide support for people with mental illnesses / mental disorders, those recovering and those in remission as well as their families, friends and mental health providers in a Safe and Secure Environment.
Click HERE to access the forums, disscussions, chat, articles, links and more...
Oct 9, 2010
Bipolar Disorder and the Americans with Disabilities Act By Lynda McCullough
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was amended in 2008 to include bipolar disorder as a covered condition.
The original 1988 law was designed to protect people with disabilities from discrimination in hiring, job assignments, promotions, firing, pay, layoffs, benefits and other employment-related activities. It states that if a disability causes impairment that “substantially limits” a person’s ability to handle “major life activities,” whether on or off the job, the employer must follow ADA rules in treating the disabled person.
Reasonable accommodations that employers must provide under the ADA may involve job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, or adjusting examinations or policies. It may mean a change or adjustment to a job or work environment that permits an applicant or employee to participate in the application process, to perform the essential functions of a job or to obtain the benefits of employment that those without disabilities have.
To gain accommodations, an employee must disclose the fact that they have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder (or another mental or physical disability) and make request for accommodations. Those who believe they have been discriminated against can report discrimination and file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The claim must be filed within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation or 300 days if the charge is also covered by state or local laws. The EEOC has an intake questionnaire to help you determine if you are eligible to file a charge. It can be filled out online or at the nearest EEOC office. Charges themselves cannot be filed online.
For ADA purposes, major life activities that may be limited by a mental health disorder could include learning, thinking, concentrating, interacting with others, caring for oneself, speaking, or performing manual tasks. Sleep also may be limited in such a way that daily activities are impaired.
Someone with bipolar disorder may temporarily experience “limits” to handling life activities. A deep bout of depression or insomnia may create a need for time off or for flexible hours. An individual may need time off for doctor appointments. In the daily work environment he or she may need a quieter work area to decrease stress and enhance concentration or more frequent breaks to take a walk or do a relaxation exercise. He or she may need office supplies to help them organize and focus more effectively.
To improve their work experience and productivity, individuals with bipolar disorder may need to create good structure to their day and to their eating and sleeping habits. They may need to develop special organizing behaviors and divide large assignments into smaller tasks. They will benefit from a firm schedule for work activities and rest, as well as strategies to manage stress and reduce distractions.
Disability by itself is not enough to be protected from job discrimination by the ADA. An individual must satisfy the employer’s requirements for the job, such as education, experience, skills or licenses. He or she must also be able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodations.
Employers may be exempted from ADA rules under several conditions including cost, disruption to business, or health and safety, but regardless of whether these conditions exist, employees still can file a claim with the EEOC. The company will have to prove its assertions of inability to provide reasonable accommodations to deny them legally.
Sources:
Psych Central bipolar disorder library
About.com bipolar resources
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Disclosing Your Disability To An Employer
The original 1988 law was designed to protect people with disabilities from discrimination in hiring, job assignments, promotions, firing, pay, layoffs, benefits and other employment-related activities. It states that if a disability causes impairment that “substantially limits” a person’s ability to handle “major life activities,” whether on or off the job, the employer must follow ADA rules in treating the disabled person.
Reasonable accommodations that employers must provide under the ADA may involve job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, or adjusting examinations or policies. It may mean a change or adjustment to a job or work environment that permits an applicant or employee to participate in the application process, to perform the essential functions of a job or to obtain the benefits of employment that those without disabilities have.
To gain accommodations, an employee must disclose the fact that they have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder (or another mental or physical disability) and make request for accommodations. Those who believe they have been discriminated against can report discrimination and file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The claim must be filed within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation or 300 days if the charge is also covered by state or local laws. The EEOC has an intake questionnaire to help you determine if you are eligible to file a charge. It can be filled out online or at the nearest EEOC office. Charges themselves cannot be filed online.
For ADA purposes, major life activities that may be limited by a mental health disorder could include learning, thinking, concentrating, interacting with others, caring for oneself, speaking, or performing manual tasks. Sleep also may be limited in such a way that daily activities are impaired.
Someone with bipolar disorder may temporarily experience “limits” to handling life activities. A deep bout of depression or insomnia may create a need for time off or for flexible hours. An individual may need time off for doctor appointments. In the daily work environment he or she may need a quieter work area to decrease stress and enhance concentration or more frequent breaks to take a walk or do a relaxation exercise. He or she may need office supplies to help them organize and focus more effectively.
To improve their work experience and productivity, individuals with bipolar disorder may need to create good structure to their day and to their eating and sleeping habits. They may need to develop special organizing behaviors and divide large assignments into smaller tasks. They will benefit from a firm schedule for work activities and rest, as well as strategies to manage stress and reduce distractions.
Disability by itself is not enough to be protected from job discrimination by the ADA. An individual must satisfy the employer’s requirements for the job, such as education, experience, skills or licenses. He or she must also be able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodations.
Employers may be exempted from ADA rules under several conditions including cost, disruption to business, or health and safety, but regardless of whether these conditions exist, employees still can file a claim with the EEOC. The company will have to prove its assertions of inability to provide reasonable accommodations to deny them legally.
Sources:
Psych Central bipolar disorder library
About.com bipolar resources
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Disclosing Your Disability To An Employer
Oct 1, 2010
Fish Oil Supplements 'Beat Psychotic Mental Illness'
Taking a daily fish oil capsule can stave off mental illness in those at highest risk, trial findings suggest.
A three-month course of the supplement appeared to be as effective as drugs, cutting the rate of psychotic illness like schizophrenia by a quarter. The researchers believe it is the omega-3 in fish oil - already hailed for promoting healthy hearts - that has beneficial effects in the brain.
The capsules are rich in omega-3
Sep 19, 2010
Controlling Anger
The Nature of Anger
Anger is "an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage," according to Charles Spielberger, PhD, a psychologist who specializes in the study of anger. Like other emotions, it is accompanied by physiological and biological changes; when you get angry, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, as do the levels of your energy hormones, adrenaline, and noradrenaline.
Anger can be caused by both external and internal events. You could be angry at a specific person (Such as a coworker or supervisor) or event (a traffic jam, a canceled flight), or your anger could be caused by worrying or brooding about your personal problems. Memories of traumatic or enraging events can also trigger angry feelings. Click anywhere in this sentence to continue reading...
Anger is "an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage," according to Charles Spielberger, PhD, a psychologist who specializes in the study of anger. Like other emotions, it is accompanied by physiological and biological changes; when you get angry, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, as do the levels of your energy hormones, adrenaline, and noradrenaline.
Anger can be caused by both external and internal events. You could be angry at a specific person (Such as a coworker or supervisor) or event (a traffic jam, a canceled flight), or your anger could be caused by worrying or brooding about your personal problems. Memories of traumatic or enraging events can also trigger angry feelings. Click anywhere in this sentence to continue reading...
Sep 13, 2010
For Inspiration...
"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time". ~Andre Gide
"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how". ~Friedrich Nietzsche
Chance is always powerful, let your hook always be cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish. ~Ovid
"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how". ~Friedrich Nietzsche
Chance is always powerful, let your hook always be cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish. ~Ovid
Sep 8, 2010
Beyond Blue: Self-Esteem File
This person shares with you a few letters in her self-esteem file. To read more and comment, please click on the top Beliefnet banner to go to Beliefnet.com or go directly to 'Beyond Blue' at http://blog.beliefnet.com/beyondblue/
Jul 20, 2010
Abraham-Hicks: Find Better Feeling Options
An example of effective thought changing by Magic Dragonflies: 'Also, what helps, if you are observing something that is bad, instead of saying,"this sucks and depresses me" you can say, "this is an annoyance and kinda peeves me."
Jun 14, 2010
Doubt, Expectations, Judgment
Who sets the standards you live by?
Are you continually struggling to accomplish what is expected of you? If so, stop to think for a moment: who holds those expectations?
Perhaps you’re trying to meet the expectations of a parent or a teacher or other authority figures who may be long gone from your life. But many of us toil under the critical eyes of a vague ‘somebody’ who always judges that we’ve never done enough or done things well enough. Who is this phantom judge? And do we need to care about what they think any longer?
We find both our own power and happiness when we begin to set our own standards around what has heart and meaning for us.
“Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgment. And you can see forever.”
-- Nancy Lopez
Via: Higher Awareness
Are you continually struggling to accomplish what is expected of you? If so, stop to think for a moment: who holds those expectations?
Perhaps you’re trying to meet the expectations of a parent or a teacher or other authority figures who may be long gone from your life. But many of us toil under the critical eyes of a vague ‘somebody’ who always judges that we’ve never done enough or done things well enough. Who is this phantom judge? And do we need to care about what they think any longer?
We find both our own power and happiness when we begin to set our own standards around what has heart and meaning for us.
“Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgment. And you can see forever.”
-- Nancy Lopez
Via: Higher Awareness
May 5, 2010
Find Light Within The Darkness
"Each difficult moment has the potential to open my eyes and open my heart."
-- Myla Kabat-Zinn
“Even the most daring and accomplished people have undergone tremendous difficulty. In fact, the more successful they became, the more they attributed their success to the lessons learned during their most difficult times. Adversity is our teacher. When we view adversity as a guide towards greater inner growth, we will then learn to accept the wisdom our soul came into this life to learn.”
-- Barbara Rose
“No matter what difficulty you are facing, it is coming from Divine Light to bring you to a higher place within. Write down every conceivable reason that this situation can contribute towards your growth. Write down every way this experience can possibly set the stage for serving to uplift others. When you are complete, and have come to the other side of this experience, you will then know 'why' it happened.”
-- Barbara Rose
“The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one’s life.”
-- Dalai Lama
-- Myla Kabat-Zinn
“Even the most daring and accomplished people have undergone tremendous difficulty. In fact, the more successful they became, the more they attributed their success to the lessons learned during their most difficult times. Adversity is our teacher. When we view adversity as a guide towards greater inner growth, we will then learn to accept the wisdom our soul came into this life to learn.”
-- Barbara Rose
“No matter what difficulty you are facing, it is coming from Divine Light to bring you to a higher place within. Write down every conceivable reason that this situation can contribute towards your growth. Write down every way this experience can possibly set the stage for serving to uplift others. When you are complete, and have come to the other side of this experience, you will then know 'why' it happened.”
-- Barbara Rose
“The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one’s life.”
-- Dalai Lama
Mar 27, 2010
Letting Go
Question: I live in the past, and I feel so lost in it. I am unable to let go of so many negative feelings and resentments. I can't seem to help it, and it's slowly ruining my life. Or it already has. Sometimes I get so mad about things in the past that I can't even eat. I don't want to live this way, but I don't know how to let go. I can't make friends or date, because I cannot trust anyone....
Answer(s): Most of us has had the same problem...living in the past. The past is "in your mind",, the future is "in your mind" just like a dream..."in your mind". All we have is "Now"....so live in "now"...this moment.
Let go.....let go of attachments and move forward. Otherwise, you are stuck and it's an awful place to be. You cannot change anyone but yourself...
The process of loving oneself is the most intense, confusing, frustrating thing that one can go through if they do it right, you are doing it right, just feel your feelings, don't act on them, just express them, which believe me is more than enough, as you express/feel/be present with your feelings, one by one the old feelings will start to clear out of the inside of you. Click anywhere in this sentence to continue reading...
Via: Experience Project
Answer(s): Most of us has had the same problem...living in the past. The past is "in your mind",, the future is "in your mind" just like a dream..."in your mind". All we have is "Now"....so live in "now"...this moment.
Let go.....let go of attachments and move forward. Otherwise, you are stuck and it's an awful place to be. You cannot change anyone but yourself...
The process of loving oneself is the most intense, confusing, frustrating thing that one can go through if they do it right, you are doing it right, just feel your feelings, don't act on them, just express them, which believe me is more than enough, as you express/feel/be present with your feelings, one by one the old feelings will start to clear out of the inside of you. Click anywhere in this sentence to continue reading...
Via: Experience Project
Mar 12, 2010
Depression and Cognitive Dysfunction
An excellent take on how it feels to have depression and too how it relates to various cognitive dysfunctions.
2006 Rare Neuroimmunologic Disorders Symposium Depression and Cognitive Dysfunction Adam I. Kaplin, MD, PhD
2006 Rare Neuroimmunologic Disorders Symposium Depression and Cognitive Dysfunction Adam I. Kaplin, MD, PhD
Mar 4, 2010
Network of Care for Behavioral Health
 |  |  | ||||
| Welcome to the Network of Care for Behavioral Health, a comprehensive resource for individuals, families and agencies concerned with behavioral health. This website provides an extensive directory to put people in touch with the right services at the right time. It also offers vital information about diagnoses, insurance and advocacy, as well as daily news from around the world concerning mental health. This unique, one-stop information tool enables you to find pertinent mental health Web sites, keep personal records, and communicate directly with elected officials to make your voice heard in the legislative halls. The San Diego Network of Care for Mental Health website is provided by the County of San Diego with the sponsorship of the California Department of Mental Health. It is the inaugural Network of Care for Mental Health developed by Trilogy Integrated Resources. Recommended by the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (see excerpt), the Network of Care helps you find what you need and it helps ensure that there is "No Wrong Door" for those who need services. Regardless of where you begin your search for assistance with behavioral health issues, This Web site can greatly assist in our efforts to protect our greatest human asset - our beautiful minds. Click anywhere in this sentence for a direct link to the site... |
Health Information
Alphabetical list of many mental health disorders along with Handbooks about the signs and symptoms, diagnosis, and treatments.
Click anywhere in this sentence to continue reading...
All information cited from:
National Institute of Mental Health - Health Information
Click anywhere in this sentence to continue reading...
All information cited from:
National Institute of Mental Health - Health Information
Feb 25, 2010
A lot of links with healing depression in mind...
Latest NewsQuestions and AnswersBlog EntriesVideosLinksBook Reviews
A Heart of StoneA Mood ApartA Philosophical DiseaseActive Treatment of DepressionAdolescent DepressionAgainst DepressionAn Unquiet MindBeating the BluesBefore ProzacBlaming the BrainCalm EnergyConquering Postpartum DepressionConquering the Beast WithinDamageDepressionDepression FalloutDepression in ContextDepression Is a ChoiceDepression, the Mood DiseaseDepression-Free for LifeDown Came the RainDysthymia and the Spectrum of Chronic DepressionsEmotional ClaustrophobiaEssential Psychopharmacology of Depression and Bipolar DisorderEverything Is FineExperiences of DepressionHandbook of DepressionHandbook of DepressionHistory of SuicideHow I Stayed Alive When My Brain Was Trying to Kill MeIn Pursuit of HappinessJourneys with the Black DogLifeForce Yoga to Beat the Blues--Level 1LifeForce Yoga to Beat the Blues: Level 2Lifting DepressionLincoln's MelancholyLucy Sullivan Is Getting MarriedMalignant SadnessMindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for DepressionMood GenesMy DepressionNatural Healing for DepressionNew Hope for People with DepressionOn the Edge of DarknessOutsmarting DepressionOvercoming DepressionPotatoes Not ProzacProzac and the New AntidepressantsProzac BacklashProzac DiaryProzac NationPuppy Chow Is Better Than ProzacRaising a Moody ChildSelf-CoachingSongs from the Black ChairSpeaking of SadnessStudent DepressionSubordination and DefeatSunbathing in the RainSwing LowTalking Back to ProzacThe American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Mood DisordersThe Anatomy of MelancholyThe Anti-Depressant Fact BookThe Antidepressant EraThe BeastThe Bell JarThe CorrectionsThe Cruelty of DepressionThe Depressed ChildThe Depression CureThe Emotional RevolutionThe Family SilverThe Feeling Good HandbookThe Mood CureThe Nature of MelancholyThe Noonday DemonThe Postpartum EffectThe Secret Strength of DepressionThe Van Gogh BluesThe Van Gogh BluesUndercurrentsUnderstanding DepressionUndoing DepressionUnholy GhostUnstuckWhat the Birds SeeWhen a Parent is DepressedWhen Nothing Matters AnymoreWhen Words Are Not EnoughWhy Are You So Sad?Writing Through the Darkness
Self-Help Groups
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