On my last session of CBT, my counsellor and I reviewed everything that we had covered throughout therapy and we created a relapse prevention for me to keep hold of in case I ever needed it after therapy. About mid-way through therapy I was beginning to become fearful of who I was going to turn … Continue reading Relapse Prevention
mental illness
Self-Criticism
We all face criticism in our lives, whether we are receiving criticism from friends, family or ourselves and the criticism we receive is usually easier for us to believe which can then lead to low self-esteem, negative thoughts/behaviours and mental illnesses. What is self-criticism? Self-criticism is when you refer or point out your own ‘flaws’ … Continue reading Self-Criticism
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is basically your opinion about yourself. If you have a high self-esteem you will probably think very highly of yourself but if you have a low self-esteem you will probably be very critical and negative about yourself so ideally you want your self-esteem to sit somewhere nicely in the middle of the spectrum. What … Continue reading Self-Esteem
Childhood Traumas
We all know that our childhood plays a big role in our adult lives and what we experience as a child can be carried with us into adulthood, so for a child to experience some sort of trauma, it’s damaging in many ways. I matured a lot quicker than my friends, other people my age … Continue reading Childhood Traumas
Alcohol & Loneliness
Throughout my teenage years and early twenties I struggled a lot with loneliness, it was sometimes worrying for me to be on my own because I’d use self-destructive ways to cope with it. I think the loneliness was linked to my depression as that is what mainly convinced me that I was alone, useless, annoying, … Continue reading Alcohol & Loneliness
CBD & PTSD
CBD is a chemical compound found in the cannabis plant and it is now widely used for medical reasons as it can help treat skin problems, chronic pains/illnesses, heart disease, cancer, anxiety, depression and PTSD but for the time being I'm going to focus on how CBD can and does help those who suffer from … Continue reading CBD & PTSD
Anxious Predictions
We all make predictions, it’s a normal way of thinking but anxiety can cause us to make unnecessarily negative predictions which we believe could be true, resulting in us either avoiding/hiding or bringing ourselves down. Anxious predictions are usually unrealistic and/or negative, these predictions can be anything such as: I’m not going to win anyway … Continue reading Anxious Predictions
Working With Mental Illnesses
I have an interesting history with employment, not so much where I have worked, but more how I was during the times I worked at those places. My first proper job was waitressing at my mums cafe, I loved it, I was earning my own money and keeping myself busy during my weekends at home … Continue reading Working With Mental Illnesses
Sympathy VS Empathy
As some of you may know, I am not a huge fan of sympathy. I have received a lot of sympathy in the past and to me it just feels like the same old bullshit, the pity I received from what people said or even just how they spoke to me just frustrated me. Don’t … Continue reading Sympathy VS Empathy
The Mental Health Talk
Starting a conversation about mental health isn’t always the easiest thing to do, whether you are talking about your own mental health or you want to express your concern for a friend/family member, it takes courage to do so. Talking to my friends/family about what was going on in my head before I finished therapy … Continue reading The Mental Health Talk