support-and-recovery

[support-and-recovery]

[support-and-recovery]

I'm sorry I can't be better.

I'm sorry I don't eat enough.

I'm sorry I want to rip my body to shreds over every inconvenience.

I'm sorry about the scars on my thighs.

I'm sorry about the scars in my mind.

I'm sorry I can't love you as much as you deserve.

I'm sorry I want to kill myself.

I'm sorry for being me.

[support-and-recovery]

take care of your cuts step by step♡

identify their depth

epidermis: very thin, like a line. didn't bleed or bled a little immediately after making it. gets bloody red, then blood droplets start forming inside it. overall looks like your usual, average accidental cut.

dermis: can be thin or wide. you can see a white layer inside them, and then they start bleeding. slowly start to get filled with blood, and then it starts pouring (takes a couple seconds).

hipodermis: wide. you can either see fat, muscle or bone. if you see a white layer surrounded by fat, that's fascia, not dermis. fat may look like beans. starts bleeding after a couple seconds like dermis.

take proper care according to depth

epidermis: softly wipe with a towel and cover with a bandage of choice (bandaids recommended for only one cut, gauzes recommended for multiple cuts in one spot). if you have anything to avoid infection, like an antibiotic that you can apply to it, pour a little in the towel and repeat the first step. do not use alcohol as a disinfectant.

dermis: grab a towel and wrap it around the damaged area. press hard (if it hurts too much, apply less pressure) against the wound for around 5-10 minutes, depending on how wide the wound is. apply disinfectant carefully with the same towel (not the bloody part), avoid putting it inside the cut. use bandage of choice (gauzes and clean cloth recommended). seek medical attendance if deemed necessary.

hipodermis: grab a towel and wrap it around the damaged area. press hard (if it hurts too much, apply less pressure) against the wound for around 8-10 minutes. cover the wound with bandage of choice (clean cloth/regular bandages recommended). seek medical attendance, cuts of this depth cannot be taken care of without a professional. do not try to disinfect it at home, wait for a doctor's opinion.

meet psychological needs

you will be alright, i assure you.

please talk to someone, a close friend or beloved family member, a partner, a teacher, etc. vent to them if you feel safe doing so, take your time.

write it down in a notebook, or the notes app. read it as if it was someone else's vent. try to imagine how you would respond to make them feel better.

this isn't over. you can keep going, i believe in you and i'm here for you if you want to talk.

listen to your favorite songs, cuddle with a pet, take a nap, doodle, have a snack, etc.

don't worry, you got this!

this can be scary for you and i get it, but i promise that you will heal from this, okay?

if you're panicking, take very deep breaths.

cry if you need to.

hug a plushie.

pour cold water in your hands.

drink water and have some food if you haven't had it in a while.

identify the issue once you feel ready emotionally.

deal with the problem by either solving it (don't be scared to ask for help!) or learning to cope with it.

take your time to heal.

healing isn't linear.

ilysm.

some time after cutting...

epidermis: after a day, you can remove the bandage. you don't need to cover it again, but if it's more comfortable for you then go ahead.

dermis: if it bleeds through, change the bandage. if it doesn't bleed through, change the bandage after a day. repeat until it gets better. avoid physical activity that hurts the damaged area.

hipodermis: time for the ER, baby! you will probably get stitches. do not, by any chance, attempt to remove them. follow medical advice given to you.

signs of infection

pus or cloudy fluid is draining from the wound.

a pimple or yellow crust has formed on the wound.

soft scab, the scab has increased in size.

increasing redness occurs around the wound.

a red streak is spreading from the wound toward the heart.

more pain, the wound has become very tender.

pain or swelling is increasing 48 hours after the wound occurred.

swollen node. the lymph node draining that area of skin may become large and tender.

a fever occurs.

the wound hasn't healed within 10 days after the injury.

if any of the above signs appear, seek medical help as soon as possible.

[support-and-recovery]

why do i always love the ones that will hurt me?

#self destruction #su1c1d4l #d3pression #selfharn #su1c1d3 #su1cide #suicudal #sewer slide #su1c1dal

[support-and-recovery]

Remember telling me you were here for me? Remember having my trust? Remember how you betrayed me in the worst way and left me completely and utterly alone with literally nothing left? I remember. I was so stupid for believing your lies in the first place. You were never here for me. You have always been selfish, uncaring, not having the time to deal with me. I guess you'll get what you wanted. Cuz you aren't gonna have to deal with me anymore

#self loathing #tw s3lf harm #su1c1d4l #suicidalideation #depression #su1cide #sewerslide #unalive me #slef harm #cant sleep #domestic abuse survivor

[support-and-recovery]

I've hit a lower place than I thought possible. I'm not okay. I'm seriously ready to kms. Everything I believed, everything I thought I knew, has all been a lie. I can't do this anymore

#su1cude #self loathing #tw s3lf harm #su1c1d4l #k1ll me #depression #im done #i give up

[support-and-recovery]

There's no prayer I've ever said so fervently or so faithfully as 'I'll be OK.'

#we will be okay

[support-and-recovery]

Remember, relapses do not erase your hard work towards recovery. Relapse is not weakness. You are human.

If recovery were easy, more people would have made it through.

#self loathing #relapse #recovery #mental health #ptsd #depression #bpd #anxiety #ana #mia #anamia #sh #self h4rm

[support-and-recovery]

Trauma didn't make me nice, I consciously made me nice because I don't want anyone else to suffer like I did. Trauma didn't make me strong, I made me strong. Don't you dare ever tell me my trauma made me anything but scared, broken, and confused. Don't give credit to the abusers for me being a good person. They didn't make me good, I made myself good.

[support-and-recovery]

Workbooks and Self-Help Books for Mental Illnesses & Symptoms

Hello everybody! I was just thinking about how I always recommend people who can’t get therapy to use workbooks, so I thought I’d make a quick list of some you could look at. I’m not comfortable recommending books for things I have not struggled with (like, if I was looking at the description of a book on OCD I’d have no idea if it was good or not) but I think I’ve covered a lot. Some of these are series which have workbooks for specific disorders like bipolar, etc., if you want to find some. Plus, you don’t have to be diagnosed with something to use a workbook if you think it’ll help you.

Workbooks are sometimes made to be done in conjunction with therapy, or something like that, but anyone can still get something out of them if you put in regular work and try to apply the skills.

I’ve linked them all the Amazon because they’re usually cheaper on there.

For reference: DBT = dialectical behaviour therapy, CBT = cognitive behavioural therapy, ACT = acceptance and commitment therapy

Anxiety, Depression, and Intrusive Thoughts

The CBT Anxiety Solution Workbook

The Anxiety and Worry Workbook

The DBT Skills Workbook for Anxiety

The Anxiety Toolkit

Depressed and Anxious: The DBT Workbook

The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression

The Cognitive Behavioural Workbook for Depression 

Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts 

The Anxious Thoughts Workbook

Borderline Personality Disorder

The BPD Survival Guide

Stronger Than BPD

You Untangled

Mindfulness for BPD

The BPD Toolbox

Beyond Borderline: True Stories of Recovery 

Interpersonal Problems

The Interpersonal Problems Workbook 

ACT for Interpersonal Issues 

Anger

The DBT Skills Workbook for Anger

The Anger Workbook for Teens

Anger Management for Everyone

ACT on Life Not on Anger

Trauma and PTSD

Overcoming Trauma and PTSD

The PTSD Workbook For Teens

The Complex PTSD Workbook

You Empowered

Self Harm

Freedom from Self harm

Stopping the Pain: A Workbook for Self-Injury

Rewrite: The Journey from Self-Harm to Healing

General Emotional Issues/Multiple Disorders

Letting Go of Self-Destructive Behaviors: A Workbook 

The DBT Skills Workbook

Don’t Let Emotions Run Your Life

The Mindfulness Solution for Intense Emotions

The Mindfulness-Based Emotional Balance Workbook

Thoughts and Feelings: Taking Control of Your Moods Workbook

[support-and-recovery]

help….?

the blade is calling my name,

and I don’t know if I can resist it anymore…

help…..?

#help me #depression #sh #slef harm #cuttting

[support-and-recovery]

the reason why other ppl with learning/developmental disabilities can't read like they did in middle school & high school was because books were the easiest way to access serotonin & dopamine since you weren't allowed to use your phone, & they also gave you something to hyperfocus on as a means of mental escape. entering college & the adult world means you can freely use your tech so you can access serotonin/dopamine faster, making books seem less "interesting" in comparison when in reality your mind is just used to the instant gratification, which isn't bad at all. it's like making your own dinner vs ordering out.

[support-and-recovery]

Abusive parents love to pretend that whatever is going on at home is not “real life”, and you, would have no chance of surviving in “real life”. In fact, you know nothing about “real life” at all, you are an dumb, uninformed slob of ignorance and know nothing about living at all. According to them, you have been living in some kind of “bubble” where no real life events have been happening, and all of your experiences and opinions have nothing to do with reality. They even have the nerve to tell you to “start living in the real life.”

You have been living nothing but real life. You had a real life experience of surviving in abusive environment. You have lived a reality of existing next to an abuser. There is nothing unreal or fake about your experiences, your abusive home is no bubble, it’s a real, definite hell that you went thru. There’s no question of you surviving in real life, you literally were surviving the worst of it already. You proved you are capable of surviving the worst of the worst, being in presence of a predator who was capable of brainwashing and manipulating you to keep you scared and unbelieving in your own senses and experiences. 

Every single thing you lived thru was real life. You took on real life from the second you were born. Your circumstances were hard and cruel, you got all advantages taken away from you, replaced with sabotage and hatred, and you’re still alive now. There isn’t a harsher reality than what you already went thru. Your experiences count in the real world. What happened to you affects the real world. Your parents have done nothing but lie to you. You were living in the real world entire time.

#ptsd support #self care #abuse mention

[support-and-recovery]

trauma is anything that overwhelms your ability to cope with no option of escape.

it doesn’t have to be violent or life-threatening, though it can be.

it doesn’t have to be intentional on the part of the person who harmed you, though it can be.

it doesn’t have to fall within typical perceptions of what trauma looks like, though it can be.

you are valid, even if your trauma didn’t “look” or “feel” like the way trauma is conventionally portrayed.

[support-and-recovery]

[support-and-recovery]

This is not a criticism of anyone on tumblr, but just a bunch of ramblings on the way tumblr functions and how that affects us. 

I’ve noticed that when posts about mental illness and chronic illness get reblogged and removed from the context of their original blog, they sort of take on a life of their own. 

I had it happen to one of my own posts. Within the context of my own blog, where I talk daily about the realistic struggles of living with Dissociative Identity Disorder, my post was just me venting about one of those little minor struggles. But when that post got reblogged by hundreds of people and somehow spread outside of the DID community, it became a relatable post and people started reading this one single symptom of DID and reacting to it by saying, “I do this too, do I have DID?” 

I experienced this the other way around a few days ago. I saw a post about hyperflexibility and EDS on my dash and immediately found it extremely relatable. I read the list of “Just EDS things” and thought to myself “Aren’t all those things normal? I experience all those things!” The next thing I knew, I was on Google looking up the Brighton Diagnostic Criteria. As it turns out, the things in that relatable post weren’t really symptoms or anything close to the diagnostic criteria for EDS. They were more like minor daily annoyances that someone with EDS might have, but typical people could theoretically experience too. Removed from the context of a blog about living with EDS, and viewed by someone who doesn’t know much about EDS, they gave me the wrong impression of what the symptoms of EDS looked like. This wasn’t OPs fault at all! It’s just sort of how tumblr works. Anyway, as it turns out I’m definitely not hypermobile. 

Tumblr is chocked full of “relatable” content, and I think that’s one of the things that makes this place great. People crave connection and to feel less alone in their life experiences. 

But I’m begging you, please be cautious about how you interact with “relatable” posts and memes about mental illness and chronic illness. Just because something seems to describe your experience, doesn’t mean that is the best description of your experience. 

Relating really strongly to a post about dealing with a specific mental illness is not a sign that you have that mental illness. Many mental health symptoms overlap. While the OP could be experiencing that because they have bipolar, you could be experiencing it because you have PTSD. 

Take relatable posts as a sign that you need help, not as a sign that you have that specific diagnosis. 

Obviously the same holds true about physical illnesses too. I’m probably not hypermobile, but I should probably bring up my joint pain and fatigue with my doctor at my next appointment. The fact that I related so strongly to a post about living with a chronic illness is a good sign that I’m living with too much pain and I should talk to someone about it. 

As a final word, I want to make it clear that this post is not anti-self-diagnosis. Please do not use it to exclude self-diagnosed people from support and recovery communities. People should be able to access support and recovery communities as they seek a proper diagnosis. Not everyone has the same access to care and treatment. This post is just a word of caution about applying labels to yourself based on finding content “relatable”. 

[support-and-recovery]

#reminder #ptsd support #self love