#genuinely having mild anxiety because im TOO excited | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mspaintp7ague · 1 month

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quite thankful i dont have a lot of dysphoria cause my mom thinks hrt will give me heart problems or some shite 😐 like bitch please you do realize cis men just have that much t and don't go around dropping dead right

my doctor is chill on the whole thing she's just bein weird. there's a trans health center pretty close to us but nooo she doesn't want to go there and check out the actual medical resources and opinions on the matter. oh and she's also antivax but just for the covid vaccine. yes i am still not vaxxed for covid fml

tldr. im gonna be Busy after i turn 18

fr tho she really is just being stupid. i don't ever want children so idgaf about losing my fertility. idgaf if it would actually kill me tbh the world is going to shit anyway and i doubt i'm gonna amount to anything. thing is literally no one thinks hrt kills you. she needs to get off chinese 4chan fr

she lets me do what i want for the most part but is annoyingly stupid about certain things. yeah i don't like the government either but the vaccine that millions of people have taken is not going to give me cancer in ten years. she fr thinks people will start dropping dead eventually and "we just need to wait to see the long term effects" the mrna is reabsorbed in like. three weeks. how do you have this little critical thinking / trust in science

and she thinks men and women genuinely have biological differences to the point that gendered razors are actually important and you need a dick to wear boxers. fuck off mom let me buy some swim trunks. the razors i could care less about tbh cause she pays for them but still

ughh. kinda glad i'll probably commute to college cause rooming with someone would probably get awkward in several ways.

she also doesn't seem to believe in mental illness. which. while im self diagnosing and mostly guessing at what's wrong with me i am about 100% certain i have trichotillomania (hair pulling compulsion) because. yknow i fucking do that and have a giant bald patch on my head. and she will just be like "why don't you just stop?" and "use some self control" etc. recently i've decided to just stop showing her my hair (i wear a hat a lot) because it really just makes me feel worse and it's not her fucking business. she keeps asking anyway but i'm just gonna keep telling her no until it grows back. she literally can't do anything to help and only makes me feel worse about it

another thing i'm less sure about is the possible cyclothymia / mild bipolar i may have. i mentioned it to her and she thinks it's just mood swings, which, it might be, but this has been happening for a long time. so much in fact that i've projected it onto my ocs. plague as a character started off as a 'normal' mask of myself but gb (who was based off my irl appearance but. whiter) had two characterizations that i swapped between inconsistently. can u guess what they were. yeah. depressed/apathetic and extremely manic, deranged even. looking back i see the patterns of depression and extreme interest in media/characters/other stuff i've had. even if i would hide it irl i'd have weeks where i stayed up until 3 or 4 multiple days in a row just because i couldn't stop playing a game or reading or i just had this amazing idea and i have to write/draw it right now or i will explode. sleep is for the weak. etc. and then i'll have weeks where i can't look any of my teachers in the eye and am too tired of caring to shower or do laundry or anything beyond the bare minimum chores and wake up in the morning skip breakfast and walk to the bus stop contemplating if it's worth it to still be alive. at least when i'm excited i'll do essential stuff just so i can get back to the fixation again. it's so fucking stupid. "yeah sorry i havent worked on my essay in six weeks because i was too busy doing random shit and/or thinking about dying but was too pussy to actually do anything sorry"

that and the anxiety spirals. those were pretty bad for a while. like. someone told me they wanted to play games with me and i said yes. then they didn't reply for forty minutes and i just. kept thinking i did something wrong or misunderstood their message or otherwise fucked up but turns out they just forgot they messaged me. haha. yeah totally normal reaction there plague.

i can't tell if there's something seriously wrong with me or not but i don't want to tell my therapist about it because i don't want to get institutionalized or something. and my mom is anti medication too. yippee. maybe it's too much to hope some drug will make me stop having days where i can't fucking do anything for literally no reason but i don't know how to fix myself otherwise.

oh and i mentioned to my mom very vaguely a time where i overshared some suicidal thoughts and proceeded to spiral for like 5 hours straight over getting no response and ultimately dipped from a friend group for a while and now she wants to know the details. i literally told you i didn't even tell my therapist the whole story what gives you the right to know? huh?

i don't know if i'm normal. i feel like i'm not but i might just be overreacting and being edgy. i also have definitely have experienced impostor syndrome about several things in the past so i clearly can't trust my own judgement on either thing.

i also don't think i love my family. they don't really matter that much to me anymore. i think i felt something for them when i was younger but it's just not there anymore. my mom simply does not understand a lot of things and i think i see her on the same level as a friend, maybe. we talk and spend time civilly but there is nothing deeper there on my end. i've tried explaining it to her but i don't think she gets it. i really feel nothing more for her than for my school friends.

my siblings i've never been very close to anyway. i don't feel like i can talk to either of them about much anymore. with brother i can sometimes but i only reference certain stuff through jokes. yeah look at this funny stan blog i made for this vtuber that i've been thinking about nonstop for the last two weeks because i can't tell the difference between a crush, admiration, gender envy and aesthetic appreciation of his avatar. i'm so silly and not mentally ill at all.

there's no one who's an appropriate audience for this huh. ok. mental illness blog it is

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onepunchmiss · 5 years

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OPM s2e5 Live blog

“The Martial Arts Tournament”

Alright I’m back to the regular live blog schedule and theres 2 things before we get started. 1) OH MY GOD DO-S IS THE EPISODE THUMBNAIL WE GET TO SEE ALL THE MONSTERS POPPING UP and 2) DOES THAT MEAN WE’LL SEE ZOMBIEMAN TRAILING MARTIAL GORILLA BECAUSE IF SO I sincerely apologize in advance yall must be aware by now how that’s going to go down on this blog. Anyway, as always I’m watching this from the perspective of someone who is caught up on both the manga and web comic. Los geht’s!

Yup the centipede movement is still creepy as hell. I saw people saying it was cgi last week which I didn’t catch right away, but regardless it’s done so well because it looks unnatural.

EYYYYY ok actually I kind don’t care about Metal Knight. What this episode is actually going to be is me screaming about all the monsters liKE RHINO WRESTLER AND PHOENIX MAN GUYS I LOVE THIS STUPID BIRD SO MUCH HECKING HECK. I’m gonna vomit like him and Do-S PLUS Garou vs Bat PLUS the other S Class heroes (Tatsumaki and Flashy Flash??) I am not physically mentally or emotionally prepared.

Yo this seems to be a trend with the monsters and me, I am evidently never prepared for the garish color schemes they get. Not mad just surprised every time?

hhhhhhhhhhhhh Ok the fight! I’m… I’m gonna try really hard to not pause every 2 seconds because I will inevitably have many words to say and screen grabs to take but that would be more than excessive sooooo ok here I go

Lol I failed immediately. I love that they’re going shot for shot with the fight. I’ve said it before, but I really think Murata captures movement and action sequences so well in the manga that if the anime were to try and deviate, it just wouldn’t be as good (especially with all the flack JC staff has been catching). Also I ADORE Metal Bat’s theme music when his fighting spirit comes out??? It’s so corny and triumphant and bad ass at once it fits him so well?? Ok wait a second I thought that after metal bat hit the manhole cover it ricocheted and came back at Garou what the heck??? That was such a cool move on Bat’s part and demonstrates he’s not just brute force, but tactical too. Why’d they leave that out??OH COME ON THEY DID WHAT THE HELL WHERE IS THIS??

This is actually my least favorite thing about season 2 biggest complaint what the fuck they did my boy dirty here. Oh thank god Zenko is here to quell my anger. Also Bat’s glowing eyes of murderous intent. Look at her. A legend.

Garou: “...haa?” Yup still love his voice actor. Perfection. Also Zenko. Just. Metal Bat and Zenko. Moshi moooshi? Just. This whole thing was almost perfect. So close. The fight felt so short, and it was because they cut out some good stuff. So close to perfection uhg

AH MY STUPID BIRD MAN he sounds exactly like what I wanted him to I’m so glad and HAH the fuckin hand I forgot about that. Side note, Anyone else play Arkham Asylum? The monster association logo looks like Scarecrow’s symbol in that game…. ANYWAY I need to take a moment to appreciate that little Phoenixman chuckle it was hella cute ok

Rh-Rhino Wrestler basically just said “Then Perish”

Oh Fuck

Oh God

Martial Gorilla

Oh fuck

O H F UK

oh false alarm im ok my heart rate skyrocketed for nix Oh Maiko Plasma!! I love her voice wtf its cute? Phew ok the tournament. Wait that’s not giving me a break either because MAX AND SNEK M A X AND SN EK

I love him and his stupid hair omg. I’m REALLY hoping that the anime branching out and giving other characters more spotlight will help them grow in popularity a bit. Every single character in this series is underrated imo. Even the popular ones like geNOS LOOKIT HIM clapping for his sensei. Genos is baby boy I lov

“Dark Corporeal Fist?” Isn’t Void Fist just easier to say? really now. Oh My God Sourface chanting “I’m ok I’m ok I’m ok” is literally my daily Mood™. Damn look at Bang taking out some frustration I’d hate to be that monster. Me too my dude Smile Man.

WHOA I was NOT expecting that transition!! Heart! Hard! HIT! It’s the Monster Wife!! And She definitely looks more monstrous in color oof those eyes ❤❤

OH FUCK OH GOD WAIT MARTIAL GORILLA AGAIN DAMN IT I WISH I REMEMBERED EXACTLY WHEN Z SHOWS UP MY BLOOD PRESSURE CANT TAKE THIS ofuck ok false alarm again but I’m low key freaking out as they pan through all the monsters because the S Class is so close like we’re about to get Child Emperor, Flashy Flash, Pig God, Drive Knight, Darkshine and so on who got next to no screen time in season 1 its giving me anxiety im so pumped??

OH FUCK GUYS PUREBLOOD OH SHIT FUCK I FORGOT WE SEE HIM THIS EARLY CAUSE HIS DESIGN KEPT CHANGING he looks stupid with his hair behind his ears and his voice is NOT what I imagined and that manga panel redraw I did was way off with the color scheme but I don’t care I have read and re-read that fight countless times this monster just grew on me by default oh no UHG and look at Super S again it looks like they’re going panel for panel here with her and I’m not complaining

They keep hopping to the tournament but I don’t have much to say about it until the shit starts going down….. and like I’m so excited for that Snek and Max moment (you know the one) but until then I’m just so overwhelmed by all the other plotlines happening I don’t have much in the way of comments for it

I lied ok that eye twitch got me. But see then it cuts away too quickly and the episode is over. I get that there’s a lot happening at once but the tournament feels dragged out a bit. It’s different when you read the manga at your own pace but cmonnnnnnnnnnnnn gimme moreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

HAH THANK YOU POST CREDIT STINGER YOU DELIVERED MY WISHES AND ZAKKOS IS SOME WEAK SAUCE.

NEXT WEEK GUYS ITS HAPPENING

Final thoughts. Um. I wish the Garou vs. Metal Bat was a tad longer just for that ONE moment. I’m still heartbroken over it. But otherwise? I’m so excited for next week, I can’t convey my excitement without being excessively obnoxious? this episode was pure hype. There are no buts about it- we are getting the S Class next week. I… think I’m going to leave work at noon to catch the episode right when it airs. I was saving that for an episode with Z but I don’t think I’ll be able to function at work if I stay. At this point every character is a fave and now we’re getting all of them, I feel so overloaded and we haven’t even seen anything yet. I don’t know what to even say about the future of these crap ass live blogs- they have no structure as it stands right now, but like they are going to devolve into just me screaming. Not even real words. just something like keyboard smashing and tears, probably. I’m so sorry, but anyway, as always thanks for reading, see yall next week assuming I survive

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budzdorovanatasha · 3 years

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Im not one for soul mate au but that one sounds amazing, and like I'd love to see something on that

“soulmate AU where the one person- who is usually in very good health and never gets sick- has the words, “bless you” scrawled across their wrist. they spend most of their life thinking that their soulmate may be someone religiously affiliated- perhaps a priest, or a nun who’s considering leaving the church- but they never cross paths with the person. it isn’t until one day, they come down with their first absolutely awful head cold. they’re muddling through their day, barely cognizant of the world around them and silently cursing their normally strong constitution. it isn’t until they sneeze and hear someone mutter a soft, “bless you,” that they realize this particular cold happened for a reason”

I am really proud of this one, and I really hope you like it :))

---------------------------------------------------------------

Natasha had gone her entire life staring at the words scrawled on her wrist: bless you. She’d never thought she’d marry someone who was religious, or perhaps ex-religious, but that’s the only thing that seemed to fit. She’d never considered the possibility that she would just have a really bad cold when finally meeting the love of her life.

You’d gone your entire life staring at the words scrawled on your wrist: thank you. The words frustrated you to no end; they were so common, said hundreds of times a day. You'd never know your soulmate was coming until that special feeling ran through you.

--------------

It was a cool autumn day when Natasha woke up with probably the worst cold she’d ever had. Never had any illness come down on her so fast, and she most certainly didn’t appreciate it. How had she even gotten sick? She rarely ever came down with even a mild case of the sniffles, and if she did, it never affected her life in really any capacity. Groaning, she slowly got up, choosing to head for coffee instead of her usual morning workout.

By the time Natasha had made it to her favorite coffee shop, she’d sneezed a total of nearly thirty times, wiped her nose raw, and coughed so much that she thought her lungs were trying to leave her body. All she wanted was her latte and to go back to bed. Because the world seemed to be against her today, there also happened to be a line.

Across town, you were also heading to your favorite coffeeshop after your only meeting of the day. It was a Friday, and a good one at that. You didn’t think you’d ever had a free Friday; you were excited at the prospect of spending it in any way you'd like.

Once you’d finally ordered, you stood in the back, behind and a little to the right of a redhead, who you couldn’t help but eye for a moment. Her hair was somehow perfect, and you wondered if it was so naturally red, so naturally perfect. Her outfit was somehow perfect too- nearly all black, with boots, jeans, and a leather jacket. She really was gorgeous, and you wanted to talk to her, to see her- it was a pull you couldn’t quite explain.

And then the redhead sneezed.

“Bless you,” you murmured automatically. She turned, a neutral expression on her perfect face, though her eyes were a flurry of emotions.

“Thank you,” she replied carefully.

With those words, your eyes went wide and you felt it, the thing that explained the pull.

She was your soulmate. You raised your wrist as she gave a bit of a chuckle and her lips twisted into a smirk.

“You’re laughing,” you muttered, a bit hurt. “Am I not what you wanted?”

“I’m only laughing ironically because I actually never get sick, and I've never been this sick. And now I know why.” She punctuated the end of that sentence with another sneeze.

“Bless you,” you repeated, reliving the wonderful feeling you’d felt when you first said those words to her, a smile gracing your lips.

“Thank you,” she murmured, a genuine smile replacing her smirk.

“I’m sorry you’re sick,” you offered, sympathy in your expression.

“It’s okay. I’m Natasha,” she replied, offering her hand.

“Y/N.” You took her hand, feeling electricity erupt. It was the best thing you’d ever felt.

“Wait...” you whispered. In all of the excitement of meeting her, seeing her, speaking to her, you hadn’t actually put two and two together. “You’re Natasha Romanoff.”

“So you’ve heard of me?” she teased lightly, pausing to cough into her sleeve. The barista called both of your orders, and you stepped forward, grabbing them both and holding it out to her.

“I don’t want to leave you just yet,” you admitted.

“Well, we should probably at least exchange contact info,” she chuckled.

“I, um, I know you’re not feeling well, and I completely understand if you want to be alone, but I’d love to take care of you if you want.”

Both of your hearts beat rapidly in your chests.

Natasha tried not to show her anxiety. She was so private, so closed off, so... not okay with showing weakness... but you were her soulmate, so shouldn’t she be vulnerable with you? You were the only one who hadn’t made her want to curl in on herself in embarrassment when her sneeze had been acknowledged.

“Okay,” she agreed.

Your heart fluttered.

“I’m assuming you’d be most comfortable in your own room?”

Natasha gave a nod, heading out the door and holding it open for you. You flushed.

“Thank you.”

“I thought those were my signature words to you.”

#natasha romanoff x reader #soulmate au #my fic #mcu sickfic #mcu whump #whumpfic #marvel whump #sickfic

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franeridart · 7 years

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Hmmm.. what do you think about the monoma x shinsou ship??

It’s… possibly a good ship? I guess? I’ve seen it around a bit, but ngl I don’t really understand it haha

Anon said: when’s your birthday?

November 13th! It’s still pretty far~

Anon said:you say you like seeing the bakusquad taking care of babies hmmm? draw them maybe? OuO

I did haha

Anon said:Because of your art (you made me fall in love with Bakugou and Kirishima and Kaminari) I started BNHA and got my best friend into it. Now I can’t stop writing them and my friend and I have several AUs already.

This is the best kind of ask omfg !!!!! Glad I could get you into my disaster trio!!! …but also are you maybe gonna share like I’m starved for bakushimanari content a n o n

Anon said:Aw man i was gonna recomend that fic by newamsterdam to you. Like i finished reading it and thought you could like it since you like that other kuroo x teru fic (thanks to you and the anon for that btw) and it seemed your style? Im kinda sad i missed the chance (ok i know this whole ask sounds stupid)

Awwww don’t be sad anon, reccing me bakushima stuff is seriously hard because I might or might not go daily in the ao3 tag to read anything complete that’s been updated and I might or might not be following all fics regularly updating unless they have a character death/angst with no happy ending warning oops - thank you for thinking about me tho!!! That made me happy haha

Anon said:I pestered my friend until he watched (and fell in love with) bnha and now I’m pestering him to look at your blog because your art is top notch and every bnha fan should look at your art imo

Thank??? You???? Holy smokes !!!

Anon said:Aaaaaaa I really love your bakushima art its just so pure and wholesome and makes me really happy when I see it!! ;;u;;

B O I THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:The Uraraka and Bakugou fight!!! !!! !!! Probably my favourite fight in the tournament ahhh just the depth of character from both of them I’m ;; and the “Todoroki isn’t you” line ahhhhhhhhhhh

Haha well my fave is still the bakushima one ngl I’m weak for Bakugou actually having fun, but I feel this!! It’s a great fight and the anime did it so so well too!!!! Can’t wait for next episode tbh aahhhhhhh !!!

Anon said:With the latest chapter, I’m gonna assume Midnight ships the hard bros lmao. But honestly tho, she was me!! I love them!!! It was everything I hoped it to be, the graphics, the focus on their hands, the handshake, thE FREAKING SPARKLES!!!!

It was!!!!!!! Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! And such a sweet surprise too, I thought I wouldn’t get to see it this episode and YET!!!!! I might have yelled hahaha

Anon said:“Three sets of eyes and still can’t see bakugou” 1000% accurate I’m crying

*wiggle eyebrows* the pun was calling for me

Anon said:I FLIPPING LOVE YOUR ART SO FRICKING MUCH

AND I LOVE YOU ANON !!!!!!!!!

Anon said:Things that automatically make my day better: seeing a notification that says “franeridart has posted a photo”. I always give a little gasp and go “FRANNY!” Before immediately looking at the picture. Even the ones that aren’t for fandoms I’m in are so super cute!! So long story short I love you and your art k bye

Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You’re so sweet oh my g o s h!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *O*

Anon said:Would it be possible to see any bokuroteru or bakushima art in your rb?

Anon said:The bakushima smooches would look great on a notebook/mug/etc !

I added the smooches!!!! And I mean to go through my bakushima stuff to see what else works!! As for the bokuroteru, is there anything specific you’d like to see? Nothing seems worth it tbh haha rip

Anon said:I just bought a bag and a t-shirt and this shirt will be worn at anime expo in July and I would looooooove it if some of YOYR matsuhana S made it into your shop because I would buy all of them

THANK YOU SO MUCH OH MY G O D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:M'cryin the way young Mirio looked was like a colonial American teen. Also holy shit the character development showing Tamaki’s anxiety and pessimism, and then Mirio being the super supportive friend he is and just ugh everything about this chapter was amazing

IT W AS I love it so much Amajiki’s such a good character honestly and his relationship with Mirio is!!! So good!!!! Also long haired Mirio might have been a nod to his liking rock music actually!! I love it!

Anon said:Do you ever wonder if Mirio is maybe too good and one of these days we’re gonna find out he’s actually a bad egg

…Nah. He’s not the only exceptionally good character after all, Deku, Uraraka and Kirishima are right there with him, and Toshi too! Pure characters are a Thing in bnha, which makes sense since they’re all heroes, it’s their job to be good haha

Anon said:Heeyyy so, I have this dream of owning a bookstore, and was wondering if I commissioned so e work, if you’d be ok with me displaying it in my store? Just you know… hypothetically speaking…

Well, as of now my commissions aren’t open so there’s that. But once I’ll open them then it’ll depend on what exactly you commission me to draw, I guess? I dunno! Once my commissions will be open you can contact me off anon and we can talk about it one on one~

Anon said:What do you think of platonic Tokoyami x Tsuyu dynamic? They work so well together! I think they could be good friends! Also do you ship Tokoyami and Shouji? They earned a place in my heart since the training camp!

I love!!!! TokoTsuyu!!!!! Holy heck!!!! I’ve drawn them together a couple of times, their exam together was really amazing I wish I could see more of them interacting! Also they were my first faves in bnha, so seeing them interact has always been like a treat to me haha also yes to ShoujiYami!! Drew that once as well, they’re so cute~ smallest boy x tallest boy, what a good couple !!

Anon said:Have you ever thought about Tetsutetsu x Kendou? I can’t stop thinking about it since the training camp, I love Kendou so much she’s so awesome and sweet, and Tetsutetsu is amazing and a true hero, and they have such a lovely dynamic!

MY MAIN TETSU SHIP !!!!!!! I drew them once too, I love them so so much they’d make such a good couple honestly I should draw them more

Anon said: I love your Hagakure hc you posted! She’s so lovely, I hope she learns how to make herself visible because I can’t imagine meeting people and knowing no one knows how you look like. She’s probably cool with her quirk now, after so many years, but I’m sure she must get upset sometimes…

My fave thing about Hagakure is that she sometimes acts as if she forgets no one can see her - not even in an angst way, like she complains about Mineta looking in their changing room or stuff like that, I can’t tell if she just genuinely forgets or if she’s so used to being invisible that for her is like being visible anyway???? Either way it’s gonna be fun if and when she’ll learn how to make herself visible!

Anon said:This latest chapters have me shipping Kirideku a little~~~~ haha. Man, I love their interactions, they are so supporting of each other and so work well together. Its nice seeing Deku interact with someone who doesn’t expects anything of him and who is just a friend

Nah, there’s lotsa people who don’t expect anything from him, Deku’s friends love him a lot~ but yeah his interactions with Kiri are fun, most times it’s just Kiri getting excited and being overly energetic as usual and Deku going “ye-yeah!” with his uncertain face, it’s??? fun??? Seeing the members of the bakusquad interact on friendly terms with the dekusquad is always fun for me exactly for that, Deku’s friends are all so mild compared to Baku’s, you notice the squad’s energy even more like this haha

Anon said:(Waifu2x anon) *gasp!* I’m not worthy!!

You keep me in too high regards, anon haha

Anon said:fran!! i saw your art for todays chapter and promptly died all over again. ive fallen in mirio/amajiki hell and i dont wanna get out. ive also taken to using miriama as their ship name too?? so idk what else people use but!! i just need to scream at you how beautiful your art is and i would buy things from you if you ever opened a shop

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Since posting those doodles I’ve heard MiriAma MiriTama MiriMaki MiriJiki TogaAma and TogaJiki and I love??? All of them???? I don’t know which I’ll end up picking honestly I wonder what the main tag is atm haha is there even art for them? There should be t b h

#fran answers #four days of asks my pals #i need to stop procrastinating on answering them #lol @ me because i always say that and LOOK AT ME T B H #ship asks #anonymous

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positivepsychologyinterventions · 5 years

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The Power of Creativity in Helping Us to (Kind of) Cope

The intensity of Maureen “Marzi” Wilson’s anxiety varies day to day. Some days, it’s a “mild uneasiness,” a nagging feeling that she’s forgotten something important. “Other days, it’s closer to terror, a horrible premonition that something catastrophic is imminent,” she said.

The outward expression varies, too. Sometimes, she fidgets. Other times, she’s “sitting in the corner of a closet wrapped in a blanket.” Because “some days are harder than others,” she said.

Wilson has been struggling with anxiety since she was a teen. Several years ago, she was trying to figure out the best way to cope with her anxiety, which prompted her to start creating illustrations online. She’d also taken a personality quiz, and discovered that she’s an introvert. She wanted to understand more about her introversion and her anxiety.

As she writes in her insightful, inspiring, funny, poignant book Kind of Coping: An Illustrated Look at Life with Anxiety, “I’d assumed that my limited social circle and my preference for solitude were due solely to anxiety. But it turns out I’m an introvert who has anxiety. And I became committed to understanding what that means.”

Wilson created a doodle named “Marzi,” who’s trying to figure out how to navigate life as an introvert who also struggles with anxiety at IntrovertDoodles.com.

For Wilson, creating these illustrations helps her to express her “fears and hopes in a therapeutic way.” “It “enables me to make sense of my feelings. Writing and drawing help to clarify my intentions, and that makes it easier to follow through on my goals,” she said.

That’s the thing about creating and making: It helps us to better understand who we are. It helps us to unravel our many layers, and brings us closer to our core. And, ultimately, it helps us to cope with our struggles, whether those struggles are around having anxiety or depression, losing a loved one, or dealing with a painful situation (or all of the above).

Wilson noted that releasing our thoughts “onto paper or canvas [can keep] them from taking up space in your head.” And that can provide meaningful relief—and insight. When we use creativity as a tool to work through our thoughts, feelings and challenges, we can make sense of our inner turmoil, and even soothe it. We can get to its root. And we acknowledge, name and honor our experience, which is a powerful way to care for and bolster our well-being.

Here are five ways you can use creativity to explore and cope with whatever you’re struggling with.

Describe the details. In Kind of Coping, Wilson illustrates what it’s like to live with anxiety on a regular basis. For instance, in one illustration, she notes that anxiety is problems with prioritizing (“I don’t know what to do first!”), and thinking that every decision you make is wrong. It’s “bodily mutiny,” with headaches, insomnia, muscle tension, nausea, shaking, sweating and exhaustion. It’s irrational thoughts: “Nobody likes me,” “I’m a failure,” “Something terrible is going to happen,” “I’m so stupid,” “I’m not safe.” It’s “messy moods,” such as overwhelmed and irritable and afraid and detached.

Spend some time identifying the details of your struggle. Then draw these details. You might create a comic like Wilson. Or you might think about the different creative outlets you enjoyed as a child—making up stories, drawing animals, keeping a diary, dancing—and use those to explore and name the specifics of your struggle and situation.

Paint the whirl of emotions. Focus solely on your feelings. How are you feeling right now? Channel those feelings into a painting, letting them dictate the colors you use and what you create. Maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed, so you splash paint onto your paper, and move it around with your hands. Maybe you decide to depict what your depression feels like during the course of a day using different shapes. Maybe you decide to paint your grief in its messy, multilayered stages.

Write about the quality of your feelings. It can be hard to put into words precisely what we’re feeling. In Writing for Emotional Balance: A Guided Journal to Help You Manage Overwhelming Emotions, psychologist Beth Jacobs, Ph.D, notes that “Emotions can blend together like watercolors, and a physical sensation such as a knot in your stomach can indicate a variety of feelings ranging from excited anticipation to anxiety to fear or rage.” Which is why she suggests exploring the qualities of our feelings with these sentences:

If this feeling was a color, it would be ….

If this feeling was weather, it would be ….

If this feeling was a landscape, it would be ….

It this feeling was music, it would be ….

It this feeling was one object, it would be ….

Create a conversation. Write out a conversation between you and whatever you’re struggling with. Maybe that’s a conversation between you and your anxiety. Maybe it’s a conversation between you and a mistake you made. Maybe it’s a conversation between you and a trait of yours, which you’ve been disappointed about (e.g., your shyness, your sensitivity, your introversion).

Use your genuine curiosity to delve deeper. What do you want to know about this situation, this illness, this challenge, this trait? You might ask questions like: What do you want to tell me? What are you trying to teach me? Why? What do you need right now? What are you really upset about? What’s on your mind? How can we become a team?

Use creativity for encouragement. At the end of Kind of Coping, Wilson features an illustration of the many reasons to keep going: the blooming of a plant you grew, clean sheets, constellations, the first sip of coffee in the morning and the sparkling of grass with early morning dew.

Consider drawing your own reasons to keep going, seemingly small reasons that put a smile on your face or soothe your soul. Or think of another way you can use your creativity to encourage, support and uplift yourself. Maybe you write yourself a letter or a poem. Maybe you snap photos of everyone and everything you love, and create a collage or a small, tangible album. You can keep it with you, and look through it any time you need some comfort and a reminder of all the beauty and love that surrounds you. Or maybe you create something else that gives you hope, like this other illustration from Wilson’s book:

Creativity is just one way we can cope. For instance, Wilson’s comics complement her other coping strategies: She sees a therapist once a week, takes medication, practices self-care and stress management, and uses cognitive techniques for redirecting anxious thoughts. She also bakes, sews and skates, which are hobbies, she said, that are calming and provide a sense of purpose. Plus, “lots of puppy cuddles” help, too.

Through her illustrations, Wilson said that she’s lucky to have found an incredibly supportive community on Instagram (@introvertdoodles). “The most beautiful part of this journey for me has been realizing that I’m not as alone or as weird as I thought I was…I’m not the only one learning out how to (kind of) cope, and neither are you! It’s something we can figure out together.”

And that’s another powerful benefit of creativity: connecting over our shared humanity. Or, in short, kinship.

All images are from Kind of Coping: An Illustrated Look at Life with Anxiety.

from World of Psychology https://ift.tt/2IEt5ki via IFTTT

#IFTTT #World of Psychology

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psychotherapyconsultants · 5 years

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The Power of Creativity in Helping Us to (Kind of) Cope

Wilson created a doodle named “Marzi,” who’s trying to figure out how to navigate life as an introvert who also struggles with anxiety at IntrovertDoodles.com.

Here are five ways you can use creativity to explore and cope with whatever you’re struggling with.

If this feeling was a color, it would be ….

If this feeling was weather, it would be ….

If this feeling was a landscape, it would be ….

It this feeling was music, it would be ….

It this feeling was one object, it would be ….

And that’s another powerful benefit of creativity: connecting over our shared humanity. Or, in short, kinship.

All images are from Kind of Coping: An Illustrated Look at Life with Anxiety.

from World of Psychology https://psychcentral.com/blog/the-power-of-creativity-in-helping-us-to-kind-of-cope/

#World of Psychology

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mspaintp7ague · 1 month

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tldr. im gonna be Busy after i turn 18

ughh. kinda glad i'll probably commute to college cause rooming with someone would probably get awkward in several ways.

there's no one who's an appropriate audience for this huh. ok. mental illness blog it is

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