#will experience recovery and will recieve the support and resources they need to do so

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

very gentle reminder that mental health bloggers aren't your therapists. 

there are so many helpful people & resources on this site and I encourage you to use that. read our posts, ask questions, submit asks (just read the guidelines first). we post this stuff to be helpful! but at the end of the day most of us are not professionals, we probably don't know you personally, and we get overwhelmed too. 

use mental health tumblr as the resource it is, bc it is an enormously valuable resource! my goodness i have learned so much on here. but don't use it as a replacement for professional help, especially in emergencies. it's not fair to us or to you. (there are very very few situations where a tumblr blogger should be your go-to in a personal crisis. i cannot overemphasize how unhealthy and dangerous that trend is for all parties involved. please call a crisis hotline first.)

If you are struggling in any way, I highly encourage you to speak to someone qualified. I am asking people to share links to resources in the notes (online therapy resources, counselling hotlines & chat services, and especially any helpful lists that have already been compiled.)

#not a shitpost #serious post #mental health #a common experience for me as a popular blogger who talks about mental health #is that i will occasionally get contacted by someone I don't really know who is panicked and overwhelmed #and not knowing who else to turn to decides to use my inbox or DMs to overshare really personal and stressful information #that most of the time I'm not qualified to help with #it's not the only reason i rarely read my messages anymore (executive dysfunction and targetted harassment being big reasons themselves) #but there have been some traumatic and stressful incidents that cemented that decision #please know that i am real and sincere in my desire that everyone in this little community we've built #will experience recovery and will recieve the support and resources they need to do so #but the job I have chosen to myself is to promote weird positivity & make people laugh #and yes to encourage people to take the next step and seek help. be it through therapy or medication management or a help program etc #i really really encourage that! #but please know i am not the person you need to be talking to about that #i can point you in the right direction with my blog content #but i'm not a professional and i am also in the middle of my own recovery #it means...holy shit i cannot emphasize how much it means to recieve comments along the lines of #'your content helped me/encouraged me to make changes/helped me realize i have this disorder/made me feel less alone' #i love those messages and I show a lot of them to my mom and save them in a little folder i can look at when i need positivity #thank you so much for those! #and also the messages along the lines of 'i'm going through some shit right now but you made me smile on a shitty day' #i love those bc i have had many dark days of my own & i remember my gratitude and love for the things that added bright spots to dark times #the majority of the messages & comments you guys send are lovely! #but please know I'm not in the position where i can offer advice about specific situations #and yes i wish i had the time and energy to offer individual comfort and conversation to anyone who needs it #but i don't. so i am focusing on what i CAN do. #which is i think to build an online space that feels safe and funny and weird and inclusive #and to sprinkle in liberal helpings of things i wish i had known earlier in regards to mental health and wellness #long post

[gogh-save-the-bees]

Self Harm Masterpost

Recently, I have recieved asks and messages about self harm; How to cope with self harming? How to stop self harming? How do i help a friend who is self harming? I’ve decided to put together this masterpost to answer these questions and more.

I’ve inserted a keep reading link because this topic can be triggering and because this post will be rather lengthy. Below I will discuss coping mechanisms for self-harm, how to help yourself/or someone else struggling with self-harm and linked online resources and apps.

Please reblog this.

Disclaimer: I am not a health professional. All the information below has came from reliable recourses or have came from my own experience of having a self harm addiction.

How to stop self harming-

Tip 1 - Confide in someone

When you are ready to get help with self harming the first step is telling someone. This can be scary and feel impossible - after keeping the secret for so long it can feel unsafe to tell someone but i promise you that the relief you will feel far outweighs the fear. It’s important to confide in someone you can trust, a best friend, a family member, a teacher or a counsellor if you have one. Telling a adult is best but if that is too daunting, stating with a friend is a good starting point and they could even help you tell a adult/health professional at a later date once you are ready.

Communicate in whichever way you feel most comfortable. If you’re too anxious to talk in person start the conversation with an email, text, or letter and then the face-to-face conversation will be easier. Don’t feel pressured to share things you’re not ready to talk about. You don’t have to show the person your injuries or answer any questions you don’t feel comfortable answering.

Remember to give the person time to process what you tell them. As difficult as it is for you to open up, it could also be difficult for the person you tell, especially if it’s a close friend or family member. The may get angry or upset, and you have to be aware of this, but know this is because they care about you and they’re anger/upset comes, most likely, from fear. 

At the start, you may feel worse but once things calm down you will feel relief.

Tip 2 - Identify your self-harm or cutting triggers

Understanding what triggers you to cut or self-harm is a important step towards recovery. Self-harm is most often a way of dealing with emotional pain.

What feelings make you want to cut or hurt yourself? Sadness? Anxiety? Anger? Loneliness? Shame? Emptiness?

Tip 3 - Find new coping mechanisms

Self-harm is a way of dealing with unpleasant feelings and difficult situations. You need to have alternative ways of coping so you can respond differently when you feel like cutting or hurting yourself.

If you self-harm to express pain and intense emotions, you could:

   Paint, draw, or scribble on a big piece of paper with red ink or paint

   Start a journal in which to express your feelings

   Compose a poem or song to say what you feel

   Write down any negative feelings and then rip the paper up

   Listen to music that expresses what you’re feeling

If you self-harm to calm and soothe yourself, you could:

   Take a bath or hot shower

   Pet or cuddle with a dog or cat

   Wrap yourself in a warm blanket

   Massage your neck, hands, and feet

   Listen to calming music

If you self-harm because you feel disconnected or numb, you could:

   Call a friend (you don’t have to talk about self-harm)

   Take a cold shower

   Hold an ice cube in the crook of your arm, leg or the palm of your hand

   Chew something with a very strong taste, like chili peppers, peppermint, or a grapefruit peel

   Go online to a self-help website, chat room, or message board

If you self-harm to release tension or vent anger, you could:

   Exercise vigorously—run, dance, jump rope, or hit a punching bag

   Punch a cushion or mattress or scream into your pillow

   Squeeze a stress ball or squish Play-Doh or clay

   Rip something up (sheets of paper, a magazine)

   Make some noise (play an instrument, bang on pots and pans)

Finding coping techiniques that work for you is important. It can be a trial and error process. Some techniques will help more than others, some will help you more depending on what emotion you are experiencing.

Warning signs that a loved one is cutting or self-harming:

Unexplained wounds or scars from cuts, bruises, or burns, usually on the wrists, arms, thighs, or chest.

Blood stains on clothing, towels, or bedding; blood-soaked tissues.

Sharp objects or cutting instruments, such as razors, knives, needles, glass shards, or bottle caps, in the person’s belongings.

Frequent “accidents.” Someone who self-harms may claim to be clumsy or have many mishaps, in order to explain away injuries.

Covering up. A person who self-injures may insist on wearing long sleeves or long pants, even in hot weather.

Needing to be alone for long periods of time, especially in the bedroom or bathroom.

Isolation and irritability.

Helping someone who cuts or self-harms:

If you’ve noticed suspicious injuries on someone close to you, or that person has admitted to you that they’re cutting you may feel unsure of  what to say? or how you can help?

First, deal with your own feelings.

You might feel shocked, confused, or even disgusted by self-harming behaviors and guilty about having these feelings. Accepting your feelings is an important first step toward helping your loved one.

Educate yourself, do some research.

The best way to overcome any discomfort or disgust you have about self-harm is to learn about it. Try an understand why they are hurting themsleves.

Don’t be judgemental.

Avoid judgmental comments and criticism—they’ll only make things worse. Remember, the self-harming person already feels distressed, ashamed and alone.

Offer support, not ultimatums.

It’s only natural to want to help, but threats, punishments, and ultimatums won’t help anyone. Express your concern and let the person know that you’re there for them whenever they want to talk or need support.

Encourage communication.

Encourage them to express what they arefeeling, even if it’s something you might be uncomfortable with. If the person hasn’t told you about the self-harm, bring up the subject in a caring, non-confrontational way: “I’ve noticed injuries on your body, and I want to understand what you’re going through.”

If the self-harmer is a family member, prepare yourself to address difficulties in the family. This is not about blame, but rather about communicating and dealing with problems in better ways that can benefit the whole family.

Resources

No Harm Done - The project is aimed at young people who are self harming or at risk of self harming, their parents and the professionals working with them. 

Harmless -  Harmless is a user led organisation that provides a range of services about self harm and suicide prevention including support, information, training and consultancy to people who self harm, their friends and families and professionals and those at risk of suicide.

SI0S -   A non-profit outreach initiative providing information and resources about self-injury to those who self-injure, those who have recovered, and those who want to help.

Calm Harm (app) -  Calm Harm provides tasks to help you resist or manage the urge to self-harm. You can make it private by setting a password, and personalise the app if you so wish. You will be able to track your progress and notice change.

Big White Wall -  Big White Wall is an online community for people who are stressed, anxious or feeling low. The service has an active forum with round-the-clock support from trained professionals. You can talk anonymously to other members and take part in group or one-to-one therapy with therapists.

Blue Ice - BlueIce is an evidenced-based app to help young people manage their emotions and reduce urges to self-harm.

Catch It - The app will teach you how to look at problems in a different way, turn negative thoughts into positive ones and improve your mental wellbeing.

Feeling Good - Relax your body and mind with a series of audio tracks designed to help you build confidence, energy and a positive mindset.

Also, facebook groups, tumblr blogs and local charities are great options!!

#tw self harm #recovery #self harm recovery #self harm resources #mental health #positive mental health #mental health support #mental health app #positive #positivity #coping mechanism #masterpost #resources #anxiety #depression

[inpraiseofcuriosity]

A Day in The Life of a Hospital Chaplain

I serve as a "Clinical Chaplain" in the context of inpatient psychiatric and substance abuse treatment units. Practically speaking, this means I spend most of my days with individuals of all ages (from very young children to very old adults) who face the daily realities of mental illness. It's a pretty challenge and unique job and, honestly, I love it. On an almost weekly basis, when I introduce myself to others and the conversation eventually tuns to what I "do for a living", my response typically elicits perplexed stares or exclamations of "Oh, God! That sounds hard!" So I thought I would offer a glimpse into what I actually do every day. Here's a day in the life of a psychiatric chaplain:

5:30 am - Wake, exercise, walk the dog, pray, read, and get ready for the day. I typically read the texts for morning prayer from the Book of Common Prayer and a poem or short story before I leave the house.

6:15 am - Depart for the office. I sometimes take the bus from Raleigh and other times I drive to the hospital. Either way, my commute usually takes about an hour and I like to get to work before most of my colleagues so I can get a jump on some of the administrative aspects of the day. If I take the bus, I'll spend some time reading or listening to a podcast. Sometimes I'll meditate using the "Calm" or "Buddify" apps.

7:30 am - Arrive at the office and process emails, pages, etc. This is my way of "easing into" the day and I like that it's typically calm and quiet.

8:00 am - Morning spiritual care team "huddle" to see how the overnight on-call shift went and discuss any pertinent info about the coming day.

8:30 am - Finish processing emails and plan spirituality groups (more on that later).

9:30 am - By this time (ideally) I am usually out the door and headed onto the patient care units. Depending on the day, I will attend treatment team meetings, lead spirituality groups, or attend to one-to-one patient visitation. I try to visit a minimum of five patients each day and leave space for patient requests, meetings, groups, etc. This is the point in the day when things start to get really interesting. As I mentioned above, I serve inpatient psychiatric units, which sounds complicated - and honestly, it is. What it means in practice is that all of my patients are hospitalized for concerns related to mental illness and substance abuse. Each day I encounter people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, addiction, and a number of other diverse concerns. What is the same for nearly all of them is that each of them feels some connection to "spirituality". I come from a Christian background but not all of my patients do. Though my theology is pretty orthodox (I affirm the historic ecumenical creeds, for instance, and attend a rather traditional Baptist church), my work is not evangelistic in nature. My job is to offer spiritual care and emotional support to patients and this often means simply connecting them to resources for practicing their own, pre-existent spiritual practices. For Muslim patients, I will provide a Qur'an and a prayer rug. For Mormon patients, I provide a copy of the the Book of Mormon. For Catholic patients, I ensure their name is on the Catholic patient census so that they can be visited by a priest or recieve communion from a lay eucharistic minister. For all patients as well I provide opportunities for them to explore and grapple with the realities of mental illness and how their faith or spiritual practice intersects with that and informs their day-to-day life. During this time, I may also lead spirituality groups which provide a community setting for discussing the realities of mental illness, substance abuse, and the ways that spirituality can aid in the recovery and coping process. This is not a "devotional" group although we do often have deep conversations about faith and related topics such as prayer, worship, etc. This is really an open forum for exploring spirituality and, I find, it helps patients to understand the differences between their own beliefs and practices and those of others.

12:00 pm - By noon, I have typically visited two to three patients and led a spirituality group with between five and fifteen patients. This time also includes writing chart notes documenting each of these visits and consulting with the "care team" regarding details relevant to patients' treatment or advocating for patients' religious practices in the treatment context. At around noon, I try to take a walk around the hospital and get outdoors for about thirty minutes. I use this time get some much-needed sun and clear my head. My patients often carry with them stories of complex trauma and, honestly, hearing and attending to these experiences can be a little draining - no matter how much I might enjoy the work, it's still exhausting. Around 12:30 I'll have lunch with some colleagues or with the child treatment unit (typically on Tuesdays).

1:00 pm - This time is usually reserved for meetings, planning, catching up on charting, and consultation with colleagues.

2:00 pm - I'm only 3/4 time at this point which, despite the lower pay scale, has its benefits. Namely, I'm out of the office most days by 2:00pm. My bus departs at 2:30 so I usually read, reflect, or journal about my day to clear my head and be ready to be present when I get home. At 2:30 I catch the bus and am usually home by 3:30 to pick up the kids, head home, and start dinner.

That's what "a day in the life" of this psychiatric chaplain looks like. The work is often difficult and involves offering spiritual care, counsel, and emotional support to patients facing the challenges of mental illness, substance abuse, and trauma. It's hard but also very rewarding and, honestly, I don't think there is anywhere else I'd rather serve.

Blessings,

A.T.