In Tune with Your Mental Health

Mental Health is described as your mental state of mind, how well you feel and how you can cope in your daily life.  I change from day to day.  One day I feel I can conquer the world, the next day I am as sluggish as a turtle.  If you have good mental health you can feel confident in yourself almost always, you are never afraid to express yourself or emotions, you have a positive outlook and relationships with others and your livelihood at home and abroad, especially at work is productive and you cope with stress, change and other uncertainties.

What takes a person such as myself or others from such positive movements, becoming unable to cope with stress or feeling “blue”?  We might have suffered some loss of a loved one or a dear friend, we might be suffering from loneliness or even still, we might have problems with a relationship.  We could even be worried about work or debts which are hard to manage, in any case we are going through a time of “bad” mental health, when we cannot cope or manage emotionally or cannot think rationally.

How to stay mentally in tune in these “bad” times is to remain resilient or to build our resilience so that we are strengthened and able to face what is difficult.  If you trust someone, talk to them about how you are feeling.  They could be friends, or family, even someone connected to the church, anyone who can give you advice which is sound and practical.  If this isn’t possible, just talking the problem through can help you to understand how you may become a better feeling person. 

We all need some kind of support, and building relationships is important in staying healthy.  Associating with people who are positive, you can build a better image of yourself and feel what it’s like to be confident and how to cope with situations which may be problematic.  If you care about people you will find they in turn will care about you and be just as supportive.  You will feel better about yourself in the long run and if you don’t have anyone to associate with or a friend, you may find that you might experience some negative feelings and if this is the case, learn and or experience something new, such as a hobby, which can build knowledge, patience and a way to share with others who share the same liking of such an activity or hobby.  This direction becomes a new challenge which has meaning for you and in your sharing has meaning for new friends who can help support you as you associate with them. 

Written by Donald S

What to do – Facing Stress

Have you ever noticed how much time it takes for you to remember a small detail or if you have a hard time concentrating on a project? Are you over anxious or have racing thoughts or worry a lot? I go through this maze of symptoms enough to cause myself anger and overwhelming feelings. I have explored these and other symptoms (checking reality) and found that stress is not only made up of what are called Cognitive symptoms, yet can be found to be of Emotional symptoms as well. There are physical symptoms such as overeating or not eating at all, nausea and sleeping problems as well as isolation or neglect and last but not least, drug use, excessive alcohol and or smoking. I tend to see myself as not a stress filled person, yet I have these symptoms tying me to a post at times causing me to wonder how and why instead of finding some other direction to turn without worry by working my problems out or understanding the emotions themselves.
I do admit at times I am under stress, during the weekends when I wouldn’t rather be anywhere except at home working or trying to relax from the work week past, yet others would rather see me out and about town, yet I tie myself down and withdraw from the world only to become somewhat depressed. I am shutting down for the moment yet I feel the pressure of having to be where I don’t want to be and I know this stressful time is affecting my mind, body and the way I behave with others and myself being alone.
Stress is good at most times, when you are challenged in some game or sport, at work meeting deadlines. It helps you to think more clearly or concentrate, yet there is a line drawn where stress can debilitate you health, your attitude, how you conceive on the job even your personal relationships.
What causes stress are situations and the pressures of life, either personal or social and these are called stressors. “We can look at stressors as anything that is negative from exhausting work to bad relationships. Anything that puts you into high demand or a forceful mode which causes you to make changes can cause of stress.”
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm#signs
You may understand what may be stressful to you, yet the same situation of another person may not be stressful at all. To live with your stress might take up stress management, which helps in relaxing the mind and understanding your own emotions. You can learn relaxation techniques, meditation and deep breathing exercises to relax your physical body in order to gain the self confidence you need to face the world without being negative or physically feeling under the weather. Stress beyond fun can ruin you day, find the time to relax.

Written by Donald S.

Being Emotionally Aware

Emotional Awareness is self awareness and the awareness of the feelings of other people. There are levels of emotional awareness such as becoming aware of the feeling when we first think about it or realizing we are feeling something at that particular moment. Understanding we are being impatient or judgmental are two examples of our emotions which may be negative emotions. Acknowledging people, though is no difference in facing negative emotions and should be a more positive response which may be understood if negative through acknowledgment, by being responsible without being negative and simply “break the ice” by saying, Hello.
Not knowing exactly what you are feeling you can’t help but notice and with knowledge know you are feeling something; about what you are doing, how you may be feeling, or whom you are being distant with.
Through nature we have ways in which we understand our feelings and what those feelings or emotions are. Negative emotions draw us towards the unhealthy parts of life of which we face. The reality of negative emotions; we are distant or out of balance and we need to reconnect with the healthier aspects of life. If we think about our feelings we can be shown what causes the negative thoughts and can overcome them with positive ideas. Yet, if we choose not to search our mind, we will not be able to overcome the problems which cause the negative dissention, in other words, no problem is solved.
“Sometimes we might think that we shouldn't feel the way we do. Such thoughts are the result of beliefs which have been programmed into us by others. One of the primary benefits of a highly developed emotional intelligence, though, may be that it helps us become more independent from the opinions and beliefs of others.” Emotions- Importance of; management of negative feelings; positive value of
We must remain in touch with our feelings and emotions, in order to have a more descent life, by realizing what caused the shallow emotions and changing them so that others may see the positive part of your being.
Written by Donald S.

Understanding Your Therapy

We all have problems at one time or another and we all deal with our problems differently. Some of us do very well at dealing with problems yet others don’t. Some people, such as myself, “stuff their feelings and emotions and we do not fare so well at problem solving, eventually going months at a time compounding what troubles we have." When I first began therapy, even though I placed myself in the therapist hands at the request of family members, I did not want to believe I had any problems, or even a mental illness, because of my drug addictions, I was not the one who was ill, that is an old story with many people who face emotional distraught. When you have a mental illness, you have to realize that the illnesses are real and that it is important to face what is causing the illness.
We can’t always think these problems thru that are created by our illness, we must understand that therapy can help us where we may not be able to consider other persons helping us to solve our problems. The first thing we must be aware of is being honest, even if we don’t know our therapist. Know that your therapist is a professional who at best knows how to deal with feelings and emotions.
Put aside the stigma of “only crazy people have a therapist”, just because you have issues concerning an illness or your own emotions, doesn’t mean someone cannot help you handle them, that’s what a therapist does, helps you think through the haze of your illness or problems. Some people stay in therapy for months, others for years, so you must also realize your problem may not be solved overnight.
When you’re attending a therapy session you must understand that emotions are going to be brought out. These emotions and problems are what need to be faced and talking about them helps to undo the damage that was caused; don’t hold back, every thought counts to getting closer to overcoming the problems that beset you. It’s alright to feel remorse, pain or anger it is clearing the mind of these emotions so that you will feel better. It’s all about how your therapist will better help you through the process of getting beyond your illness and feeling better.
If you are afraid of group therapy, don’t be. Group therapy lets you know you are not alone, and within a group you can meet new people and gain further support. You are meeting people who have some of the same experiences you have and you can further relate with them as you can with your therapist or trusted family members or close friends.
Written By Donald S.

Mental Health and those of Fame

BEFORE I GET INTO The BLOG, I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND OUR READERS THAT The RECOVERY BLOG IS MOVING TO A NEW LOCATION: OUR BLOG WILL CONTINUE FROM OUR NEW HOME:  http://www.mhcd.org/blog I recently read an article from the New Yorker magazine over the internet concerning the rock star Bruce Springsteen. I can relate to parts of his emotional attitudes about his drive to success through his ambitions, being, “pure fear, self- loathing and self- hatred”. I experience some of these emotions every day, as I wake to go to work, what I have to do to do the work correctly or enjoyment, what I haven’t done, the traveling, meeting new people; those are the instances which cause me the fear I suffer from, in having to have a successful day. These are true demons in Bruce Springsteen’s life, the fear, loathing and hatred which he experiences and we all do at some time or another and experiencing these emotions, “demons” have you, always have an effect on our lives or any other emotion we might handle within our minds which are negative.
Feelings of loathing have always been a part of the realms of the artistic, whom are taking themselves beyond others whom they may feel less than of or the lesser by their own self-esteem, yet in the long run of this gamut of negative emotions, we are freeing ourselves and for a moment we are free from the negative, creating something we can feel rewarded for outside of the harbored blatant emotions.
Even rock stars get the blues: Bruce Springsteen talks depression - Los Angeles Times
Bruce Springsteen’s emotions show in the song entitled “The Streets of Philadelphia”, a song he wrote and produced which shows his loathing and fear of not only parts of society, yet of this world he has experienced through the knowing others. I listened to the song, and throughout, I feel the memories of my life toying with me, causing anger and fear and a deep sadness and loathing of the times I spent not only as a transient, yet as a vagrant and drug addict. I once considered my life as not worth living then, yet I am overcoming these emotions to make my life better. Bruce Springsteen thinks of himself as “a work in progress, this is a part of his good fortune and the stress he lives with as a part of his abilities and being important.” Being satisfied that you area as good as you are, is a show, and you’ll never be a success. He speaks of other actors and musicians, “the motivation, is the element of need to remake the self, where you live, the entire audience surrounding—and it is the desire of becoming renewed.” Knowing a person lives in doubt, and is critical of themselves is knowing that someone must find that niche of their own sanity and know that they have a vast world to deal with, and if you don’t, your first realization is that there isn’t anyone there to understand you and that you should understand that as a myth.
Written by Donald S.
JUST A REMINDER THAT THE RECOVERY BLOG IS MOVING TO A NEW ADDRESS: OUR NEW HOME IS: http://mhcd.org/blog

Therapy by Computer

We all suffer through times when we are troubled by our emotions and these may be times when we look towards a mental health clinician, or maybe not. As a mental health consumer, I have often had sessions, where the therapist had written down information and during the course of the session had also relied on the computer to retrieve information and also update his notations during the many times we had met. What I have noticed as many people have noted is that there are many books to help people learn about themselves as well as the emotions they carry, and now there is computer software; software which does the same thing, help us find the grass roots to our problems and to help us understand ourselves.
There is a program which helps you record your emotions, helps you to think about emotions and records the number of times you have had the same emotions. You can resolve, review, graph, analyze and print the results to your emotional search. You label your emotions as you will, so that you may list them, you can describe events or thoughts even describe the positive events in your life. Reducing Misdiagnosis of Psychiatric Disorders It is described as a cognitive thinker, yet this program is constructed to get people to think about their feelings and the events leading and following certain episodes in their life.
Who is to gain from such computerization and psychological software? In order for the software and computer help you to make a conclusion, information must be entered. Who’s going to do this if you’re having a “bad” day, what if you don’t want to; the program is no longer useful. Your therapist may work with you with this software, if the therapist is open to the idea; then you have therapy sessions where you are relying on what the computer comprises and other printouts.
This program is free and can be ordered over the internet, yet I personally find it helpful when the human dimension of interaction can help solve the problems through experience, not just a chart listing possibilities on a computer screen.
Written by Donald S.

Controlling the Negative

How do you let go of negative emotions? Letting go of what bothers you is not the same as letting go of your emotions, when you become overly negatively emotional, you are only ‘stuffing’ or letting your emotions sit on the burner when you lend yourself to such arguments of the mind, harboring those emotions without any settlement; without any sentiment. Emotions are real; they represent experiences and responses that are painful. In letting go of our negative emotions, we learn ways in which we practice and observe these emotions we want to get far away from, emotions we must learn to observe, so that we can see clearly what we have to change in ourselves. Describing in words what the emotion is like is one perspective, also understanding the negative emotion(s) which beset you, the imagery of the result of what the emotion is causing in you. These are practices in Dialectical Behavior therapy, learning to look at the ideas, principles, and responses, which differ in points of view, which we learn to balance and measure and make positive. Some examples used in controlling emotions are:
 a. Changing--Not Changing……….Observe your emotion
 b. Good--Bad…………………………….Experience the emotion
c. Wisdom--Emotional Mind………Remember you are not your emotion
d. Talking--Quietude.…………………Don’t act on your emotion
 e. Acceptance--Approval……………Don’t push away the emotion
Accepting painful emotions can reduce the pain and in noticing the differences between pain and suffering you’ll know that suffering is the pain you wish to push away and that the feelings which cause injustice are what you want to be rid of. We must observe our emotions, know they are real and stand away from them when they become negative. Often times we must also experience the emotion(s) and concentrate on it and realize through imagery what that emotion is and how to become positive in another way with our emotions through our ideas of understanding. We must know we are not the reality of such a negative emotion, that it is only a part of us; not the all of us, for we are greater than the negative. We should not act on the emotion, instead relax with it and know that if you act on a negative emotion, that it could escalate, growing beyond control and last longer than you wish. Keep in mind you are the braver person for accepting the ideas you need in working to change your emotions. You deserve success and happiness by maintaining control of your life. Written by Donald S.

What’s a Decision all about?

What do we need to make the decisions we need to face in our daily lives? We hear about movements such as SDM—(Shared Decision Making), a working definition is not yet established.
Yet the process of decision making involves more than one person as they act as partners and this process is of sharing treatment decisions as consumer and health provider and the options of those decisions to be made. Have you learned anything yet? My guess is that as a consumer or client you haven’t got the process of making decisions down quite yet, and require more information. Well, the first thing you must know is that the human creature is always making decisions from birth to death, from sunrise to sunset; it’s a mental process (cognitive)—of knowledge—which is the result of the courses of action we must take which may have many alternative paths. But how do we make a decision?

Attitudes in life that exist can be good or bad, black or white, decisions are commonplace; easy to make. We make decisions by response to habits, or our experiences. It’s somewhat confusing when you’re choosing one absolute over another; the decisions have to be right or wrong in some way and sometimes there are no right decisions only other choices, other than those you may choose. People involved in Mental Health themselves tend to worry much about what to do; they:

(1) Want to be certain before they accept a decision
(2) Believe a decision is good because other people say it is
(3) The make emotional decisions because what is bad is good
(4) Have failed to learn from past mistakes, thereby blaming the failure of the
decision on “Fate” or “Karma” or just plain bad luck

Knowing that you should ask for advice is good, you should treat your decision as if it were a, b, c, not making a first choice is best and don’t treat the problem as if it were odds and evens, for a correct answer. If you are struggling for an answer, know that there are pros and cons to everything. Try not to decide for a certain length of time, a minute, a day even a months’ time, the facts will accumulate for you to weigh the pros and cons.

We make decisions all our lives and at times we don’t know if they are the right decisions, but we can still live with a good conscious. When the decision gets rough, you can trust your instincts, yet you must weigh the consequences, good or bad, right or wrong; though at best thinking too much on a decision can leave us no better off than having made one at all in a hurry. Have some common sense and:
(1) Trust your instincts
(2) Don’t give into temptation
(3) Be imaginative
(4) Know what makes sense to you not someone else
(5) Remember: we are all human!

Written by Donald Sammons

Understanding Miserable Feelings

Negative emotions are feelings which cause you to be miserable, sad, angry, hateful or even jealous; yet you may want to know that these feelings and emotions are natural. Though they can downgrade our attitude in life, we are the ones who choose to let these negative emotions affect us.
When we have negative emotions we stop thinking and relating to situations and reality. We only care for what we want and the negative feelings continue, becoming even more negative, even harmful to the self or others. When we are delving into emotions, we are thinking, this is psychological and when we feel, we are in the realm of the physical. Emotions and feelings are complex yet there are a number of ways to deal with the negative emotions we have.
1. Don’t keep rehearsing the same problem over and over
2. Relax and find that realm which pleasures you
3. Learn what makes you angry and what causes such
4. Change you direction, don’t be afraid to turn away from the negative
I found this short editorial on negative4 emotions after I realized I felt tired and miserable at having to work the weekend preparing my apartment for pesticides, due to be done on a work day of which I couldn’t afford to be excused from, which was a problem, yet I have a project at work which had to be completed and done perfectly. Such the case I was alone, moving and thinking many things without any help. I felt plain miserable because I had no help with the one scenario at home, nor with the other, soon to be completed at work. This is a lot when you are diagnosed with a dual diagnosis, and with reason to seek escape; it’s hard to grasp the real sense of success when you face the battle alone. I read the information and began to understand I was afraid I would fail and that acceptance was making things work, not sulking and feeling negative. I finally patted myself on the back and understood how to cope with these problems, by letting go and knowing that this past week and weekend were an exercise that I have accomplished in finally feeling good about.
Written by Donald Sammons