Mental Health Monday - What To Do When You Are Feeling Overwhelmed

Lately, I have been feeling overwhelmed all the time. I never used to notice before that often my anxiety and panic is really just me feeling overwhelmed and unprepared to deal with my emotions and what is going on around me. I decided to look on the internet to find some ways to deal with being overwhelmed and came across some great suggestions so I thought I'd share them with all of you.




1. TIRED
 - the more tired you are the worse it becomes - make sure you are getting enough rest and that you don't find yourself  over tired

2. LET GO
 - let go of everything you are thinking, back away and look at the big picture

3. MINIMIZE
 - look at what you can do to minimize what you have to do try to at least achieve the bare minimum if you do more than that it is a bonus

4. SELF CARE
 - make sure you are taking care of yourself and your personal needs

5. TRUST YOURSELF
 - only you know what you need and what you can do , trust in that

6. PRIORITIZE
 - be realistic and remember time

7. BE CREATIVE
 - problem solve creatively

8. FOCUS ON THE MOMENT
 - you can only do one thing at a time and you are only one person focus on each thing you are doing in that moment and then move onto the next

"Dream small dreams. If you make them too big, you get overwhelmed and you don't do anything. If you make small goals and accomplish them, it gives you the confidence to go on to higher goals."  John H. Johnson

http://www.dbtselfhelp.com/html/dealing_with_overwhelm.html

You can link up to the Monday Madness Blog Hop by visiting the Link-Up on the WordsInSync Blog.

Mental Health Monday

This past month I have really blown off therapy and DBT classses due to vacations and just being too tired. Now that fall is here and school is starting tomorrow I am hoping to set up a normal schedule. A normal daily routine that will have me attending therapy and classes routinely. I guess I am hiding from it a bit - it's getting personal now and is really making look deep inside as to why I do the things I do. Sometimes taking a real honest look inside like that really hurts. I've learned quite a lot from DBT already, I just need to keep remindindg myself that the more I go the more I will understand the principals behind it and learn the skills that I can then use when I need to regulate my emotions. My anxiety levels have been at an all-time high this past week and I am back to not sleeping. I am so frustrated. I recieved a response to my ODSP application  (Ontario Disability Support Program) and I was turned down. I have until October 2nd, 2011 to submit further documentation of my mental illness and appeal the decision.

You can join along with the Monday Maddness Blog Hop by visiting the WordsInSync blog.

Mental Health Monday - Tapes

You can follow along with the Monday Madness Blog Hop on the WordsIn Sync blog.

Do you ever just have these "tapes" that play in your head. Recurring thoughts that you know when faced with facts are not true but that you can't help but always thinking anyways? I've been charting these recently for therapy and was quite surprised to find that they are always the same ones over & over again.

• I am not good enough.


• I am a failure.


• I'll never be a good mom


• I'm stupid.


• I'm ugly.

These are the "tapes" that constantly run through my head. My therapist has suggested that when one of these "plays in my head" I need to write it down. Then I need to write down the facts that make it not true such as

• I try the best I know how


• No one tells me I'm stupid


• My girls always tell me what a good mom I am


• Who judges what's "good enough" it's something different to everyone

Writing these down over & over keep reminding me that the tapes I "play" are not always true. I have thought them for so long that they are imprinted in my head. Just because they are there does not make them true. The more I remind myself of the true facts, the more I am reminding myself that my "tapes" need to be turned into positive ones.

What kind of "tapes" play in your head? And what things do you do to try to do to make yourself believe that they are not true?

Mental Health Monday

In DBT we are learning about mindfulness. About being mindful and present in the moment for the things we do. Using our senses to be mindful of what's around us, and becoming aware of our thoughts. I go parts of the days just in a blur hardly noticing anything going on around me. Never noticing the little detail, the special things and moments in life. I am really hoping that through this teaching on mindfulness I can become more aware, more aware of what's going on around me, more aware of my thoughts and feelings. This is not something that comes naturally for me so it is something I am having to take time for and remind myself of every day. I am challenging myself to live everyday being mindful. Why not challenge yourselves to spend your days being mindful as well. We can remind each other, and do it together.

Follow along with the Monday madness Blog Hop on WordsInSync.

Mental Health Monday: Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Finally, I am getting some help from Mental Health. I have been placed in a program called DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy.) It is aimed at helping people who use life-threatening behaviours as a way of coping with intense and unstable emotions. (eg. self harm, suicidal acts, unsafe sex, substance abuse, spending, binge eating) It is a skills-based training program which offers effective coping techniques, and an emphasis on accepting who you are.

There are 4 main modules taught in group:

1. Core mindfulness Skills - focuses on mindfulness to increase awareness of emotions and behaviours

2. Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills - focuses on learning to communicate needs effectively and dealing with interpersonal conflict

3. Emotion Regulation Skills - understanding emotions and learning how to reduce emotional vulnerability and decrease emotional suffering

4. Distress Tolerance Skills - increase one's ability to tolerate and survive crisis, and accept life as it is in the moment

I have been in DBT for about a month and a half now. I am learning new things each week. The skills are not coming naturally to me but as it is a year long therapy program I am sure a lot of the skills will eventually become second nature.

This past class we were learning about radical acceptance. About accepting what reality is, accepting that everything has a cause, and that life is worth living. Accepting something does not mean it's ok you are just accepting that it has occurred.

I am having a really hard time with this concept. There are some things in my life that I am just not accepting nor do I believe I ever will. How do I accept that I was abused? How do I accept my dad's death? I am hoping as we progress through DBT that I will become better able to accept this concept and practice it in my life. For now though I just have too many questions and want too many answers.

Mental Health

I haven't really felt much like sharing myself on my blog this past little while. I've missed it, but have never know what to share, there has just been so much going on in my head.

I have posted a few times on my blog in the past about mental illness. I have struggled with anxiety and depression for almost ten years now. It is not something I share easily with others. I have come to the realization lately that there is no shame in sharing this part of myself too. It is as equally a part of me as is the love I have for others. It is a big part of who I am.

Attempting to get help in the mental health field has often been frustrating for me with appointments where I feel like I get nowhere and waiting lists. I guess I've known since the beginning of this that something was "wrong" with me. I've know that there was something "wrong" with my thinking and my thought process. I've known that the image I have of myself is self-destructive. I've known that I needed help. But, I always thought I was alone in all this, that I was the only person who felt the way I was feeling. This past month I have discovered that I have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). You can learn more about BPD here . I have been on a wait list for an intensive therapy program through Mental Health called Dialetic Behavior Therapy (DBT) . I've known that I was on the wait list but I had no understanding of what the program was all about. This month I finally got a call from Mental Health saying that my turn had come up for DBT and asking if I was still interested. Heck yes! I've been waiting for so long. I went into my appointment and learned of the psychiatrist's diagnosis of BPD and I learned about the actual DBT program. The more I learned the more things started making senseto me. I finally had some explanations for the feelings I've been having, pieces were starting to fit together, I was finally seeing that I am not alone. I began really wanting to get better - to seek treatment. DBT starts for me this week. It is one year of intensive therapy. I am terrified of the commitment involved but I am also feeling so hopeful about the outcome of therapy. I have also started back into my addictions counselling on the recommendation of my counsellor at DBT. My addictions counsellor is great - she seems to have a real understanding of where I am at and what I am all about. Today she told me that she thinks I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Researching this tonight, that too makes a whole lot of sense. Learning lots these days but feeling hopeful.

My counsellor suggested that I do the following exercisedaily, so, I've decided to blog it. Perhaps this will help as a reminder to do it everyday. I am to compile a gratitude list - 3 things that I am grateful for and then I am to write as positive statement about myself (whether I believe it or not.) So here goes... my answers for today:

Gratitude List and Affirmation:

1. I am grateful for my beautiful girls. That I have the opportunity to be their mom.

2. I am grateful that I am finally committing to making changes in my life and learning about what drives me to make the choices that I make

3. I am grateful for my computer so I can learn new things everyday and have the opportunity to make some really great friends

I am stronger than I allow myself to believe.