May 2013
29 posts
8 tags
New Life
At 11:17am today (5/19/13) my new nephew Oliver (Ollie) Charles Howe was born at 9lbs 4oz. and 20.4″. With the birth of new life in the family brings on a lot of thoughts, some good, and some are sad and bittersweet. My mom who passed away on February 8, 2012 was dying to be a grandmother. My niece Lorelai was born on September 9, 2011 and my mom was overjoyed, she was all ready for lots of baby...
“When you forgive, you in no way change the past - but you sure do change the...”
– Bernard Meltzer
6 tags
Self-Harm →
BUS Web Board An active and fairly recovery-focused forum for people who self-harm. British Association of Skin Camouflage Information on camouflage make-up for scars, including where to get these …
4 tags
Challenging Irrational Thoughts
Many years ago, I took part in a CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) group which was essentially eight weeks of learning how to challenge depressed thinking by doing a thought record. Although I have my reservations about CBT-style self-help and the way it’s used and abused by the NHS, this is one technique that has helped me get through episodes of depression. The theory behind it is that you can...
4 tags
Surviving Relapse
You’re trying really hard not to self-harm. You’ve thrown away your blades, used the alternatives, and you’re getting help to deal with your underlying “issues”. You’re drawing on willpower you didn’t know you had and you’ve managed to go for longer than ever before without hurting yourself. Then something happens to trigger you, or maybe you just can’t keep up the effort any more, and you end up...
5 tags
Cutting and Self-Injury
Cutting and Self-Injury
By JOHN M. GROHOL, PSY.D.
This entry may be triggering or difficult to read for some people.
Self-injury behavior is something that is more common than many people realize. (In one study by researchers at Brown University of high school students, 46 percent had injured themselves in the past year on multiple occasions.) It is often misunderstood, not just by the lay...
4 tags
Therapy for PTSD: What You Should Know
As you can see from this issue’s lead article, SSRIs help alleviate core PTSD symptoms, but hardly roar by the placebo response rate in clinical trials. And anytime the placebo effect is this robust, you can predict that psychotherapy will be very effective. This is certainly true in the world of PTSD.
The most well-studied therapy isexposure therapy, in which patients are encouraged to confront...
4 tags
What Depression Is & What It Is Not
Depression is quite complicated. It entails a host of symptoms that perplex even the savviest therapist. Depression is even more complicated in children and men because the expression of symptoms is not as clear-cut for them as it is for others. Nonetheless, depression is one of those “diseases” that requires a compassionate, caring, knowledgeable, and understanding individual to identify it....
4 tags
7 Reasons Why We Miss the Signs of Depression
What do a 45-year-old professor, several well-educated parents, a retired psychotherapist, a concerned husband, and a college student all have in common? These are people suffering–or intimately connected to someone suffering–from clinical depression who didn’t know it.
How, in this day and age, with so much information available, is it possible that depression can still go undiagnosed and...
COUNSELLING BLOG: Are you they type of person who... →
onlinecounsellingcollege:
The following questions will help you determine if you’re the type of person who becomes a victim.
1. Do you tend to stay quiet in relationships instead of confidently asking for what you want?
2. Do you feel inadequate on your own, and only feel worthwhile if you are part of a…
Borderline Personality disorder: Constantly...
4 tags
Recovery (A Poem)
Veering off on a new track
Moving forward no matter what may occur
It’s never looking back
Nailing the door to the past secure
Making way through new territory
Taking each road block as they come
Changing what happens in your story
Creating a new beat of your drum
Having courage to face each new day
Having strength to stay on course
Having faith to light your way
Have happiness...
“Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or...”
– Eckhart Tolle (via onlinecounsellingcollege)
2 tags
9 Things Not to Say to Someone with Mental Illness
Julie Fast’s friend went to the hospital for a terrible colitis attack. “It was so serious they sent her straight to the ER.” After reviewing her medical records and seeing that her friend was taking an antidepressant, the intake nurse said, “Maybe this is all in your head.”
When it comes to mental illness, people say the darnedest things. As illustrated above, even medical staff can make...
4 tags
Negative Self Talk: Top 10 Things NOT to Say to...
We tend inflict so much suffering upon ourselves throughnegative self talk. It’s really amazing when you think about it. So much suffering due to words running through our minds…
In this post I’d like to share my top 10 self-damaging things we tend to say to ourselves. I have my own experience with negative self talk, believe me!
One tool for overcoming negative self-talk is to call it what it...
COUNSELLING BLOG: Borderline Personality Disorder →
onlinecounsellingcollege:
BPD is listed in the DSM as a newly recognised personality disorder. Having five or more of the following symptoms is a prerequisite for being diagnosed:
· Experiencing a roller coaster of emotions (eg. Feeling happy and confident one day and desperate and despairing another).
Note:…
“We have to constantly come up with new ways to fix ourselves. So we change, we...”
– Meredith Grey (via aboynamedchuck)
“I’m so happy ‘cuz today I found my friends - they’re in my head.”
– Nirvana - Lithium (via psychcomedy)
My birthday is in 5 days and on June 1st I will...
April 2013
49 posts
6 tags
Top 21 Anxiety Grounding Techniques
Sometimes the worst stress comes from the things that are all too terribly familiar. There are times that anxiety can make even daily tasks seem insurmountable, even though I’ve done them countless times before. I know it’s something I can do, it’s just that in that moment it’s implausible, nigh on impossible I could do it again.
What makes simple tasks so hard?
What thoughts or behaviours...
3 tags
Rock bottom
A lot of times it takes hitting rock bottom to find the real you that’s just begging to be noticed. People who find themselves in that position find their true selves because when you hit rock bottom you’re completely raw and the only thing left to go on is that true self.
Neurolove.me: Some Quick and Easy De-stressors →
onlinecounsellingcollege:
A few popular ways to find a little peace …
· Listen to your favourite music
· Get some exercise (anything from taking a walk on your own, to playing team sports, or going for a jog)
· Sit by the river and watch the water running over the…
5 tags
Sweet and Sour (A poem)
I heard a song A melody from my past A sweet and sour reminder Of what I have surpassed I’m not the same person I was then But when the music hit my ears I was jolted back in time To a point of tears and fears I remember every moment With such brilliance, such clarity That during these transportations I can feel the pain and asperity When I return safely in the present moment I’m...
“Do not settle for less than exactly what you want. Your heart’s desires are...”
– Franki Durbin (via onlinecounsellingcollege)
“We must embrace the pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.”
– Kenji Miyazawa (via kelsi-recovers)
3 tags
The Positive Side Of Pain: Re-defining Your...
Have you noticed that the most compassionate, understanding, modest, and intuitive people seem to be those who have suffered, been oppressed, or are in constant search for life’s ultimate meaning? I have and I find that it is an interesting phenomenon. As stated in a previous article, it was not until rain and “dark-valleys” appeared in my life that I grew and could see my potential.
Pain gets...
Anonymous asked: Do you have any advise or ideas on how to accept my brother being killed in 2004 then in 2011 I lost BOTH parents within 8 mths!? When i'm out I see stuff they'd like or I accidently dial our old number. Am I still in shock?
