Up until a few years ago, I hadn’t heard of the term high-functioning anxiety. To me, anxiety was something that got in the way of functioning. It made decisions more difficult and tasks harder to complete. The idea of a high-functioning version of mental health challenges is new to me, so I decided to do some research. Today on the blog, I want to break down high-functioning anxiety, what it looks like and how we can manage it.
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Balancing Helplessness and Hopefulness
There are many symptoms of depression that are frustrating to deal with. Among them, hopelessness is one of the most difficult ones to manage. Hopelessness is a feeling that can sneak up on us. It can be disguised as so many other ways of feeling, and it can be hard to distinguish between other emotions. But to me, living with depression is a constant balance. On one end is the persistence of helplessness; on the other, the optimism of hopefulness. Life can be a constant back and forth between the two, which is what I want to talk about today.
Continue readingAmbition And Depression
They gon’ love me for my ambition… – Wale
I’ve always had an interesting relationship with the word ambition. As long as I can remember, I’ve been told ambition is something you need. It’s hard to meet and necessary for success. Without ambition, we’re all floating around without a care in the world. I’ve always thought myself to be an ambitious person. I have dreams of what I want to do, what I want my life to look like. But some things get in the way of ambition and today, I want to share about one of those things.
Continue readingGetting to Know Ourselves Better
Getting to know ourselves is a lifelong journey – full of twists, turns, surprises and disappointments. What doesn’t matter to us one year could be monumentally important the next, and so on and so forth throughout our lives. I used to think that learning new things about myself was more cinematic. Time would slow down, and my moment of clarity would spring forward. But as with many things in life, perception and reality don’t always link up. We don’t always choose to learn new things about ourselves, and dealing with that can be tricky.
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Breaking Down Mental Health Terms: What Is Self-Stigma?
I was writing a post a few weeks ago when I ended up using a term I rarely think about: self-stigma. It’s not that it’s a foreign concept to me, but I don’t think I’m very comfortable using the term or understanding it well when it is used. That’s why I decided to do a little research to learn about self-stigma, how it shows up in our lives and how we can deal with it.
Continue readingHaving Conversations About Suicide Prevention
After working on this blog for nearly five years, I understand how difficult conversations about mental health can be. There’s a level of nuance that must be applied to these conversations. Everyone is unique, which means that the way we handle certain issues and problems is also unique. That’s why, even though they can be difficult, conversations about suicide prevention are important – and each one of us can help.
Continue readingHelpful Resources During Suicide Prevention Month 2022
CW: This post discusses suicide and suicide awareness.
Last week was the beginning of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This month is extremely important because it’s a chance to have honest, open discussions about suicide and suicide prevention. More so, it’s a good time to share resources for those who may need them, as well as people who are looking for information to distribute this month. These are resources that I’ve found in recent years, and I’m re-upping them to give people as many resources as possible.
Continue readingSometimes, You Just Need to Cry
Here on My Brain’s Not Broken I have a tendency to write blog posts that serve as reminders. Sometimes they’re reminders that would be beneficial for whoever’s reading the post. Other times, the reminders are things I’ve forgotten long ago, and what I need to hear in the moment. Either way, reminder posts serve a purpose; they can help ground us and help us remember where we are on our journey. So today, I come to you with a specific reminder. Sometimes, you need to feel how you feel – and getting that out is the best thing you can do for yourself.
Continue readingMetaphors for Mental Health: Lifting Weights
A couple of weeks ago, I started doing some weight training exercises for the first time in at least a few years. Lifting weights is something I’ve done on and off for years, but I’d fallen away from it for some time. But one day, kind of randomly, I went into the gym and headed for the weights. After the first session, my body was sore in places I’d forgotten I could be sore in, and these new exercises taught me a valuable lesson in how we can help ourselves adjust to things, not only physically, but mentally as well.
Continue readingWhy Do I Always Need to ‘Keep Going’?
There are many ways to combat mental health challenges, and one of them that I’ve been reflecting on recently is motivation. Using motivational techniques has been very helpful when it comes to my mental health. I’ll watch videos, listen to speeches, or find quotes that give me a boost. I want to find things that will give me the energy I need to get through this moment and on to the next. I was doing this recently when I came upon a phrase I’ve seen hundreds of times on the Internet: “keep going.” And I don’t know why, but this time it rubbed me the wrong way. Even though I understand the good intentions of the phrase, I want to challenge it. What does it really mean?
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My Brain's Not Broken 