Last year, I wrote a blog post about the trouble with being in ‘autopilot’ mode when it comes to our mental health. At the time, my focus about being on autopilot came in terms of awareness and understanding. Rather than simply recognizing the what and where, I wanted to understand more about the why. In time, I’ve learned how to harness that focus to get things done even when I’m experiencing symptoms of mental illness. However, there are also drawbacks to this approach and today, I’d like to reflect on some of what I learned.
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Not Seasonal, Just Depression
The more experience I’ve gained on my mental health journey, the better I’ve gotten at recognizing my depression and the reasons behind it. That being said, depression can still be tricky. There are times where I feel like I know exactly why I feel depressed; other times, it’s like a feeling or emotion comes out of nowhere. The wintertime is actually one of the trickiest times to recognize my feelings. Is it just a time of seasonal sadness, or is it something I need to look into further?
Continue readingWinter is Here
Every single year, it’s the same old story: winter is coming, coming, coming…then it gets here. And we get sad. Growing up on the East Coast (and still living there today), I’m used to the familiar patterns of the seasons. I enjoy being able to experience all four seasons every single year (though autumn is often too short). But for some reason, every year I am shocked at how hard it is to adjust when winter hits. I get sad, angry, annoyed and frustrated at the challenges winter brings. So, what can we do about it?
Continue readingTen Ways to Try and Get Out Of Your Head
Earlier this week, I wrote a post about getting stuck in my head. Some days, I really wish I could get out of my head. I have so much going on in my brain, it can be exhausting trying to engage with it on a daily basis. This is easier said than done, of course, but I’d still like to have that option when possible. But even when we want to get out of our own heads, where do we start? What can we do? I did a little research, and I’d like to share what I learned.
Continue readingTaking Things Day By Day
When it comes to mental health, there are many cliched phrases I find myself gravitating toward to talk about health and wellness. I like to think of these phrases are things to turn to when my brain is tired, or I feel like I’ve been moving too fast and need to take a moment to reacclimate myself. One of the phrases I turn to often is a reminder: take things one day at a time. Over time, I’ve realized how important it is to take my mental health day by day – and how often, it’s what helps me get what I need.
Continue readingWriting Through Sadness
I put a lot of pressure on my writing. Sometimes writing about mental health is a release. It helps me express things I can’t say, and put into words a feeling or emotion I’ve had trouble explaining. But it’s also difficult, in many ways, to write when experiencing anxiety. In those moments, it feels like every word has to be perfect or flow naturally. But perfection is the enemy of good (I’m trying hard to learn this lesson), so I want to share a little of how I’m feeling at the moment.
Continue readingThe Importance of Feeling – From the Experts
I have said it many times on My Brain’s Not Broken – I am not a mental health professional. I have life experience and have discussed the topic with many professionals over the years, but this isn’t my line of work. However, I love to do research and find out what the experts are saying. After sharing my own perspective on the importance of feeling, I decided to poke around the Internet and see what mental health professionals are saying about the importance of feelings and emotions. Here’s a little bit of what I found!
Continue readingThe Value of Feeling
Several times a day, I’m reminded of how important it is to feel. I don’t mean to be happy or sad, nervous or stressed out. But I mean to feel, really feel, an emotion coming over me or an action that I’m taking. This might sound a little out there, or even simplistic, so I hope you can stick with me for this post. But today, I want to share how valuable it is to actually, really, truly feel your feelings.
Continue readingFive Ways to Manage Automatic Negative Thoughts
Last week, I broke down a mental health term I’ve learned more about in recent years – automatic negative thoughts. We all process things in different ways, and negative thoughts are a byproduct of that processing. While I haven’t been able to rid myself of negative thoughts, I have been able to recognize them and try to deal with them in a more direct way than I used to. Here are some ways I try dealing with automatic negative thoughts, as well as some reminders about managing them.
Continue readingBreaking Down Mental Health Terms: What Are Automatic Negative Thoughts?
I’d been in therapy for a few years when I first heard the phrase automatic negative thoughts for the first time. It wasn’t hard to deduce the meaning of the phrase, but I found it interesting nonetheless. Like everyone else, I deal with negative thoughts every single day. They might be about myself or other things, but one thing is certain: they’re negative. It’s the automatic part that I find interesting, and I wanted to learn more about this concept. That’s why today, I’ll be breaking down what automatic negative thoughts are, what they look like, and what we can do about them.
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My Brain's Not Broken 