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Celebrating My Birthday
Today is my 21st birthday. I love celebrating my birthday, I always have. My family often makes a pretty big deal out of birthdays. This year is a tad different because of Covid. I’ve imagined for years what this birthday would feel like. When I was 16 it was a mystical number that felt like it would never come. After going abroad at 18 and over, 21 lost some of its charm. Drinking was no longer a novelty. I never anticipated moving back to the states before my 21st birthday and once again being unable to legally drink. Moreover, I never anticipated not wanting to drink that much in general.…
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10 Quotes That Keep Me Moving
I love inspirational quotes. On hard days it can put things into perspective and help you move on. On good days it can remind you that things are constantly getting better. On any day, it can be a nice boost to your mood and just keep you motivated. I have the app Motivation on my phone and I love the little reminders they send me throughout the day. Here are my top ten! Let it hurt. Let it heal. Let it go. Staying positive doesn’t mean you have to be happy all the time. It means that even on hard days you know that there are better things coming Nobody’s…
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Creating a Value Tree
This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about values. As we learn more about ourselves, it’s important to outline what attributes mean the most to us. For me, when I am hurt or offended I want to better understand why. It’s easy to say that something hurt us but it can be difficult to see why it hurt so badly. I decided to create a value tree to better understand my interactions. You may be thinking, what is a values tree? I don’t even know if this is a real thing but we’re doing it anyway. Here’s how I made mine: Establish Important Attributes To me, I chose to outline…
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I Have Hope
It feels like the last few months have flown by. So much has happened and not just in my life. The world is changing before our very eyes. This is the longest period of time my health has been “stable” in the past two years. I say “stable” because a lot is still going on. I am celebrating six months of not being hospitalized. It’s a weird party to throw and there’s no balloon or card that celebrates that event but I’m excited. I went through this same type of transitional stage last year around this time. Suddenly I’m going from reacting to being. When some of these health threats…
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Five Reasons Everyone Should Get Therapy
I love therapy. I’ve been going on and off for about eight years. Therapy is an important tool for me to stay on top of my mental health. When I was younger, I struggled with anxiety quite a bit. Therapy allowed me a safe space to divulge my fears and face them. I learned coping skills and anxiety no longer felt like a burden. It was something I had and after time, I didn’t even think about it anymore. Now, for the past year, my OCD has been popping up and bothering me once again. So, I’m back in therapy. Truthfully, if I wasn’t moving around so much I don’t…
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My Favorite Meditations from Insight Timer
I love Insight Timer, I have it as an app on my phone. It’s got thousands of meditations of different lengths and content. Lots of different creators with different approaches. All around, I haven’t found any issues with this app. In fact, I recommend it to everyone. That being said, I thought I’d give a list of my favorite meditations so if you’re starting out you have a place to begin! There are links below to the app store and google play. Apple App Store or Google Play Store For Stress and Anxiety: Allowing Your Thoughts to Flow by Lama Yeshe Rabgye (12 minutes) Radical Acceptance by Chad Foreman (21…
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What to do When You Feel Out of Control
There’s been a lot going on lately. The world seems to have flipped upside down, at least in the United States. I’m not going to get into the politics of it. Right now, you might feel out of control. We’re all experiencing a little bit of feel helpless. So how do we deal with that? Here are some ideas to help you regain a sense of control! Turn Off the TV This is important. We all need to stay informed and up to date but it doesn’t have to be our primary focus. You need to take a step back. What is happening is not going to change if you…
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Creating a Productive Workspace
Working from home is challenging for a lot of people. The population has been surviving under the Covid-19 circumstances but not thriving. Creating a space that is productive, especially when anxiety is so high, is important. Over the years, I’ve had a lot of different spaces I’ve called home. They were decorated differently but they all felt comfortable. We’re not all able to feel at home in our space, especially if we haven’t made it our own. Here is how to create a productive workspace! Identify What Inhibits You There are elements of any space that stand in our way from feeling productive. It may be the look or the…
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You Are Not Your Illness
When being chronically ill, it’s easy to merge your identity with your illness. I’m here to tell you that you are not your illness. The way I see it, illness is something that happens to us. It changes our life and perspective. It may influence our choices and outlook but we are not our illness. Finding yourself after or during chronic illness can be a struggle. I’ve identified ways to discover who you are in the midst of being sick and I thought I’d share them here with you. Find Your Purpose We are all here for a reason. Depending on your ideology, you may look at this differently but…
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Ways You Can Grow
We all have different ways we want to grow. It may be academic, physically, mentally, or emotionally. I can’t think of one person that couldn’t benefit from growing a bit. Too often, we look at others and make judgements about their shortcomings. Instead, I say we all take a bit of time to reflect and grow a bit ourselves. Where do we start? Right here! Reflect This is simple. Yet, we overlook it because to do the actual work is difficult. Reflecting at the end of the day is a great place to start. Ask yourself, what did you do well? It’s like a compliment sandwich. You want to acknowledge…
