As we rapidly approach the end of a holiday season and try to put another year behind us we tend to sometimes fall prey to the illogical ramblings of our inner voices.
“Another year gone and nothing to show for it…”
“I still didn’t get to…..”
“I need more time.”
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Although it may not seem like it happens often enough, there are those periods when we come up for air and are relieved to have spent any time at the surface. Spending so much time just out of reach of the air and sunlight can cause positive feelings to be overwhelming and foreign at first.
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So here it is. You’re having a bad day. Can’t seem to make heads or tails of anything that’s going on and just when you thought you couldn’t possibly feel any worse, here comes more bad news.
What’s a person to do when it seems like the whole world is against them and all the pain and stress of just coping with PTSD, depression, anxiety or a host of other mental illnesses rears their ugly heads?
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The truth of the matter is that we’re all human beings and whether we are a card carrying diagnosed patient or not, we are all going to eventually have a day when we have a horrible fight with a loved one over something we said or didn’t say. Or even a day when we cry and are inconsolable for hours on end. I have them. I’ve had a bunch!
At first, I would blame myself. “Well if I had only done this differently or handled this better then I wouldn’t be feeling this way right now.” The problem with this line of thinking is glaringly obvious. All thinking that I’ve failed managed to do was make me feel even more guilty and turned me around and around in my own head. Something that I term: circle-thinking.
The trick is to break the cycle before it starts and remember that we are human. We are going to have bad days. Whether we want to have bad days or not is irrelevant. The best laid plans to never get angry or sad again aren’t realistic or attainable.
The good thing is when you have a bad day, the next good day will seem so much better in comparison. It’s really all about perspective. Being depressed and anxious are feelings, after all, and we’re allowed to feel however we feel in the moment. You just can’t dwell on it. When you start to dwell on the negative feelings within you, you create a vacuum for yourself that’s difficult to get out of.
There’s another good thing about having bad days too! (And you thought that nothing good could come out of a bad day!) Bad day’s give us perspective. Once we have calmed down and aren’t an emotional “10” anymore we can look at all the things that may have caused our reaction. Having a bad day is one thing, but being able to know that you don’t have to have another bad day for the same reasons is HUGE!
So remember to give yourself a break if your day turns bad. Give yourself a break if you break down crying, because you’re just so sad you can’t stand it. Make sure that you learn to recognize it, feel it and then let it go.
Don’t let the waves carry you back out to sea when you’re so close to the shore.
Just keep swimming.
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Whether you suffer from PTSD, anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorder or any other mental illness, the holiday season is one of high stress and can often trigger a deep depression.
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I felt since I shared about how helpful my dog was during my dark days, that it was only fair to give furry feline’s their just due.
Although I don’t have a kitty of my own at present I have no doubt of the healing comfort that they provide for their human owners.
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As I stretch into bed at night there’s that moment before sleep where everything seems right with the world, even when I’m feeling at my worst. In that moment I can hit “pause” on my brain, my life, everything. Sleep will welcome me with open arms and the promise of a brand new dawn. Sometimes though, the promise is empty and suddenly and inexorably I am locked within the confines of my mind.
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So here we are at the beginning of a Blog. As I’ve come to think of it though, the beginning of a journey.
Getting through life’s daily struggles is hard enough. Try getting through it with 100 pounds of live explosives strapped to your back and you have an idea of what it like for someone who struggles daily with mental illness.
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Stop Drowning 