Tips for living with a Mental Illness
Welcome to your life.
Maybe you’ve just been diagnosed, or are ready to start bettering your mental health.
These tips for living with a mental illness will help you in your life.
First things first, when you feel out of control, don’t forget to breathe, look up at the sky, and remind yourself, I’m here.
1. Start your morning with some type of routine.
This would look like starting your morning without your phone, making your cup of coffee, tea, or drinking water.
Develop some type of gratitude each morning. Great ways are:
Write down three things that you are grateful for today.
Take a deep breath and simply say thank you (sometimes this is all you have, to say thank you for being able to breathe)
When you get out of bed, say “My feet were able to touch the floor today, it is a good day”
Sometimes it’s the simplest of things that can start your mood in the right way. That is until the trigger arrives, but at least you start out the gate as best you can.
One of the greatest things is to not allow yourself on your phone or the internet first thing in the morning. Trying to give yourself time, to come into your body. This is truly one of the most important things. The less outside noise you allow in the more internal you will be able to be.
Getting internal allows you to see who or what you are today.
Keeping the world away and stepping into however you are arriving today, begin to assess.
Once you have started to feel yourself, write.
Write everything that is inside your mind, however ugly it is. Get it out of you, to allow the space for what today will through at you. There is nothing better than making an attempt to start the day empty to allow whatever triggers, pains, or joys will enter during the day.
2. Give yourself a reason you have to get out of bed each day.
This can be anything you want it to be.
For instance if you have a dog, you must walk your dog everyday, and this gives you a reason to get out of bed.
The purpose of this is to clear yourself of the stagnant. Often laying down allows us to dwell, and that’s a really harsh place to be in. Instead of we get out of bed (sometimes) we can clear our thoughts, if only for a few minutes.
Another thing you may have to get out of bed for could be to read a book, say you don’t let yourself read in bed. And you have to get up and go sit in a different chair to read.
You could choose to get up because you have to check the mailbox everyday.
The important thing about this is, CONSISTENCY, it has to be a reason you get out of bed. A reason you can’t avoid. Something that will get under your skin and cause more discomfort if you don’t do it.
3. Find what you can do that shuts your thoughts out for a period of time.
This is extremely helpful, because as you likely get caught in your thoughts and run the circle of horrible thoughts racing through your mind, you want a break. Finding something that allows you a time to not have the thoughts is a life saver. It’s that small reprieve that can make the difference between a total breakdown and a melt down.
Examples of this may be:
Taking a workout class
listening to a podcast
calling someone
Running, Biking, hiking, yoga
reading a book
Cooking
There are so many different things that could possibly control your mind, find the one thing that does it for you.
4. Accept it.
This should probably be number 1, but here we are.
Accepting your illness is probably the most important. The minute you can begin to understand that this is you, the burden will lift. You will no longer feel as though you have to blend in. That you need to hide your symptoms, or feel shame for who you are.
Believe me when I say, there is no shame in you, who you are is beautiful, the world needs more of you. You help create the colors in the sky.
5. Find a support person.
You know that one person you can count on. It’s hard to truly trust people, but having that one person in your life who is constant, and unwavering is huge.
They should be the one that you call when you feel empty and alone, and worried for your life. Let them be the pillar in your life that holds you when you’re to weak to stand.
6. Have a therapist, and psychiatrist.
This is so important, but also challenging at the same time.
Therapy is expensive, and often the treatments those with mental illness need are not covered by insurance. Creating an even further strain on someone already suffering.
Keeping a therapist involved in your life can serve as a stable point, as your anchor.
This doesn’t mean you have to go every week, or month, but rather they are the point of check in.
Something that should be said is you must feel comfortable with your therapist. If you are not able to be COMPLETELY honest with your therapist then you need to find another one. There are therapists that will specialize in mental illnesses. Finding someone you can trust will help you feel secure in yourself, and having an ally. Often when in the midst of a breakdown having someone in your corner is the most important thing. A therapist will also help to see things clearly, to point out issues that you may not even be aware of.
This goes without saying that a therapist can be your biggest ally, they are the unbiased one who TRULY wants to help you.
7. Develop some type of SAFE ZONE
This would be either going somewhere that you feel completely safe, or doing something that makes you feel safe.
Having a safe zone is for those times when the world is completely spinning out of control and you don’t know how to go on. When you are in the midst of a catastrophe and your mind just won’t stop.
This is the place or thing that brings you some sense of peace, even if you come here and freak out, and have a breakdown. But it is the place you feel allowed to be anything you need, to release what is killing you inside.
8. Have a guaranteed laugh.
Honestly, this is so necessary.
Be it a TV show, a meme, movie, podcast. Whatever it is.
There needs to be one thing that NO MATTER WHAT, will make you laugh.
You should utilize this in the times when you want it all to end, you’re feeling slightly suicidal, and wondering if this depression or dark place will ever leave. This should be your reminder that as quickly as it arrived it will leave just as quickly.
This is not an exhaustive list, and I will continue to add to this list as other things arise.
If you have a way in which you have found success to help cope with your mental health struggles please write to me and let me know.
This is for all of us, and we are all in this together. So lets support each other as best we can.