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  • How Do You Deal With A Mental Health Relapse?

    Posted by Colleen on April 22, 2021 at 3:29 pm

    Taking care of our mental health is something we need to do on a daily basis. It’s as important as caring for our physical bodies. But just like our physical health, our mental health can experience relapses, days or longer when we just aren’t feeling our emotional best.

    How do you deal with those times? Do you have a process that helps you return to a better place emotionally?

    Colleen replied 2 years, 10 months ago 5 Members · 8 Replies
  • 8 Replies
  • v-r-peterson

    Member
    April 22, 2021 at 3:32 pm

    Posting Test:

    Taking care of our mental health is something we need to do on a daily basis. It’s as important as caring for our physical bodies. But just like our physical health, our mental health can experience relapses, days or longer when we just aren’t feeling our emotional best.

    How do you deal with those times? Do you have a process that helps you return to a better place emotionally?

    Bloom where you are planted.

  • jen-cueva

    Member
    April 23, 2021 at 6:07 pm

    Excellent topic, @colleensteele. Within the last year, I know that the rise in mental healthcare needs is skyrocketed with the pandemic and all.

    Mental health is so important. If I am having a “bad” PH day, my mental status is also suffering. I am still on Ativan as needed for anxiety, so that helps. But I think a multi-faceted approach is the best method for me. By practicing gratitude each morning and reading my devotional is how I start my days.

    If I notice that my mental health is suffering through the day, I stop and try some guided meditation, go outside if I can, and sit and enjoy the peace and quiet. I wrote a column about both mental health and anxiety.

  • Colleen

    Member
    April 26, 2021 at 3:54 pm

    @jenc I remember that column. Well done! I love that you start your mornings with a devotional and reflecting on gratitude. When I feel myself getting stressed or falling apart a little I take a moment to touch the cross necklace I wear and say a small prayer and catch my breath. It’s amazing how taking just a few moments to quiet myself can really help.

  • susi-steppins

    Member
    April 27, 2021 at 12:37 pm

    @colleensteele, you always come up with such good topics.
    Mental health is very important when you don’t always feel good physically.
    I try to keep my thoughts positive and generally succeed.
    I also try to remember how very lucky I am with most of my life.
    I tell my husband all of the time just how lucky I feel with the life we have.
    It helps to tell myself that daily.
    I have also over the years had a short little saying I repeat to myself when I am feeling very stressed.
    “For right now, for today, I am okay”.
    I don’t know why saying that out loud to myself works so well for me but it does.

    • Colleen

      Member
      April 27, 2021 at 2:30 pm

      @s-steppins that is a powerful mantra! I think a huge challenge to stay mentally healthy is not straying to far from the here and now. I know I travel down bad memory lanes too often and worry about the future way too much. When I’m dwelling on the past and it’s bringing me down I try to snap myself out of it by saying, “It’s done! You can’t change it!”. When I interrupt my thinking like that it seems to help. For dwelling on the future I might borrow your mantra.

  • sandra-guajardo

    Member
    April 27, 2021 at 3:54 pm

    Great topic! Most of the times I feel great and am very blessed for it. But when I get a dizzy spell or shortness of breath my first reaction is to get worried. Is surprises me how easily mental health can change. I suffer with anxiety since in college and take Paxil on a daily basis, long before being diagnosed. Usually when I’m not feeling so good mentally I try to read motivational books, watch an action movie or do some gardening. I have found that when I’m gardening it makes my brain stop thinking of all the “what ifs”. When I was first diagnosed, the first six months were very difficulty and I suffered from depression. I learned I had to put myself first, that I need to have a healthy lifestyle. To me a healthy lifestyle is not just eating healthy food but also what else we put into our body and mind. I had to learn how to get rid of toxic relationships (friends who only talked about negative things) and spend more time with friends that inspire me. I always try to look for the positive things daily, even if it’s just looking at the wild flowers on the roadside while I’m walking.

    • jen-cueva

      Member
      May 11, 2021 at 1:13 pm

      Hi @sandra-guajardoutrgv-edu, my apologies for not responding earlier. I can certainly relate, as my anxiety often takes a toll on my psyche. I love that you mention not only food but the mind and body work together.

      I have had to give up a few toxic relationships. They are family members. But as my therapist would call them, they are also energy vampires. When dealing with PH and other health issues, we must put ourselves and our health first.

      I love that you surround yourself with positive people. I, too, love this approach. I also like to find something positive in each new day.

      Thank you for sharing your experience. May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Look out for my newest column tomorrow that talks about some of my mental health struggles.

      How are you coping this week?

    • Colleen

      Member
      May 11, 2021 at 3:20 pm

      @sandra-guajardoutrgv-edu I apologize for my late response as well. They way describe what you have been through and what helps you through difficult times was so well expressed. When you said, “To me a healthy lifestyle is not just eating healthy food but also what else we put into our body and mind,” I paused to really think about that. You are so right!

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