Bathroom Epiphany

Writing is a form of therapy. Sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic fear which is inherent in the human situation. -Graham Greene

[bookmania]

As I grow older, much older, I will experience many things and I will hit rock bottom again and again. Again and again I will suffer; again and again I will get back on my feet. I will not be defeated. I won’t let my spirit be destroyed.

Banana Yoshimoto, Kitchen (via bookmania)

[bohxymoron]

[bohxymoron]

A dance with dragons

Living with a mental illness is basically being on a constant hustle to stay on top of the living game, so your brain doesn’t get pissed off and try to kill you. Again. Even though sometimes I just want to be lazy, eat crap, and do emotionally unwise things like reading the comment section of  Trump-related posts. BE COOL, BRAIN. 

[psychotherapy]

I have a degree in psychoanalysis which I studied for many years. But, now, thanks to emotion science, instead of looking at psychological symptoms as pathology/evidence that someone is “broken,” I understand symptoms as brilliant non-verbal communications that tell us something is wrong and needs to be addressed from a standpoint of compassion and curiosity. In most cases I find that people have lost touch with their core essential being - their sense of Self. Why do we lose touch with our core Selves? As children, we all have the job of adapting to our families, our peers, our communities and our culture. We sacrifice self-expression to stay in the good graces of those we need. This is essential for survival. But when we deny, thwart, or exclude too much of our authentic Selves to maintain our connection to others, we can fail to thrive. Fearing we won’t be loved and accepted as our true Selves - flaws and all - we teach ourselves to hide our true feelings. All this survival behavior leads to chronic shame, anxiety and more. As adults, adaptations we made unconsciously as children no longer serve us. And technology has pulled us into our screens, (phones, tablets, computers) making it even easier to avoid our emotions and connections with others. As adults, we need access to our core feelings to have a sense of Self. Our feelings are a compass for living, informing us about what we want and don’t want, about who turns us on, what excites us, what hurts us. Ignoring emotions leads to stress, anxiety and difficulty finding joy and peace - a feeling of loss of Self.

Hilary Jacobs Hendel (via psychotherapy)

[bohxymoron]

Sometimes I stop and ask myself, “WTF are you doing with your life?” And then I slap myself in the face, and tell me to get back to work.

[sdzsafaripark]

Friendliest baby #gerenuk ever. 😍

[psychotherapy]

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (via psychotherapy)

[aquify]

[kumagawa]

when you’re talking about racism and the whites get angry

[bohxymoron]

Spent

I’ve been getting pretty exhausted from being an informed member of the world lately. I’ve never dealt with this before, so I don’t know what to do to take care of myself. Instead, I reverted back to my old ways and spent fives hours on the internet like the good old days. 

I got a good weekend plan ahead, but I’m so tired it’s hard to muster up the excitement or come up with a nice flowing answer to why I’m not a jolly girl.  So that’s it. I’m in a funk since mid-October. It sucks and I wish I could do more, but I’m slowly but surely getting out of it. Surely. Though I feel guilty for being miserable while living such an instagramable life while many others are suffering, I’m going to try not to apologize for it. It is what it is. I gotta focus on getting out, so I can do more to help when I’m all better again. 

[bohxymoron]

[bohxymoron]

[heddabee]

[psychotherapy]

We are always haunted by the myth of our potential, of what we might have it in ourselves to be or do… We share our lives with the people we have failed to be.

Adam Phillips, Missing Out (via psychotherapy)

[psychotherapy]

Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, ‘This is the real me,’ and when you have found that attitude, follow it.

William James, The Principals of Psychology (via psychotherapy)

[bohxymoron]

You notice signs that something is meant to be when you really want things to work out and the subject is not a total asshole.

[best-of-memes]