Coping With Mental Illness

You are not alone.

[louisegluckpdf]

hate when people are like "trust your gut! listen to your intuition!" like okay well my gut is telling me every person i lay eyes on is hunting me for sport and my intuition is saying i should find a secluded cave and live there forever so what do you suggest i do with that information

[needs-more-hugs]

(Semi-serious answer to joke post incoming) If your gut is sending you endless “UNSAFE!” signals in a situation your logic brain knows is safe, then you trust it by kind of treating it like a conversation with a screaming parrot.

Like going “ok, Gut, what feels unsafe?” And it’ll say “PEOPLE IN THE GROCERY STORE”

and you go, “huh, ok. People in the grocery store aren’t usually dangerous…what makes them scary in the grocery store?” And it’ll go “LOUD AND RUSHED AND BUSY”

and you go “ok, people in the grocery store are probably not dangerous but they’re loud and rushed and busy. Loud and rushed and busy makes me feel stressed. How about we wear earplugs to make it less noisy and go at a less busy time of day?”

And then sometimes you try that and your gut goes “HMMM GROCERY STORE SAFER?” And you go, “yes, grocery store safer.”

Your gut isn’t necessarily correct that the SITUATION is unsafe but it’s usually right that your body/brain FEELS unsafe in the situation. You can trust it by approaching it with curiosity and usually learn something.

[odditycollector]

Good news everyone I have accidentally discovered the stupidest fucking conceivable way to make myself to do chores

It goes like this…..

-

My car: *low gas light on*

Me: I mean, I COULD stop at the gas station on the way home… OR! I could just NOT do that and deal with it tomorrow

Me: but what if I get stuck in a time loop starting tomorrow and every day I wake up and my car is on empty that would be so annoying

Me: uggghhh FINE I will stop at the gas station.

****LATER THIS EVENING:****

My sink: *has all my bowls and tea mugs in it*

Me: okay I don't actually care about this problem for tonight I am not planning on eating soup or tea

Me: …yeah but if i do end up being stuck in a time loop starting tomorrow it is going to SUCK to have only dirty tea cups in the morning forever

Me: uuuuughhhh okay clean sink it is

-

I hate this. My brain must have an extremely low opinion of me to even try it, and it worked.

But hey, I don't have to try to remember to leave 5 min early tomorrow for a gas run?

[frostedicebells]

“And I don’t think anybody should feel bad if they get diagnosed with a mental illness, ’cause it’s just information about you that helps you to know how to take better care of yourself.

“Being bipolar, there’s nothing wrong with it. Being bipolar is like not knowing how to swim. It might be embarrassing to tell people, and it might be hard to take you certain places. But they have arm floaties. And if you just take your arm floaties, you can go wherever the hell you want.

“And I know some of you are like, ‘But Taylor, what if people judge me for taking arm floaties?’ Well, those people don’t care if you live or die, so maybe who cares? Maybe fuck those people a little. I don’t know.”

Taylor Tomlinson, Look At You (2022)

[spirulin4]

a quick “why is my life so bad” checklist

how’s your sleep schedule

have you eaten or drank anything besides sugar and caffeine

how long have you been sitting in one spot

have you gone out in public recently

have you taken a shower/brushed your teeth/groomed yourself properly

have you spent time doing an activity that doesn’t involve a screen

etc

[positivelyqueer]

the phrase ‘this is my first time being alive’ has done wonders for me recently. Yeah, I don’t know how to navigate this situation! It’s brand new to me and I’m learning on the fly, aren’t humans such wonderfully adaptive creatures?

[soolagna-meow]

reminder that 30 isn’t old, it’s very normal to not accomplish everything in your 20s, and that it is never too late to learn that thing you’ve always wanted to learn. you’re always growing. that’s a good thing. 

[unexpectedyarns]

Who the hell accomplishes everything in their 20s? Who made that a thing?

I was 48 when I started my apprenticeship to become a tattoo artist. I was 50 when I married the love of my life.

You’ve got time.

[toniknits]

I needed this right now. I’ve got time!!!

[unapologeticallyapologetic]

To anyone who needs to hear this, my aunt called my mom last year in tears and, as she talked about how things are going, she admitted that she didn’t know she could be so happy, and she didn’t know how good life could be.

She is 72. After a very rough go of things, she is now with someone who cherishes her (met him three years ago!), goes on bucket-list road trips multiple times a year, founded two nonprofits to help people who have been through similar struggles, and feels fulfilled.

30 isn’t too late. Neither is 40, nor 50, nor even 70.

[traumasurvivors]

Sometimes, we’re doing really well. We make so much progress, and we take strides and we feel so good about ourselves. And then those bad days and times creep up on us. I know it’s hard. It really is. But those times will pass again, and while they’re here, please know they don’t erase the progress you’ve made.

[cripplerage-deactivated20260121]

As a wheelchair user I'm trying to reframe my language for "being in the way."

"I'm in the way," "I can't fit," and "I can't go there," is becoming "there's not enough space," "the walkway is too narrow," and "that place isn't accessible."

It's a small change, but to me it feels as if I'm redirecting blame from myself to the people that made these places inaccessible in the first place. I don't want people to just think that they're helping me, I want them to think that they're making up for someone else's wrongdoing. I want them to remember every time I've needed help as something someone else caused.

[slfcare]

ten years ago you were so scared of such different things, but you survived them anyway. the same goes for five years ago and two years ago. everything that has ever felt like a hurdle, you’ve passed through. so be afraid, identify your fears, and then allow yourself to remember that in just a little while, this will be another thing that you have overcome.

[buzzkillgirls]

so. bad news. we have to keep going tomorrow. good news is that I’ll keep going with you

[adventures-in-therapy]

Fixed the serenity prayer 😇

[sarahseeandersen]

[homunculus-argument]

Hey btw, here's a piece of life advice:

If you know what you'd have to do to solve a problem, but you just don't want to do it, your main problem isn't the problem itself. Your problem is figuring out how to get yourself to do the solution.

If your problem is not eating enough vegetables, the problem you should be solving is "how do I make vegetables stop being yucky". If your problem is not getting enough exercise, the problem you should be solving is "how do I make exercise stop sucking ass". You're not supposed to just be doing things that are awful and suck all the time forever, you're supposed to figure out how to make it stop being so awful all the time.

I used to hate wearing sunscreen because it's sticky and slimy and disgusting and it feels bad and it smells bad, so I neglected to wear it even if I needed to. Then I found one that isn't like that, and doesn't smell and feel gross. Problem solved.

There is no correct way to live that's just supposed to suck and feel bad all the time. You're allowed to figure out how to make it not suck so bad.

[amaraqwolf]

Are you trapped on tumblr right now?

Is there something you planned to do before you got trapped in the endless tumblr scroll?

Are you yelling at yourself to get up and do the thing, but you can’t, because you’re trapped in the endless tumblr scroll?

Consider this your save point.

Put tumblr down, stand up, stretch, and go do the thing you planned to do. Future you will be incredibly grateful.

[amaraqwolf]

Things people in the notes have been able to do thanks to this post:

eat breakfast

go to bed

get out of bed

take a shower

write

practice

watch Superman Returns and write a paper on it

retain shreds of sanity

I need y’all to know that you’re doing amazing, and I’m so glad that I was able to help you break out of a procrastination loop you did not want to be stuck in.

[andythecarpathian]

Helpful post I’ve added to my queue in case it helps someone else at the random point when it’s posted.

[selfcare-journey]

Slow down, it's ok. Very few things in life are absolute

Deadlines can be flexible, career paths are flexible, relationships become close and far and close again, it's all going to be ok

[daily-reminders-that-ur-enough]

You deserve food no matter what. It doesn't matter how many times you've eaten or how "healthy" it is.

[daughterofanarcissistwoman]

Affirmations for those who were silenced as children:

I am in an adult body now. I speak up for my inner child’s safety and well-being. I refuse to let anyone control or silence me. I deserve to speak my truth just as much as anyone else does. I refuse to speak to myself in ways that are cruel.

The way others have spoken to me in the past was a reflection of how they speak to themselves. I have the human right to protest unfair treatment. I have the human right to protest unfair criticism. I have a voice for a reason. I speak my truth freely and authentically. I refuse to own others’ projections. How others interpret/perceive what I say through their own filters is none of my business. My mouth is on my body and I use it in a way that honors the deepest parts of my being.