Destigmatize Me

Working to destigmatize mental illness and the mentally ill.

[typelikeagirl]

[wholeheartedsuggestions]

what i think i might need to hear tonight:

it wasn’t your fault. you did not deserve what happened/is happening.

you are stronger than your self-hatred.

everything will work itself out, but it will take time.

you are still a good person despite your mistakes. you are hyper aware of them and learning from them.

stop beating yourself up over when cannot be changed. some things are out of your control, and you must just sit with the reality of it.

you are loved and not alone. ♥️

[eb-fg-deactivated-deactivated20]

just a reminder that you are never alone and it in fact does help to speak to somebody and i am here always.

[wholeheartedsuggestions]

you deserve rest.

you deserve relaxation.

you deserve time to recuperate.

[randomreasonstolive]

Reason to Live #12416

   The sound and smell of the rain.  – Guest Submission

(Please don't add negative comments to these posts.)

[daily-reminders-that-ur-enough]

You are lovable

[thelatestkate]

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

"You're not the main character" also applies to thinking that you're so uniquely horrible that everyone you meet is deeply invested in judging and hating you. That's just as much of a cognitive distortion as believing that you're the center of everyone's admiration. I promise you that other people got their own lives to live and their own struggles and flaws to cope with.

[wholeheartedsuggestions]

friendly reminder no one is worth destroying yourself over. doesn’t matter how happy they’ve made you, how long you’ve known them, how cute they are, how sweet they can be. if you’re constantly crying yourself to sleep over them and feeling invalidated and having to blame yourself or make up excuses for them, not worth it. not worth it now. not worth it in the long run.

[destigmatizeme]

I'm a 15 year old battling suicidal thoughts and thoughts on cutting. I live in a country where a majority of people believe mental health issues = madness.

I told my dad about going to the hospital to get checked, because I believe I may be neuro-divergent. He laughed at it and said it was not important however he would see what he can do, though he believes all I have to do is pray to God even though I have been doing that for years. I had told my mother about it but she told me not to mention madness to her again. I actually want to see a doctor and tell them about my depression and anxiety i used to harm myself severely but starvation, attempting suffocation and cutting my skin with my nails. i rarely do it but once i'm triggered, it becomes the only solution.

I'm tired of trying to solve things on my own and wait for God to answer my prayers, because i fear i would be no more by then. But, even if i do see a doctor about my mental health, I'm nervous and scared thinking about the fact the doctor will tell my parents of everything. I'm so lost and I don't know what to do, because when i told my parent about the possibility of being neuro-divergent, they were dismissive and called it madness(the condition). i don't know how they would take my depression. I've reached out to sibling and she was like I would get over it that it's just money that's the issue that once i start to earn it would go away. my other sibling thinks of everything i do as 'edge lord', so i can't even attempt telling him. And, I can't be a bother to others. I really need advice.

I’m sorry your parents won’t help you and that you are going through so much without the kind of support system you need and deserve.

Do you have any laws in your country that protect patient privacy? Or is there an advocacy organization that might be able to help you get care?

If there is absolutely no way for you to safely get the help you need, then all I know to suggest is practicing standard coping skills—journaling, deep breathing, distractions.

[starfishinthedistance]

I talk to many people who say things like "oh I have trauma but I don't have PTSD", but then when I talk to them a little more I realize that they most likely do, they just can't recognize it as such due to how lacking PTSD awareness is, even beyond the whole "it's not just a veteran's disorder" thing.

The main reason they think they don't have PTSD usually has to do with flashbacks and nightmares, either they have one but not the other or have neither. But here's the thing, those are only two symptoms out of the 23-odd recognized symptoms. Flashbacks and nightmares are two of the five symptoms under Criterion B (Intrusion), which you only need one of for a diagnosis. The other three symptoms are unwanted upsetting memories, emotional distress after being reminded of trauma and physical reactivity after being reminded of trauma (i.e. shaking, sweating, heart racing, feeling sick, nauseous or faint, etc). Therefore you can have both flashbacks and nightmares, one but not the other, or neither and still have PTSD.

In fact, a lot of the reasons people give me for why they don't think they have PTSD are literally a part of the diagnostic criteria.

"Oh, I can barely remember most parts of my trauma anyway." Criterion D (Negative Alterations in Cognition and Mood) includes inability to recall key features of the trauma.

"Oh but I don't get upset about my trauma that often because I avoid thinking of it or being around things that remind me of it most of the time." Criterion C (Avoidance) includes avoiding trauma-related thoughts or feelings and avoiding trauma-related external reminders, and you literally cannot get diagnosed if you don't have at least one of those two symptoms.

"Oh I just have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, but I don't have nightmares." Criterion E (Alterations in Arousal and Reactivity) includes difficulting sleeping outside of nightmares.

"But I didn't have many/any trauma symptoms until a long time after the trauma happened." There's literally an entire specification for that.

Really it just shows how despite being one of the most well-known mental illnesses, people really don't know much about PTSD. If you have trauma, I ask you to at least look at the criteria before you decide you don't have PTSD. Hell, even if you don't have trauma, look at the criteria anyway because there are so many symptoms in there that just are not talked about.

PTSD awareness is not just about flashbacks and nightmares.

[heyprettylittlemockingbird]

Long Story Short | Taylor Swift

[sunflowersandhappycolours-deact]

In case you need this today

- you are not a failure - you are not a waste of space - you are loved - you are wanted - i believe in you - you can do it

[destigmatizeme]

[image description: tweet by Jessica Pin that says, “Most people who simply witness a shooting are not traumatized the rest of their lives. I'm sick of this attitude that people are so fragile. How the hell do people like this think we made it 200,000 years through much harder conditions if we are so easy to break?” She had quoted a tweet by Kristi Cornett; the visible portion of that tweet reads, “This is horrifying to watch. Grateful for our brave police and their response but we should not have to live like this not respond like this. Those children and adults will be traumatized for the rest of their lives. I can't imagine the trauma for these...” /end of image description]

In spite of what Jessica Pin has said, PTSD is not a sign of fragility. It does not mean a person is broken. PTSD is a normal response to an abnormal situation.

[thyming]

In case nobody told you today: I love you, I am proud of you, you are doing great and I am glad you are alive. ♡

[quotemadness]

“Take all the time you need to heal emotionally. Moving on doesn’t take a day. It takes a lot of little steps to be able to break free of your broken self.”

— Unknown

[moldyplumx]

EVERYONE DRINK WATER RIGHT NOW AND REBLOG TO KEEP THE HYDRATION GANG CHAIN GOING

[the-eatjoyfully-posts]

Water Reminder