No Shame In Our Sickness

Savannah / 25 / survivor / DSM 296.32 / 300.02 / 300.3 / 309.81 / 698.4 / #MedicatedAndMighty / 3 years recovered from self harm 🖤 This blog is dedicated to encouraging recovery and fighting mental health stigma. Love y'all.

[noshameinoursickness]

Do You Pull Your Hair or Pick Your Skin? How to Cope With Trichotillomania and Dermatillomania

The urge to pull at your hair or pick at your skin – does this sound familiar to you or anyone you know? This comic has what you need to know about trichotillomania and excoriation disorder (also known as dermatillomania).

As many of you know I struggle with a BFRB and I just love this article.

[frankie-vader]

I didn’t even know that Trichotillomania was a thing until recently, when I read a post on Tumblr talking about it. Like many of the symptoms associated with my OCD, I always thought this was just something weird I did, and nobody else would understand. I never told anyone, I was too ashamed. But I couldn’t stop.

So glad to see posts on my dash that talk about these subjects, it helps me to realise that I’m not alone.

[dressedupindreams]

Yes, I felt the same way about my Dermatillomania. I constantly have scabs and I feel very guilty because I just make them worse. I’ve had the problem ever since I was little and I’ve never known it was related to my OCD. I too am grateful for this article/post. 

[trichotillomania-aware]

A good read!

[freeingeileen-blog]

[noshameinoursickness]

just gonna drop this here…

for anyone who needs it

[noshameinoursickness]

[noshameinoursickness]

had to try out this affirmation meme trend

[noshameinoursickness]

had to try out this affirmation meme trend

[noshameinoursickness]

21 Books on Growth and Change for Your 2021 Reading List:

1.   Building A Life Worth Living - Marsha P. Linehan – The Origins of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

2.   It Didn’t Start with You – Mark Wolynn –How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Us and How to End the Cycle

3.   Fearing the Black Body – Sabrina Strings – The Racist Origins of Fat-Phobia

4.   When the Body Says No – Gabor Maté – The Stress + Disease + Chronic Illness Connection

5.   Burnout – Emily Nagoski – Unlocking the Stress Cycle

6.   Rage Becomes Her – Soraya Chemaly – The Power of Women’s Anger

7.   Health at Every Size – Linda Bacon – Fat Isn’t the Problem, Dieting Is

8.   Radical Acceptance – Tara Brach – Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha

9.   The Body Keeps the Score – Bessel van der Kolk – Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma

10.     Conflict is Not Abuse - Sarah Schulman – Community Responsibility and the Duty of Repair

11.     Caste - Isabel Wilkerson – The Origins of Our Discontents

12.     How to Be Anti-Racist - Ibram X Kendi

13.     Attached - Rachel Heller – Healing Your Romantic Attachment Wounds

14.     No Is Not Enough – Naomi Klein – Resisting Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need

15.     Asking for It – Kate Harding – The Rise of Rape Culture and What We Can Do to Stop It

16.     This Is Water - David Foster Wallace

17.     When Things Fall Apart - Pena Chodron

18.     The Will to Change – Bell Hooks

19.     Rethinking Narcissism - Craig Malkin

20.     A People’s History of the US - Howard Zinn

21.     Intuitive Eating - Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch

[noshameinoursickness]

As We Rapidly Approach the 2020 US Election Results...

We need to prepare mental health wise for all possible outcomes. It’s highly likely we will not know the confirmed results until a couple weeks after the election. Regardless of outcome, this will be a stressful next couple weeks and we MUST prepare our mental health toolkits. With your partner, family, or friends write down or make a toolkit including:

A safe place to go virtually or IRL (park, friends’ house, family member’s place, meeting or support group)

Loved ones to call/check in with (write them down!)

A list of your trusted coping mechanisms

Something tactile and soothing (favorite crystal, stim toy, stuffed animal, comfy clothes, candles, skin care or blanket)

Safe and easy foods/meals (buy your favorite frozen meal/snacks/drinks, eat whatever you need to without shame/guilt)

Your refilled anti-anxiety medication (or CBD products, herbal tea, smokables/edibles, whatever you prefer no judgement!)

An affirmation list ex. “I am safe right now”

CBT/DBT worksheets & my Anxiety Masterpost

Crisis Hotlines, AA/NA Meeting/Support Group Links, or your Counselor’s Number (ex. my therapist is avail Election Day to text/call)

Pick out, pre-purchase, or set-aside your favorite comforting movies, TV shows, podcasts, or media

If you’re the type who wants to volunteer, sign up to phone-bank or text bank in swing states on election day / this week (that’s what I’m doing)

In the worst case scenario: prepare your protest or mutual aid kits and/or pick a local mutual aid organization to volunteer with

Give this written list to your partner, bff, or family in case you have a freeze response or anxiety attack so they know how to help you

Lastly, DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE, in fact, take several slow deep breaths right now

Community Resilience protects and helps all of us. 

Stay safe, love you all!

[noshameinoursickness]

21 Books on Growth and Change for Your 2021 Reading List:

1.   Building A Life Worth Living - Marsha P. Linehan – The Origins of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

2.   It Didn’t Start with You – Mark Wolynn –How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Us and How to End the Cycle

3.   Fearing the Black Body – Sabrina Strings – The Racist Origins of Fat-Phobia

4.   When the Body Says No – Gabor Maté – The Stress + Disease + Chronic Illness Connection

5.   Burnout – Emily Nagoski – Unlocking the Stress Cycle

6.   Rage Becomes Her – Soraya Chemaly – The Power of Women’s Anger

7.   Health at Every Size – Linda Bacon – Fat Isn’t the Problem, Dieting Is

8.   Radical Acceptance – Tara Brach – Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha

9.   The Body Keeps the Score – Bessel van der Kolk – Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma

10.     Conflict is Not Abuse - Sarah Schulman – Community Responsibility and the Duty of Repair

11.     Caste - Isabel Wilkerson – The Origins of Our Discontents

12.     How to Be Anti-Racist - Ibram X Kendi

13.     Attached - Rachel Heller – Healing Your Romantic Attachment Wounds

14.     No Is Not Enough – Naomi Klein – Resisting Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need

15.     Asking for It – Kate Harding – The Rise of Rape Culture and What We Can Do to Stop It

16.     This Is Water - David Foster Wallace

17.     When Things Fall Apart - Pena Chodron

18.     The Will to Change – Bell Hooks

19.     Rethinking Narcissism - Craig Malkin

20.     A People’s History of the US - Howard Zinn

21.     Intuitive Eating - Evelyn Tribole

[babyboy-dre]

Self harm is :

•making yourself sleep deprived •making yourself cold (not wearing warm clothes in the winter, sleeping without a blanket etc) •not eating •not drinking •eating too much •not looking before crossing the street •scratching •letting your skin be dry & break easily •picking at skin •over-exercising •substance abuse •over-working yourself •making yourself go out and do things even though you’re exhausted •putting yourself in anxiety-inducing situations (even if you have a choice to stay out of them) •triggering yourself •purposefully angering someone who you know will yell at you •entering relationships you don’t want to be in/being around people you don’t want to be around •having sex when you don’t want to •setting yourself punishments •not giving yourself time •not letting yourself spend time with the people you love & know will be good to you •yelling at yourself inside your head •pinching or bruising yourself instead of cutting •cutting •holding everything in even when you have the option of venting •over stressing •over thinking •staying in abusive relationships (friend wise or romantically)

STOP assuming that self-harm is visible and easy to notice. It’s NOT. Self harm isn’t always physical, it can be emotional, and mental as well

[tfw-adhd]

[tinybugnotes]

You are loved. 🌱  twitter / instagram

- you are loved - you are not a burden - you are valid - you are not alone

[tinybugnotes]

Never settle for less than your worth. 🐻🌱  twitter / instagram

- never forget what you’re worth - you deserve friends who value you and love you - don’t settle for less. you deserve friends who know your worth, too.

[tfw-adhd]

[tfw-adhd]

Finally got around to making an ADHD, Bipolar and Autism Diagram to show the overlapping symptoms.

(Both low self-esteem and inflated self-esteem are listed for Bipolar - this is because it is made up of a depressive and manic stage. When they’re in the depressed state, they have low self-esteem, but have high self-esteem in the manic stage.)

[tfw-adhd]

This ADHD and Bipolar diagram was highly requested!

(Both low self-esteem and inflated self-esteem are listed for Bipolar - this is because it is made up of a depressive and manic stage. When they’re in the depressed state, they have low self-esteem, but have high self-esteem in the manic stage.)

[tfw-adhd]

( @bitter-poseur-trash @actuallylorelaigilmore @bisexual-apocalypse @foolofthecourt @fanvergentinexistentialcrisis @saschagemruler @singularitaegi-sea @imjustheretofangirl003 @johnmulaneyslut @creeepyleech and… a whole ton of other people requested who I didn’t write down )

Some of you also asked for a Bipolar/ADHD/Autism Diagram, and I have made one! I’ll be posting it in a few days :)

[tfw-adhd]

As requested ( @kylavalentina ) here’s a diagram comparing Anxiety, PTSD, and Depression.

( Here’s a link to other Venn Diagrams )

[tfw-adhd]

Because every other symptom of depression is shared with either Anxiety or PTSD, or both!

Obviously there’s more to depression than just changes in weight. The whole point of this diagram is to show the overlapping symptoms, not to list them separately.