Nomadic Mind

A Mental Health Blog

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It’s OK to ask for help.

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Cute Self Care and motivational gifts, from here.

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When you struggle with mental health, it’s often difficult to stick to plans. You want to be there, you look forward to being there, but sometimes you just can’t. There are some simple steps you can take in order to avoid having people doubt your commitment to them and your plans.

1. If the plans are in advance and you’re not sure how you will be feeling the day these plans are going to take place, give a tentative answer. Be honest. You can say something along the lines of, “I would love to commit right now, but I would feel more comfortable letting you know the day of. Is that ok?” A good friend will understand. 

2. Say No So You Can Say Yes

7 Ways To Say No:

1. “I can’t commit to this as I have other priorities at the moment.” This lets the person know your plate is full at the moment.

2. “Now’s not a good time as I’m in the middle of something. How about we reconnect at X time?” This lets the person know it’s not a good time. However, you also convey your desire to help by suggesting another time (at your convenience). This way, the person doesn’t feel blown off.

3. “I’d love to do this, but …” This is a gentle way of saying no. It’s encouraging as it lets the person know you like the idea but I can’t take part due to other reasons, such as prior commitments.

4. “Let me think about it first and I’ll get back to you.” This is more like a “Maybe” than a straight out “No”. If you are interested but you don’t want to say ‘yes’ just yet, use this.

5. “This doesn’t fit with what I’m looking for now - but I’ll keep you in mind.” Sometimes it is just best to turn the person/ offer down. Otherwise, the discussion can drag on and on.

6. “I’m not the best person to help on this. Why don’t you try X?” Again, sometimes it is best to say you’re the wrong person to help etc. If possible, refer them to a lead they can follow-up on instead.

7. “No, I can’t.” The simplest and most direct way to say no.

[professionalpterodactyl]

#worldmentalhealthday

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I feel as though a lot of this doesn’t only apply to couples, but to family and friends too:

When Your Partner Has Anxiety: A Meltdown Guide

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A lot of people could stand to read this:

Anxiety Is An Invalid Excuse 

If you’re someone who struggles with mental illness, please don’t be put off by the title of the article...it’s not what you think!

[sensorykitty]

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even if you don’t see progress right away…

YOU.

ARE.

DOING.

GREAT.

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For yourself

[the-nomadic-mind]

Hey everyone! Sorry I’ve been a bit M.I.A recently. I moved on May 1st and started a new job so I’ve been pretty busy. I haven’t had much time to sit down and write a meaningful post. 

Sometimes when nothing seems to be going right, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and lose sight of the positive aspects of our lives. So, tonight I wanted to touch base and share something that has been helpful to me lately.

I took it upon myself to buy a cute little journal on Etsy and write down at least one thing I’m grateful for daily. This is a great way to allow our minds to be focused on things that make us happy, rather than whatever is getting us down. If you’ve had a particularly rough week, it’s nice to look back on what you’ve written each day and be reminded that despite life’s trials and tribulations, there is still a lot to be grateful for and a lot to help us keep a positive outlook.

"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."

Check out some cute journals here :)

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🌸💕 Purr.

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The following is a list of methods of grounding. There are two basic types of grounding, mental and physical. Mental Grounding • Describe your environment in detail using all of your senses. • Think of your favorites, such as favorite ice cream, color, animal, place… • Remember a safe place, describing it in detail. • Remember the words to a favorite song. • Repeat a favorite saying over and over again such as, “the serenity prayer” or “the 23rd Psalm”.

Physical Grounding • Run cool or warm water over your hands • Grip something tightly • Stretch • Touch various objects around you • Carry a grounding object in your pocket such as a small stone or a piece of jewelry. The following is a small list of affirmations: • I love the child I was and the child I am. • I love myself. • I trust I am capable. • I deserve self respect. • I am free to be me; this too shall pass. • I am resourceful. • I have the courage to explore my shadow side. • I can do whatever I set my mind to. • I fill my mind with peaceful thoughts. • I take time to open my heart to rainbows. • I have courage to focus on beauty even in the midst of pain. The following is a list of common cognitive distortions: 1. All or nothing thinking – The tendency to categorize things into black and white, absolute extremes, such as good or bad, success or failure. 2. Overgeneralization - Making an overall conclusion based on only one piece of evidence. 3. Mental Filter – The tendency to pick out selective details of a situation and focus on them to the exclusion of other relevant aspects of the situation. Example: several people give you positive feedback but you dwell only on the one negative comment. 4. Rose colored glasses – A type of mental filter where you delete any negative aspects of your reality leading to suppressed sadness. 5. Magnification – The tendency top exaggerate things way out of proportion 6. Catastrophizing – An extreme form of magnification where one sees the worse possible outcome of any situation. 7. Minimization – The tendency to shrink things or downplay their importance. Example: I only have a couple of drinks when I go out. 8. Discounting the positive – A form of minimization where you believe your own good qualities or accomplishments don’t count. 9. Mind reading – assuming what others are thinking or feeling without checking it out first 10. Fortune telling – is when you predict the future will turn out negative, based on your own fears or negative thoughts 11. Emotional reasoning – Using emotion feelings to prove a certain irrational thought. Example: I feel terrible and nothing will ever get better. 12. Bodily reasoning – A bodily feeling proves an irrational belief. Example: The arousal means I’m dirty and shameful. 13. Should statements – unrealistic and perfectionist rules you set that make it difficult to live in the real world. “must, have to, ought, and need to” can be distorted too. Example: I should have stopped the abuse. 14. Labeling – Using emotionally charged words to describe yourself or someone else. 15. Personalizing – The tendency to bale yourself unnecessarily for something you are not totally responsible for 16. Blaming – Making someone else or certain circumstances responsible for choices or decisions that are actually your own responsibility.

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Image Description: Drawing of a cat licking itself with the caption “look after yourself”

Art by Gemma Correll

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This is important.

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Meditation has changed my life. Since starting two years ago, I’ve noticed a significant improvement in regards to my breathing techniques, how I cope with stress and how I handle panic attacks.

If meditation is something you haven’t tried before to help you cope with anxiety and/or depression, I highly recommend it! Starting on your own can be a bit intimidating, which is why I’m providing you with a list of my favorite guided meditations.

I try to meditate 4-5 times a week, but that might be a bit overwhelming for beginners. Following one of these videos once a week is a great start! Each link contains a meditation with specific intentions (see titles). If it’s your first time, I suggest going with the 6 minute one and working your way up.

It might seem hokey or difficult to take seriously at first, but I promise if you practice regularly, you feel feel a huge difference emotionally and physically. :)

Emotional and Physical Spiritual Healing (52 minutes)

Healing Meditation (30 minutes)

Manifest Abundance (1 hour)

Stress Management (34 minutes)

Guided Imagery (8 minutes)

Relaxation for Anxiety and Depression (28 minutes)

5 Minutes of Peace (6 minutes)

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[the-nomadic-mind]

A great blog with lots of informative, uplifting posts. :)