Unfound

Soul Search

[postitforward]

Hey, Tumblr.

Today is May 1. The first day of Mental Health Month. This entire month we want to nudge all of you to celebrate triumphs, acknowledge struggles, and just come together. Let other people know they’re not alone. Feel less alone yourself. It’s what Post it Forward is all about.

One of the incredible ways you—all of you—have helped shape Tumblr is with your ability to be open and honest.  It was you that turned this platform into a community, one based on genuine expression, creativity, and acceptance.

Neat. How can I participate?

Glad you asked! Each week, for all four weeks, we’ll be giving you ideas for ways to Post it Forward.

Week 1—Post it for you: How you practice self-care and personal well-being.

Week 2—Post it for each other: Ways you can be there for each other.

Week 3—Post it for reflection: Sharing stories of personal growth and development.

Week 4—Post it for the future: Committing to continuous reflection and improvement.

This week is all about posting for you. Acts of self-care. Here are some places to start:

Post an emoji spell for self-care and positivity. 🌈 🔮 💕 🌱

Share a photo or GIF of something that calms you down. Don’t have one? Here’s one.

What’s the one thing that always cheers you up? Post a photo of it, take a GIF, or illustrate it. Toss a sticker on it, if you’d like.

Never forget that you are valid! Post a selfie with “valid” sticker (see below).

Make a list of things you like about yourself.

Make a checklist of 5 acts of self-care you promise to do for yourself this week.

Make an audio post with a song that helps you zone out and re-energize.

Don’t forget to tag all your posts with #postitforward this month! It makes it easier for everyone to find each other’s contributions.

What else?

We’ve asked our pal Tumblrbot (@tumblrbot) to help out with any extra encouragement you might need. Try sending them messages like “tell me about Mental Health Month” or “what’s this week’s prompt?” Tumblrbot will let you know what’s up, because Tumblrbot is a friend to all of us.

We got Answer Times, all of them taking place right here on Post it Forward unless indicated otherwise:

5/4—Utkarsh Ambudkar, NAMI (@namiorg) ambassador, Pitch Perfect actor, and member of hip-hop improv group, Freestyle Love Supreme.

5/8—AJ Mendez Brooks, NAMI (@namiorg) ambassador, former pro wrestler, and author of Crazy Is My Superpower, a memoir about her experiences with bipolar disorder.

5/9—Brittany Snow and Courtney Knowles, co-founders of Love is Louder, from their official blog (@loveislouderofficial).

5/10—Kelly Williams Brown, New York Times best-selling author, from her official blog (@adulting).

5/15—Cynthia Germanotta, Lady Gaga’s mother and co-founder of the Born This Way Foundation.

5/16—Shannon Beveridge (@now-this-is-living), 25-year-old YouTube star. She’ll be partnering with It Gets Better (@itgetsbetterproject).

5/23—The creators of #TheBlackout movement, from their official blog (@theblackoutofficial).

5/25—Anna Akana, YouTuber, writer, director, and activist, from her official blog (@annaakana).

5/26—Mental health advocates Patrick and Amy Kennedy.

We even have some limited edition stickers ready for you in the Tumblr app right now:

<3 Tumblr

[inspireamind]

💙💚😍

[thelatestkate]

[untidysoul]

❤

[purplebuddhaproject]

[purplebuddhaproject]

https://www.instagram.com/pbuddhaproject/

[untidysoul]

Yes!

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

You gotta show love even when they don’t - or you become one of them.

Unknown (via onlinecounsellingcollege)

Umm, yes!

[purplebuddhaproject]

https://www.instagram.com/pbuddhaproject/

[untidysoul]

Love this

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

Every struggle you have known has shaped and made you the person you are. Be thankful that you are stronger today.

Unknown (via onlinecounsellingcollege)

Agreed

[untidysoul]

A day or two late but if I was on time, you’d better worry…

Please follow and share!

[generationintrovert]

Don’t rush and move to the beat of your own drummer

[untidysoul]

Exactly.

[untidysoul]

To anyone and everyone

I'm going to start a new blog today, and I'll post the link here later today. I've just returned from a trip, did some reading of thought provoking material and reflecting, and I'm taking this day of rest and recharging to start a new journey. I want to share this journey with whoever cares to listen and read, and hope to inspire others to reflect on life as well. I plan to continue to write here as well, as follow up on the ongoing battles that lie in the deepest parts of my mind and soul. Through these blogs I hope to reach out to anyone in a similar journey or struggle and provide knowledge and wisdom I've gained on this path. I encourage you all to follow along, and see where it takes us....

[florial]

[untidysoul]

This baby wants to come home with me

[untidysoul]

It's Monday

Morning was fine. Nothing great, nothing not so great. I come to work will massive piles of paperwork on my desk. No problem. That’s why I come in early, to tackle the weekend catch up. Coworker comes over as I’m deep in the pile, “Are you busy?” Me: “Yes” “Is this a good time?” Me: “No, I’m right in the middle of this.” “Perfect, LOL” pulls up chair “I have some questions. So and so has a problem. What are you doing about it. Are you aware of it. So and so is wondering what you’re going to do about it.” Me: “I’m aware. I’ve been taking care of it. I already gave so and so what so and so wanted with your manager’s direction. Just Friday I was notified that so and so wants more, so I set things up on Friday, as soon as I was notified to make it happen. I cannot make this process go any faster. It’s only Monday BTW.” Me: goes to take a break, off the clock of course, alone, away from people, in the break room which is for breaks, and same person finds me. “Are you on a break?” Me: “Yes” obviously. “I need to talk to you” Me: in my head- are you kidding me? This is a 10 minute break of a 10 hour shift! Me: how can I live off popcan return money. Person: "Can I wear this to work?"

[myburdenalone]

[untidysoul]

❤

[untidysoul]

There are as many ways to live as there are people in this world

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm almost certain I heard this quote in Harriet the Spy on my orange VHS tape.... and I think about it a lot.

[hallowsaesthetic-deactivated201]

GIANT SELF HELP MASTERPOST

｡◕‿◕｡

emergency compliment  calming manatee calming paintbrush soothing techniques the thoughts room the quiet place daily puppy draw a stickman self injury recovery masterpost need a hug?? comfort box alternatives for anger and restlessness happy thing masterpost when you’re sad? click here to smile feeling stressed? cheer up! the dawn room

isnt the rain beautiful are you feeling okay? calm down weave silk to calm down do nothing for two minutes match the colours look at the stars!

wanting to self harm or worse? maybe you want to comfort someone else wow beautiful nature sounds! really good game to get feelings out nature not your thing? coffee shop noise

sand patterns speak to people how to care for self harm cuts distractions and alternatives for self harm how to fade and cover scars what to do when someone notices your cuts/scars? resisting the urges 25 ways to avoid self injury tips to help stop cutting helping someone who is suicidal stupid games to cheer you up (pointless games) the butterfly project just relapsed? reasons to live

eating disorder support groups coping with exercise addictions bulimia recovery coping with weight gain overcome your eating disorder

bipolar self help living with bipolar dealing with bipolar without medication 10 more ways to cope with bipolar bipolar coping skills

how to cope with depression natural depression treatments ways to deal with depression/stress overcoming loneliness  finding the right antidepressant

understanding and managing anxiety understanding and coping with panic attacks tips and tricks for dealing with anxiety anti stress breathing tips coping with social anxiety cope with panic attacks

self defence tips rape escape how to break out of a zip tie

depression resources masterpost cool game called ‘the end’ to distract you “how to cut” (not what you think) big master post of masterposts

HOW TO stop skipping breakfast stop biting your nails work through feelings of social isolation understand types of anxiety deal with anxiety calm down calm down during a anxiety attack do yoga to cheer  yourself up learn how to mediate cope with ocd coping with social anxiety disorder coping with schizophrenia coping with depression coping with bipolar coping with borderline personality disorder coping with eating disorders coping with autism spectrum disorder

GET HELP WITH

disorders/mental illness low on cash but wanting help? panic and anxiety coping with PTSD never say these things to someone having a panic attack what is ocd? more about ocd what is PTSD? what is social anxiety/social phobia supporting someone with PTSD tips living with someone who has OCD what is depression? what is autism spectrum disorder? what is bipolar? what is borderline personality disorder? what are eating disorders? what is generalized anxiety disorder? what is panic disorder? what is schizophrenia?  suicide prevention hotlines more hotlines (UK) list of hotlines for everyone mental health hotlines

8TRACKS PLAYLISTS CALM/CHEER UP MUSIC

note to self good feelings spring fling coffee shop acoustics rad covers good feelings a little bit of everything good morning breathe acoustic conquer school wheels on the road choose happy sleepy tunes coffee shop tunes

BACKGROUND NOISES

MYNOISE SOUNDROWN RAINY MOOD COFFEE SHOP SOUNDS TO FALL ASLEEP TO STUDY PLAYLIST MOST RELAXING TUNE ACCORDING TO SCIENTISTS CALM SOUND

[saturnsatin-deactivated20160113]

Important!

[takecare-takecare-takecare-deac]

This is incredible and I’m also going to add emergencykitten.com

Because who doesn’t occasionally have an emergency that requires a kitten

[attack-on-tuba]

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU COULD EVER REBLOG

[untidysoul]

Just reading the list is calming.

[untidysoul]

Would say second chance... but...

Been thinking a lot about things… mind blown by my own thoughts… epiphany. Brace yourself!

As this post is titled, I would say I’ve been given a second chance at life, but that’s really not reasonable. I’ve been BLESSED too many times to count, second chances galore, and abundant new beginnings. I’ve spend many years regretting decisions, taking the wrong path over and over and not living up to my childhood dreams and expectations I set for myself. I previously posted about life expectations and the disappointment we experience when life doesn’t turn out as planned. In retrospect, not much as turned out as I initially planned... you know when i was five years old planning my entire life. Life does not come with a handbook, expectations are set by those who raise you, society, and other factors. Me? I had this idea I would do everything ‘right’, in the ‘right’ order, etc. That was the expectation, of course. I even got myself worked up into full on panic mode, tears included, as an adolescent at the mere thought of doing something taboo. I quickly snapped back into reality - told myself “I haven’t even done anything!” and calmed down, while thumping myself on the forehead about the ridiculousness of the mini meltdown. So then...

Life constantly changes and throws you curve balls. I liked to think I could go with the flow and adapt well. Looking back, I wasn’t that great at it. That may be apparent to those around me, but every single situation had so many factors influencing the thoughts, feelings, decisions, actions... all of the above. Internal and external. My life has gone in so many directions, back and forth, up, down, good, bad, ugly. Without listing every thing I did that was out of order or against the plan (ain’t nobody got time for that!) I can say my journey has been messy.

Next. At the age of 31, I have finally come to terms with every aspect of my life. WHOA. This comes after mess after mess, therapy, life, everything and anything. This has not been an easy journey, plenty of it my own doing- my own fault. It’s a lot to say it - every aspect. I fully believe it took every single moment in my life, good or bad, intentional or not, to make me who I am. Every single event, thought, and feeling has gotten me here. Now. I’ve accepted that each stepping stone is part of life. EVERYONE has regrets. What good are we doing dwelling on what we could have done better? We can pass along lessons learned to other people and hope that in general people on this planet will make good choices and be nice to each other. If they don’t listen to us, take our advice, do it our way, it’s ok. It’s their journey and they need each step to create the person they’re meant to be. I’m not saying you have to lack caring, care too much, or do things my way, or anyone’s way. Do it your way. You’re going to anyway...

I spent so long upset with myself for not doing things in the right order - having kids before marriage - or taking ‘too long’ to finish college, not starting my career job until I was 27, not being that great of a parent at times, being reckless...the list goes on. My epiphany came to me when helping a co-worker with a project for school. I was asked if I would change anything in my career path. I answered confidently, no. I wouldn’t change it. If i had gotten my job sooner, I wouldn’t have been ready - mentally, emotionally. If I had finished college when I was 21 versus 25, I would have been ready for the next step. Maybe I’m a slow learner - at this thing called LIFE. I learned so much the hard way. I try to pass those lessons learned on to my kids who are reaching those awkward ages where I had started to struggle. I had resentment toward other people and maybe even God himself for not giving me what I thought I was ready for or on MY timeline. I allowed society to have too much influence on my timeline which caused a great deal of inner turmoil. Not necessary folks. I created a lot of stress and anger inside me for being such a mess. Yes, I was and still am a mess of a human. But I’ve been blessed beyond measure, so much more than I deserve. Every road bump has been necessary. Every success and blessing has all been a part of this journey, and has happened exactly how God planned. I’ve been so consumed by my own idea of what is ‘supposed’ to happen that I have neglected a lot of time breathing in those blessings and being disappointed in different steps of my journey.

I have accepted my journey. I am OK with my past. I am looking forward to the rest of my journey. There is no picture perfect. Behind every perfect picture is a mess, big or little, known or unknown. Everyone has their own path or journey, not everyone knows it or has accepted it. I would like to kindly ask my readers to take a step back and breathe in life a little, and know that nothing is the end of the world, not even the end of the world is the end of the world. I will continue to struggle in areas of my life, dealing with depression, anxiety, and any road blocks thrown my way. I will lose my train of thought, forget during the worst of the depression and anxiety that I’ll get through it, but I will. I will get through it, whether I believe it or not in that moment. No one said the journey will be easy or pleasant, and it may very well be storm after storm but some time the sun will shine and you and I... we’ll be ok. God has a plan and sometimes you have to open your eyes and let God in to see it. You may be a slow learner at life, like me, but you’ll get there.

[untidysoul]

3.9

I've got a lot of notes to catch up on. I'll start with the #1 trigger/stressor in my life. Just eliminate it, right? Well, legally I'm stuck dealing with this stressor for at least 8 more years. I do everything in my power to avoid conflict... in all aspects of my life. This is no different, however, I no longer allow myself to be walked on. I do not provoke or antagonize, believe it or not. I don't want conflict. I want no contact whatsoever but thats obviously not reasonable. So I do the best I can with the situation at hand. I've accepted it as is. But the other party cannot accept it and brings me down and is the number one problem in my whole life. I can handle a certain amount of nonsense, but it gets old real quickly when it's constant, repetitive, negative....negative....negative. There's no getting through, nothing helps. Things are made way more complicated than necessary. Why would anyone want to continue this way? It's ridiculous! It drains me.