This post is by Kellie of Kellie’s Journey. My Journey Hello my name is Kellie and I am 38 years old and have suffered with depression and anxiety for nearly 20 years but only got diagnosed 2 and a half years ago. I have seen counsellors and have tried meditation, mindfulness, yoga, journals, and anything […]
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I suspect that many of us living with mental illness, or any other chronic illness, for that matter, have a standard set of responses that we sometimes draw on when answering questions about how we are and what we do. “Not okay” just isn’t something most people want to hear. For me, these standard responses
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When a fellow blogger asked what the science/psychology behind music and its positive effects on motivation and mood might be, and of course, my virtual ears perked up, and I decided to do some exploring. Music can activate several brain structures, including the amygdala, which is involved in trauma responses. Processing music is complex and
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Mental illness often affects what we think about, but it can also affect how we think, including the speed of our thought process. This, in turn, can impact how well we’re able to function. Effects of different illness processes Mania Mania is an obvious example of speeding things up, and this may show up outwardly
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Don’t Believe Everything You Feel by Robert L. Leahy uses an emotional schema approach to help you manage anxiety and depression. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) tools are used as part of this approach. It’s set up as a workbook, with a substantial amount of text interspersed with worksheets. Some of the worksheets are fairly structured,
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Back in 2018, I did a post looking at the sleep hygiene recommendations that I was and was not following. I decided to look back and reflect on what’s changed since then. What hasn’t changed is that I can’t sleep without medication. I’m not taking anything specifically for sleep, but a couple of my regular
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The ACT Workbook for Depression & Shame is written by psychologists Matthew W. McKay, Michael Jason Greenberg, and Patrick J. Fanning. It’s based on acceptance and commitment therapy and focused on addressing the defectiveness schema in depression. The book begins and ends with a series of several self-assessment questionnaires to let you see how much
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I had never heard of the notion of depression being anger turned inward until I heard about it indirectly while I was in hospital after a suicide attempt. My primary nurse kept asking me what I was angry about. She was insistent that I must have been angry about something to have tried to kill
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The Ups and Downs – A Bipolar Picture Book by Kat Owens is an adult-oriented picture book, although there’s no “adult” content and it would be very appropriate to help younger people understand bipolar disorder. The author aims to show the ups and downs of everyday life with bipolar. She herself lives with bipolar II.
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Mental illness recovery can be more of a journey rather than a destination, and if you’re aiming for a destination, that can end up being a moving target. Let’s begin this discussion by looking at what recovery actually entails. An Australian National Standards for Mental Health Services document from 2010 defines recovery as: “… gaining
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