Mental & Emotional Health

I recently started reading another great Mental & Emotional Heath blog called Mental Health Notes and I’m really enjoying reading it. Alicia Sparks wrote a (mostly) light-hearted Christmas-themed post today about The Top 5 Things My Brain Wants for Christmas and I am stealing her idea … so I bring you:

The Top 5 Things My Heart Wants for Christmas

1. to physically feel well - I haven’t been talking about it much here (been concentrating on those depressed elderly) but I’ve not been feeling well. I have blood work scheduled for Friday to rule out some more things and we’ll see … but I’d like to not hurt this Christmas

2. to be anxiety-free - not only is my health stressing me out, but I feel like I’ve got a lot of other things to deal with lately. Life is changing, and while I absolutely love change, it stresses me out and makes me feel like I have too much going on. I’d love to not be anxious for the rest of the year … or the rest of my life, actually.

3. to have mental illnesses be stigma-free - while we’re definitely not in the dark ages regarding mental health, it’s still not an “okay” diagnosis to have. It bears stigma over cancer, diabetes, IBS and the like, and I just wish it didn’t. While we’re at it, can we remove the stigma from and HIV or AIDS diagnosis, too?

4. a good night’s sleep - like heavy, full-night-long, deep as the ocean sleep. I’ve been so tired and so stressed about being tired, that I can’t sleep and it sucks. Someone let me sleep!

5. the guts to karaoke - I don’t sing very well, but I can hold my own at church and in groups. I have NO guts when it comes to karaoke. I’d love to get these guts in a pretty container … maybe with some tasty tea, too.

So, dear readers, what five things does your heart want for Christmas this year?

This post was actually written on Tuesday evening … I like to do the future-post thing!

Today’s lecture in PHE 363: Chronic & Communicable Diseases was about the horrible things that stress does to your body.

Guess who left the class more stressed out than when she walked into it?

Oh, yeah, that would have been me!

(more…)

300: a great movie. I enjoyed it. *nods*

300: the year the year the city of Split is built.

300: how many more hits I need in September to break my March record! Pass the word on, people!

I’m in a funk today. I’m overwhelmed, stressed out, not laughing, and just not myself. *le sigh*

I think it’s because of the major change in my life lately but I’m not sure it’s 100% that. I haven’t seen MamaDee in almost two weeks and I miss her. I am going to see her on Sunday, but still that’s been too long. School has me stressed out, I’ve had a lot of random little things to do this week and have had some snafus pop up with regards to school. I am thinking about finding a part-time job on top of everything, but with this week being SO stressful, I don’t know if that’s a smart idea!

mental & emotional health, blog hits, raising traffic, Portland State University, college, education, friends

Diana, of Somebody Heal Me tagged me in a weird things meme over a week ago! I’m slow getting to it, but here are

Six Weird Things About Me

1. Like Diana, I have a hatred towards hair. Mine is a little more specific though; I cannot stand WET hair on me. In the shower, it totally grosses me out. If I start washing my face and there is hair on my hands when I do it, I totally get grossed out and have to rinse my face & hands and start all over. I am really grossed out by wet hair.

2. I always have background noise going on. Whether it’s the TV (50% of the time), music or podcasts (equally split), there is always something on making noise. Right now it’s the Big Brother 8 finale. I have seen 90% of the season through OnDemand. I don’t always watch (I type blog entries while it’s on) but I like the background noise.

3. I love underwear. I have probably six-weeks worth of underwear. I just talked to my mom earlier about laundry and she worried that if I didn’t come down tonight I’d not have clean underwear for school. I got to tell her that I probably have another month’s worth of underwear in my drawer right now. My favorite type of underwear is a Maidenform pair of Samba’s. I adore them!

4. I’m a stacker. I stack everything. Papers, books, boxes, notebooks; they’re all stacked. My desk is normally a stack of papers and note pads and looking over right now, I clearly see a stack of papers to be filed. In front of me, on my coffee table, there is another stack of papers (for school). I like stacks to be neat and put together though.

5. The smell of sage takes me back to grade school age, but I have no idea why. I don’t remember what happened, why I love the smell of it, or exactly where it takes me back to, but the smell of sage is a powerful reminder of something. I have blackberry sage candles burning right now in hopes of figuring out WHERE I’m going with the smell.

6. I love a dressed-up-guy. This may not be weird, but I think ANY guy looks hotter dressed up. Put a suit & tie on a guy and I’ll swoon. Put him in a tux, with a long (not a bow) tie and I’m smitten. There is something about a guy all put together and cleaned up that just does it for me. Maybe that’s not really weird though.

Now I’m supposed to tag 6 people. If you’d like to do it, please do!

1. MissMiss … she doesn’t have a blog online but she has a MySpace.
2. ChelleBell … same as MissMiss!
3. Master of Irony
4. Terra of Eating Disorder Talk
5. Amanda of Depression Talk and
6. April of Life As A Christian Woman

mental & emotional health, somebody heal me, Diana Lee, meme, 6 weird things, hair, TV, Big Brother 8, underwear, Samba, Maidenform, organization techniques, sage, candles, boys in suits

Look up! Do you see anything new?

Um, that gorgeous header was created by Diana of Somebody Heal Me: The Musings of a Migraineur! Isn’t it gorgeous? She’s currently working on another one for my About Portland, OR blog, too! I’m excited to see how that one turns out!

I read a lot of blogs. I read health blogs, mom-blogs, photography blogs, fact blogs and every kind of blog in-between! I had a relaxing weekend where I was finally able to catch up on ALL of my blogs and found some that I wanted to pass on to my readers! Enjoy, follow the links, leave them comments and let me know what you think!

This post at Eating Disorder Talk made me stop, pause, and then re-read. “Heidi is a 25-year old girl. She allowed me to interview her and this two-part series is the result of her honesty and candidness. Today, I’ll cover what led her to present day’s habits. “

Depression Talk Online has a good entry about giving up her security blanket. She has been very candid in her feelings on giving up alcohol and I commend her effort and have faith that she’ll be able to do exactly what she wants.

I have written about Master of Irony beforehand, but lately her entries have been really moving me. MOI has recently taken the steps to get on disability and writes about her medication switch. She also has been playing with her blog layout which is always fun to see!

I’m a new reader to Life Tips Daily but am enjoying (and sometimes laughing) at the entries posted there!

Get Incensed sometimes makes me laugh (especially on Fridays) and sometimes makes me think, and sometimes just really makes me get incensed!

Later on in the week Diana, of Somebody Heal Me will be more fully featured, so I’ll keep it simple here; Di inspires me to take care of myself. She struggles to put herself first even when she’s hurting badly. I do the same.

Amalah’s latest entry What We Do When We’re Not Making Fun of the Dog was just another on the long list of entries that she writes that make me laugh. I consider her part of the cool crowd of blogging women and so I probably don’t comment there as often as I should, but she rarely fails to make me laugh!

Another blog that always makes me laugh is I Can Has Cheezburger. Seriously. Funny.

What do you regularly read that you think I should check out?

After a lengthy email, April featured me at Life as A Christian Woman. Go check it out (if you want to know more about me) and leave April a comment - she deserves it!

mental & emotional health, life as a christian woman, salvation story, featured blog, guest writer

Welcome back to my interview with Terra Atrill! Today we concentrate more on her specific illnesses and what she does to counteract some of the issues that they can create in her life!

**Are you currently taking any medications for your afflictions (OCD, ADD & cyclothymia)? If so, would you mind sharing which ones? If not, how do you cope when you have an episode?
I’m not currently on medication - I went off a cocktail of Lithium, Effexor, Seroquel & Clonazepam when I found out I was pregnant. Cyclothymia is a largely manageable condition - it’s about knowing what words for you and doesn’t and not pushing the envelope too far. Which reminds me of all of my marble entries! For example, monotony is BAD for me but also soothing to a point, so if there’s a horribly monotonous thing I need to do, I’ll break it into segments of time. I have learned to, for some amount of time, allow myself to just … do nothing or do everything, depending on what the mood entails. I usually feel guilty or selfish or some other form of negative emotion for “giving in” such as in cases of unwise spending, but usually it feeds the monster little bites so it’s not starving and willing to eat a whole village, if you know what I mean. I absolutely understand, I deal with that guilt with regards to taking care of myself vs. taking care of everyone else’s needs. I hate it but I love it. It makes me an incredibly compassionate person, but I also frequently get told that I’m too nice for my own good. I struggle with who to put first in a lot of situations. I am learning though!

**Tell me about an experience (best, worst, whatever) with medicating your illnesses.
This is not a good story. During my psychotic break, I was taking Celexa, Wellbutrin & Ativan. I ended up hallucinating & experiencing voices talking to me in addition to being extremely suicidal, which lead me to think that if I just WALKED aimlessly at 2am in the West End, my head would clear. Walking around, I was paranoid & angry, thinking that all of the men on the street were planning to attack & rape me, leading me to challenge one of the local homeless mental men to a fight (which I ran away from). I ended up in the local emergency room where they prescribed me more ativan. After an hour of pacing the small room I was confined to and thinking the staff was plotting to kidnap me, they quadrupled my normal dose of ativan and sent me home with extras … which I promptly broke up & snorted with some cocaine, leading me to sleep for the first time in three days. Wow, a bum fight and cocaine … your first sentence was right.

**You’ve mentioned before that you have OCD, what are you obessessive/compulsive about? Does this get in the way of your daily life sometimes?
I’m a constant organizer and cleaner. (Welcome at my house anytime!!) Which is hard, at best, with a willful toddler, a cat & hardwood floors in a smaller one-bedroom apartment. I find myself endlessly sweeping (up to 8 times a day) (wow, I’ve swept once since I moved 3 months ago!) and mopping (to the point of moving furniture) (I haven’t ever mopped my new place) at least three times weekly. This gets in the way of personal hygiene (that showering deal, again - especially since if I take a shower or bath I’m compelled to clean the bathroom afterwards, which I don’t have time to do, so I will tend to just skip it).

**You’ve also mentioned your ADD; how do you get stuff done, take care of your daughter, keep food cooking for her AND finish this interview if your brain is all over the place?
The ADD is only a factor when under stress - which lately I constantly am. I find using lists and requiring myself to complete a minimum number of things on the “to do” list even at the cost of sleeping, eating or showering to help. My daughter’s health and welfare come first, so in the instance of say cooking, if I’m having a rough time, I will choose to make things for her that, though are still healthy, expend a minimum of energy to get on the table (instead of pork chops, mashed potatoes & steamed veggies, I’ll make a peanut butter sandwich, cooked baby carrots (which are constantly stocked in my fridge), a yoghurt and a banana). It’s still balanced but required little to no preparation, therefore little to no concentration. That was a great example. Thank you!

**You can cure all but one of your afflictions, which one do you live the rest of your life with and why?
I’m most comfortable with my OCD. I don’t see it as a hindrance for the most part, it really just leads to a tidier lifestyle.

**When you’ve had a particularly bad day, how do you safely express those frustrations & feelings? What about a particularly great day?
I blog, walk, crochet, or sometimes just veg out with a movie. I have a few close, good friends who I can call, MSN (you have MSN? Let’s use that rather than Google chat next time!) email & I find that since I’m such an open person, catharsis tends to beget relaxation. With regards to the particularly great day, it’s the same as the tough day. I reward myself with a walk, take Zoe for an extra-special treat or adventure, talk to those friends about how great everything is going, write, generally try to focus on how wonderful things can be and be thankful it was a good day. I love that you treat Zoe to something extra-special when you’ve been feeling great.

**What would be your advice to someone who feels like they’re struggling with OCD, ADD or cyclothymia?
As a rule, I’m a self-educator. I think reading before being diagnosed is a double-edged sword since a lot of people will look for symptoms after reading about a condition. Alternatively, if you can remain remote & unbiased, in my experience, it helps doctors when you go in with an educated opinion - at the least to be able to answer their questions effectively.

**Where do you realistically see yourself in five years? Zoe will be 6, in school full-time and you’ll be doing what?
My personal goals for the future include:
*writing for a few more websites
*seeking publishing for a book based on things single parents do right
*a memoir-style fictional book
*building my administration business to the point of hiring people to do work & mainly managing that
*going back to school to finish my undergraduate degree when Zoe goes to kindergarten
*and starting graduate school when she is heading into second grade
*being able to be entirely financial independent: of child & spousal support, government funding, etc. as well as having healthy, manageable debts and a credit card without anyone’s help
*becoming more self-accepting and like “I can do this” whatever this is without total personal implosion. I would like to figure out how to take time for myself without feeling selfish, as though I’m taking something from Zoe

I’d like to take a moment to thank Terra for her time and her thorough answers to my mundane questions. I’d also like to wish her HEAPS and piles of luck and motivation in getting her list of goals accomplished in the next fives years. I hope I’m able to check back then and we can cross everything off the list! I enjoyed getting to know you better and believe that we have started forming a friendship that will last. Back to the discussion we had about similar people being magnetized towards one another!

*shouts* THANK YOU TERRA!!!

Mental & Emotional Health, Eating Disorder Talk, Terra Atrill, OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder, ADD, ADHD, adult ADD, attention deficit disorder, cooking, parenting a toddler, blogging, talking, self-educating, doctor diagnoses, personal goals, in the future, writing, single parenting, memoirs, administration business, back to school, undergraduate school, graduate school, financial independence, success, Lithium, Effexor, Seroquel, Clonazepam, Celexa, WellButrin, Ativan, bum fights, homeless, cocaine, medication stories

Last week I had the great opportunity to talk to Terra, of Eating Disorder Talk and I felt like we instantly bonded. After a late evening of LOLing together (it’s a new word, get used to it), I realized that she’d be a perfect person to be my first featured interview of Mental & Emotional Health fame! (Because I’m sure it’ll be my interview that makes Terra famous. *nods like she really believes herself*

I came up with some questions, some random, some not so random that I posed to Terra and off we went! (My own notes mid-conversation are in italics!)

**If you had 24-hours to do with absolutely as you please, resources (financial/babysitting/etc) not being an object, what would you do?
I would do as any mom and take a long bubble bath … after having a few rounds of spontaenous daytime sex … maybe with a 20-year-old? Oh how this made me laugh! I’d shop at a leisurely pace, do some yoga on the beach two blocks from my house, cook and eat an insanely spicy meal (want to invite me over then?), drink to excess (but not too much so), go out to the movies (maybe even alone!), clean my house from top to bottom, and organize my filing system and photo albums. Then maybe I’ll look for a 30-year-old. hehehe

Already Terra had me laughing, and so I had to continue!

**What is your all-time favorite song? And don’t give me any of that “I-can’t-pick-just-one” bull, pick one!
ALL TIME FAVOURITE: (damned Canadians spelling their words with “u”’s!) At Last - Etta James (though I also adore covers done by Christina Aguilera & Cyndi Lauper. Gloomy Sunday (originally done by Seress in 1933 - geeze, this song has an interesting background, Terra) covered by Sarah McLachlan. (I am going to have to find a copy of this song and listen to it. I’m totally intrigued by the background!)

**Tell me a little more about yourself; what you do for a living, what do you like to do in your spare time, boxers or briefs, that sort of stuff!
I am a stay-at-home mom who is struggling to write for three websites (Eating Disorder Talk, From Manic To Mommy & Single Parenting on a Low Income ), maintain a neat & clean home, raise my 13-month-old (virtually alone), work from home as an admin-assistant/bookkeeper, keep my eating disorder in check, shower regularly (who has the time?) and maintain a healthy sex life (this is normally the inspiration for showering). LOL When I have spare time, or if I’m avoiding responsibilities as I do when I’m MAXED out on overwhelmtion (I love that word!) , I write, crochet, organize, make lists, read, sing to female artists (likely, badly), and clean. Sometimes I even bathe when there’s no reason to, “just cuz I can.” Oh, and I prefer old-old school, plaid, cotton boxers. None of that boxer brief crap for me - only two men look good in those: Mark Wahlberg & Ashton Kutcher. I absolutely agree with that. Also, I’m a natural red-head and my eyes change colour with moods (as do my daughter’s my mom’s & all three of my sisters’ - I call them witchy eyes). Neat!

**Now onto “afflictions” (I really doing like calling them illnesses, so bear with the word for a bit) what do you currently live with?
I currently have mild cases of cyclothymia, attention deficit disorder, & obsessive-compulsive disorder. They are heightened by stress but often managed via behaviour during stressed moments. This is where, if I had been interview Terra in person, I would have just stared at her … completely confused. Run that by me one more time? On some level, they take care of each other in that my ADD causes me to lose focus on 12 tasks simultaneously and my OCD leads me to order & clean things (and count, but anyways) and the cyclothymia leads me to cycle between exhaustion (which makes sense for my lifestyle) and hypomania … meaning:

When I get stressed, I go through a hypomanic phase and clean a little bit of everything!

I will get distracted from that main cleaning task; say I’ll be doing dishes, but decide mid-way to throw the towel into the laundry, I’ll then sort the laundry to be washed after Zoe goes to bed. I’ll move the sorted laundry in baskets to the living room so it’s close by when the time is right, but in the living room I see something on the floor so I’ll sweep. I’ll pick up the laundry baskets, set them on the furniture until the floor is swept and notice something on the sheets (on the bed that serves as my living room furniture) so I’ll change the sheets ultimately causing me to resort the laundry. (I’m out of breath reading this and thinking about doing all those things in a span on ten minutes. I also have a very funny picture of you running around like a loon doing all this stuff!)

Point: I got some of the dishes washed, laundry sorted and maybe even done, floors cleaned up - and later I’ll go back to mop it, probably finishing the dishes and sweeping again.

All of this feeds the OCD which relaxes me, therefore making the ADD symptoms virtually nil. Most of the time.

**What have you lived with (but overcome?) in the past? Have they all been doctor diagnosed afflictions?
I was chronically depressed from the age of 11. This was exacerbated by the use of opiates. When I quit opiates, I got more depressed, feebly attempted suicide a few times (though my first attempt was prior to age 11). At 16, I was diagnosed as borderline schizophrenic, and at 19, major depression. I was first diagnosed as anorexic at age 12. At 23/24, I went through a psychotic break (also owing to drug use and severe fasting). I was diagnosed as full-spectrum personality disorder - meaning I kinda want to fit into a whole bunch of categories and the doctors couldn’t just PICK ONE. That was eventually downgraded to my current diagnosis.

If you’d like to learn more about Terra, come back tomorrow for the rest of our interview!

mental & emotional health, personal interviews, Eating Disorder Talk, Terra Atrill, dream day, favorite song, Etta James, Christina Aguilera, Cyndi Lauper, Sarah McLachlan, From Manic to Mommy, Hub Pages, mothering a toddler, writing, crocheting, organizing, list making, reading, singing, cleaning, Mark Wahlberg, Ashton Kutcher, cyclothymia, bi-polar disorder, attention deficit disorder, ADD, ADHD, adult ADD, obessesive-compulsive disorder, OCD, chronic depression, opiate use, suicide, attempted suicide, borderline schizophrenia, major depression, anorexia, anoretic, personality disorder

Over at Kerrie’s blog yesterday I was fascinated by an article linking depression, women, migraines and childhood abuse. Instead of writing a half-formed in-awe post about it, I’m linking you to HER blog since she does an amazing job re-formatting and emphasizing pivotal points within the article. This is prompting me to do more research on the subject as I find the connection and the idea of “serotonin dysfunction” absolutely fascinating.

So yeah, go read the blog! (And leave Kerrie a comment, I’m sure she loves ‘em like I do!)

Oh, and I drew a name last night! The winner of the contest will be featured (with his/her permission) tomorrow!!

mental & emotional health, migraines, depression, childhood abuse, women, contest, book winner, Daily Headache

It’s a slow news day, so I’m adding links to my favorite health (mental, emotional AND physical) blogs as well.

Insurance Limits, Costs Keep Migraine Patients From Meds - Insurance restrictions and out-of-pocket costs cause many migraine sufferers to not take medications when needed because they’re concerned about running out of the drugs, a new U.S. study contends. This is particularly sad to me because I am one of these people. I don’t take my meds when I need them unless I REALLY need them because of the costs.

Brain Mix-up Trigger Strange Feelings of Deja Vu - The brain cranks out memories near its center, in a looped wishbone of tissue called the hippocampus. But a new study suggests only a small chunk of it, called the dentate gyrus, is responsible for “episodic” memories — information that allows us to tell similar places and situations apart. Maybe this is my problem. I deal with deja vu quite often!

Mothers With Young Children Are Especially Vulnerable To Poor Mental Health - Researchers found that poor maternal mental health can result if women lack emotional or hands-on support with parenting, spend what they feel is too much time with a child or have difficulty paying for childcare. Facing one of those obstacles tripled a woman’s risk for poor mental health, while struggling with two or more such obstacles increased the risk 12-fold. The study’s authors pointed out that many families with young children have scarce resources when it comes to money, social support and health care. Their study was based on a national survey of more than 1,700 mothers.

Daily Affirmations - I dissolve thoughts that suggest there is no joy. My favorite affirmation from this week.

Depression Talk - Amanda never fails to make me giggle with her posts. I consider her an internet friend because I feel like I know her now.

Especially Heather - “They say that if you had morning sickness when you were pregnant, then you will most likely get sick on the type of chemo I am on, Temodar. I was very sick with all of my children except Elijah… and with him I was just sick. I had dinner at 7 (with a side of cake and ice cream) and I took my anti-nausea at 8:30. I then took my chemo at 9:30, and went to bed. I woke up about 3am and ran to the master bathroom, where I stayed for the majority of the night (with my anti nausea medicine).”

Master of Irony - my favorite mental health blog. I talk about her a lot. Right now Just Her needs some positive thoughts … if you have any extra, send them her way.

Ready Steddie is working her butt off (literally AND figuratively) as a new wife, a massage student and a weight loser! I love my Steddie!

Somebody Heal Me - a migraine blog done by a friend of mine. She makes me laugh, she makes me think, and she makes me mad that insurance companies are SO stupid sometimes.

Sweet | Salty has two little boys in the hospital. She writes wonderful entries about them and I can feel her love for her three little boys (four if you count the hubs) when I read.

The Daily Headache is a newsy blog written by a woman who lives with migraines like me.

Check out a new blog and let me know what you think today! Happy Friday!

mental and emotional health, news, insurance costs, migraines, migraine medication, deja vu, brains, young children, mothers, mental health, Daily Affirmations, Depression Talk, Especially Heather, Master of Irony, Ready Steddie, Somebody Heal Me, Sweet | Salty, The Daily Headache, blogs, physical health, emotional health

Please take my Blog Reader Project survey.

Would you mind taking a survey here? Please! : ) Just for me? *kisses and loves*

I’ll be back with a News Post and an explanation as to why I’m actually here today.

It’s always nice to feature other blogs, and so I thought I’d take this Thursday to do just that. I read a lot of blogs on a lot of different subjects. Here are some mental and emotional health blogs that I think you should check out!

Master of Irony - “My life is a study in things that shouldn’t be. A master’s degree, an exciting career path ahead, a little detour to threats of psych wards and nasty meds, mental illness, and a career as a mentally ill (mental) health professional.” She has become a dear friend of mine who I think of often. If you’re going to add one blog to your blogroll this year, add hers.

Depression Talk Online - a fellow 451Press writer addresses depression

Tidal Moods - a bipolar law student writes about his life and bipolar news

Moon Moods - “An on-line diary of a manic depressive, Bipolar I who is coming to terms with such a diagnosis. And other mentally unrelated crap that goes on in her life. Warning: author is prone to rants about issues that don’t really matter.”

Wild Abandon - “I’m Bipolar. Damn.” She makes me laugh.

Bipolar Daily - “I’ve got BiPolar Disorder. Type One. Which means that besides spending much of my life in a depressed state, I’ve been known to hit manic highs resulting in psychosis. The first time I embarked on one of these adventures I was hospitalised within 3 days and diagnosed as Paranoid Schizophrenic (probably because I was convinced that I was the Second Messiah, come to rescue the world from Evil). That conviction was only ended 3 months later with 6 sessions of ECT (alias, shock treatment).”

The Mass Defective - “I’m the mother of a teenage daughter that I love dearly. Currently on disability because the government & pretty much everyone else agrees I’m too screwy in the head to be out in the work force. With this blog I’m here to give a glimpse into the life and mind of a woman whose fragile sense of self and stability has been shattered by Borderline Personality Disorder, and one or more of the following…Major Depression, Anxiety Disorder, Bipolar II (depends on which psychiatrist or therapist you ask). Trapped within the dark, surreal realm of mental illness, desperately searching for an escape. Welcome to my world.”

Emerald888 - “I’ve been noticing a few things and I think they are positive effects from the Cymbalta… I’ve noticed that I’m not miserable being alone with my thoughts. I’ve realized my brain never shuts up and I have gotten used to listening to it now. Sometimes (like when I’m trying to go to sleep and my brain won’t shut up) I can sit for hours and just think. I don’t feel bored or bothered by it!”

The Polar Blog - “Random thoughts of a Borderline with a love of Polar Bears.”

Been Broken - “one man and ‘mental illness’ - an occasional diary ”

Dr. Deb - “Current issues and articles that impact the human psyche presented here.”

Anxiety Insights - news blog filled with anxiety and depression insights

If you have a mental health blog that you’d like added to my list, let me know and I’ll get you up here!

I am a ball of stress right now. My nannying job may be falling through (they’re getting flakier and flakier day after day), I don’t have another job lined up, my job is currently ending on Friday, I’m not feeling well physically, I’m nervous about school, then money issues come into play with all of this. Needless to say, life is a bit hectic and messy for me right now. I’m not happy with that, and so I’m looking at some real stress-relievers for myself and figured that I’d share them with my faithful readers! This will take a few posts and stretch out to a few days so bear with me and enjoy! : )

First of all, when I’m stressed, and no one is home (because being watched during this stresses me out!) I like to let my body stretch out and do some yoga. There is a yoga practitioner near you and you can get yourself into a class to check it out. If money is one of your stressors (hi, that would be me!), you can even find free online yoga postures and watch streaming videos of yoga postures. Even your dog can do yoga … or should I say dog-a?

Another stress reliever I’m just now getting into is something that makes me laugh a little still. Most of the time, when you think about meditation, do you think about little bald men sitting on the floor “om”-ing? Well, it can be a bit more complicated and cleansing than that. There are many “learning” meditation sites out there, but I’ve found a lot of knowledge from a few specific meditation blogs I’ve read. Meditation Air makes me laugh “well, I guess that life, thats Zen and I have to accept this…….agrrrrrrrrrrh…” and so that’s a good stress relief. The Meditation Journey is also another blog to check out if you’re looking to watch someone actual travel to become their most Zen being.

mental and emotional health, stress, employment, nannying, sick, nervous, anxiety, school, college, education, money, stress relief, stress relievers, yoga, Holistic Med, yoga practitioners, yoga postures, yoga videos, Healthy BPM, dog yoga, meditation, Learning Meditation, The Meditation Journey, Meditation Air

Artist’s Passion wrote about reaching your goals today and it really hit home. Please check it out, click on her links and check her out!

Please stop by TaliaMana’s blog and let her know that you were there - her poor kitty child was run over this past weekend.