Tumblr Tuesday

Here are some awesome blogs/twitters/websites for this week that will give your dashboard a dose of inspiration:

http://mentalwealthsouthampton.tumblr.com/ - I’ve just started up a tumblr promoting positive mental well-being that’s full of positive quotes, and pictures and gifs of cute baby animals/funny things/things that will make you smile.

voicingfreedom.com - Our tagline is “Voicing Freedom” – which is exactly what we here at Libero Network do: we share our stories in hopes of showing others the freedom we have found, and helping them on their journey towards that same freedom.

http://recoverysocialnetwork.tumblr.com/ - Recovery Social Network is a Social Network for people in recovery. You can start your own profile, add pictures and even start your own blog.This is a place where you can connect and chat with people who don’t judge because they have been through the same stuff. 

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Want to be featured on our Tumblr Tuesday or have suggestions for inspirational blogs? Let us know here! 

Q:I told my sister mom and my crush he is a good friend that i have been depressed and suicidal for a long time and that i want the pain to stop. The reason i told them was bc i needed someone to stop me. Now everytime im upset they come to me asking if im okay. And thats its ok to ask for help and all the crap i already know. They dont get it. I just needed someone to make sure i didnt do it. But now they are treating me like im a mental case and i cant cry and i have to act happy. Please advice?

Anonymous

Hello Anon, 

Communication. This is the best advice I can give you. While I think it’s wonderful that you told them that you were in pain, they probably don’t know how to exactly handle it. 

What you need to do is tell them exactly and directly what they need to do to help you. Tell them how they can support you. Be very specific when you do this. Don’t skirt around the issue, because if you aren’t direct then they will help only how they think you want to be helped…not how you actually want to be helped. 

They only want to make sure that you are okay and safe. They are treating you this way because that’s how they think it is the best way to treat you given the information you provided. So just talk to them and tell them what you need. You need to be assertive. 

The way they are treating you might change over time once they get comfortable with the information you provide them. They will eventually figure out how to handle the situation in a manner that is appropriate for you. You just need to given them time. 

Communication is key. Keep those lines of communication clear and open. I hope this works out for you. You can do it. Good luck. 

Take care. 

-100RtR Staff

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When asking questions to 100RtR, expect a delayed response. Click here for more information.

my-vicesandvirtues: My new favorite shirt~ #recovery #100rtr 👏 That shirt is awesome! It is one of my favourite in the store!  Want some 100RtR merch? We have a bunch of other stuff in our store and a lot of cool designs.  Check out all we have to offer by clicking here and visiting our store.  Get your own You Deserve To Be Okay bracelet by clicking here. Bracelets are only $2.00 (which includes shipping) and $3.00 if you live outside the USA. If you own a bracelet, we’d love to see it on you, so submit a picture! All money raised from merch sales goes right back into this project (unless you buy our NEDA shirt - then it goes towards NEDA). You can see exactly how the money is spent by viewing our logistics page.  Already own 100RtR merch? Submit a picture of yourself with it, and you will be featured on Merch Monday!
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my-vicesandvirtues:

My new favorite shirt~ #recovery #100rtr 👏

That shirt is awesome! It is one of my favourite in the store! 

Want some 100RtR merch? We have a bunch of other stuff in our store and a lot of cool designs.  Check out all we have to offer by clicking here and visiting our store. 

Get your own You Deserve To Be Okay bracelet by clicking here. Bracelets are only $2.00 (which includes shipping) and $3.00 if you live outside the USA. If you own a bracelet, we’d love to see it on you, so submit a picture!

All money raised from merch sales goes right back into this project (unless you buy our NEDA shirt - then it goes towards NEDA). You can see exactly how the money is spent by viewing our logistics page. 

Already own 100RtR merch? Submit a picture of yourself with it, and you will be featured on Merch Monday!

Challenge of the Week

Week 7: Learn Something New

Learn something new today. Keeping your brain sharp is important to recovery. You want to be able to still exercise your brain then way you do your body. Today I challenge you to learn something new. This could be a new fact that you can impress all your friends with, or a new talent (that you can also impress your friends with). This is also a good challenge because it allows you to shift your focus to something new instead of your disorder or disease.

If you want, write about your experience and tag the post #100RtRChallenges so that they will be seen by us and by others following the tag.Track the tag to see how others are doing.

Good luck - 100RTR Staff

Q:I accidentally submitted a recovery survey without uploading a picture of myself... is there any way I can get it back to resubmit with a picture, or is it too late?

Anonymous

Hello Anon, 

If you would like to submit a photo with your Recovery Survey, you are more than welcome to do so. If you have noticed that it hasn’t posted yet, you can then e-mail us at 100reasonstorecover@gmail.com. Include your photo and we can add it to your recovery survey. 

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Be featured on Survey Thursday! Submit your own recovery survey by clicking here.

Q:I've been in a pretty dark place for the last 5 years; recently I've managed to stop self-harming, it's at 29 days clean now. But, I constantly feel all of the pressures of not self-harming and trying to pretend to be happy around me, and it's all getting to be too much. I want to get help, but not from my family, they're not understanding like that... But I don't know how to go approaching others for help? How do I start a sort of conversation like that?

Anonymous

Hi Anon, 

It’s unfortunate to hear that you don’t feel happy and that the last few years for you have been rough for you. You deserve to feel happy. I think that by starting to recovery will help you feel happier. It’s not going to be an overnight affect but I think you’ll find that with time, you’ll start to be truly happier. 

First, congrats on going 29 days without self-harming. That is really awesome. You should congratulate yourself and reward yourself with something nice, like a new shirt or by going out bowling, because you deserve it. Recovery from self-injury isn’t easy. 

I think getting the support from your family (the way you want them to support you) will come with time. Sometimes we have to seek out the help from others before we can have our families involved, and that is okay to do. So start with the people you trust most. 

Starting a conversation about getting help can be difficult. Your best bet is to be honest and real in the conversation you do have. I saw asking for help the first time is like ripping off a bandaid, you just have to do it. Don’t hesitate just say it without thinking and without regret. If you’re talking to a person you trust then you will probably get a good reaction out of them. Say “I am struggling with an issue right now and I need help to recover. I can’t do this on my own. Will you help me?” Just see where that takes you. 

You can ask this person to help you find a therapist to see. Maybe this person can come with you to your first appointment. You can discuss with a therapist how your friend can best support you in your recovery. 

Once you know how your friend can best support you, try working on your family and figuring out ways how they can best support you. If can be little things they can do, but start small, like having them not criticize you when you’re struggling, or having them just compliment you on your progress. If you work with a therapist you can come up with ways that your family can support you. 

A lot of times the people who love you might not know the best way to help, so their version of helping can seem like it’s not really helping. So you need to tell the people directly how they can help. Tell them what you need. 

Starting the conversation isn’t easy. You’ll probably be most fearful of the person’s reaction. You just have to let go of that fear. It might help to start the conversation via a written letter. Sometimes it can be easier because you can give the letter to the person explaining what you’re going through and then leave it to them to bring it up to you. This can help alleviate your anxiety about saying it outloud and you’ll be able to say what you need to say without feeling pressured or scared. 

I’m sorry that there’s no easy way to say what you need to say. All I can tell you is that you will feel better once it’s over with. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. Getting help and walking the path of recovery is a beautiful thing, and you don’t have to do it alone. You are not alone. 

Take care. 

-100RtR Staff

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When asking questions to 100RtR, expect a delayed response. Click here for more information.

Q:I have terrible anxiety, every minute of every day I feel like I'm going to die. Any pain I get instantly freaks me out and to be honest I'm losing the will to live. I very nearly just gave up about 9 months ago and though I'm now glad I didn't I wish I didn't have to live like this. I tried therapy but it really didn't help as I have communication issues due to autism. I want to live but I feel my anxiety is holding me back and I'll never be able to get rid of it.

Anonymous

Hi Anon, 

It sounds like you’re dealing with a lot right now. It seems really overwhelming almost. 

First and foremost, if you are feeling suicidal, you need to call 911 or your local emergency number. Your safety is the number one concern here. If you feel as though you’re going to hurt yourself or someone else, you need to let someone know so you can get yourself in a safe place. 

Anxiety as you’re describing it can feel very debilitating. However, it doesn’t have to feel like that. There are some things you can do in order to help yourself take control of your anxiety. 

When it comes to anxious or worrying thoughts sort them out into two categories: hypothetical situations and real situations. It might be difficult to sort and recognise these thoughts at first but once you start it’ll get easier. It might be helpful to start a worry diary. Write down your worries and classify then into the categories. A lot of times those struggling with an anxiety disorder think that by writing the worries down it will increase the likelihood of them happening, however this is not true. Instead you are just working on becoming an expert on recognising the worries and bringing attention to yourself on which ones are worth worrying over. This can be an important tool if you want to manage your anxiety. 

Another strategy you might want to use is working on becoming comfortable with uncertainty. A lot of people struggle with this, not just those with mental health disorders. A good way to try to overcome this is by acting as those your are not concerned. You can start off small with baby steps. Take on challenges that promote not worrying about the unknown. For example you can send an e-mail off without re-reading it first, or you can go to a restaurant without reading a review beforehand. Start with things that you think you can handle then move upwards. 

One last idea that I have for you is to try to create a mobile self-soothing kit. When you start feeling panicky, try to ground yourself using a this kit. Your kit should have something for each of the senses.  Having something to look at that can make you happy, this can be a photo on your phone or maybe something you carry in your wallet. Carrying around something that smells good to you, maybe a pack of gum that is minty, or any flavour of smell you prefer. You can also double up this gum for your tasting senses where you can chew it. Have something that is a soothing sound to you, this could be a song you like or maybe a a nature sound or a podcast on you phone or music player. Now for the last sense, touch, you can carry around something that is soft, like a patch of blanket, or maybe a bit of yarn if you want something soft. The point of this is to help relax you, especially if you find yourself having a panic episode or really high anxiety in a place where you are in public. 

I also suggest not giving up on therapy. I am not sure how many therapists you have been to but sometimes you might need to go to several in order to find one that you might really click with. I can understand the communication issues that are caused by your austism, but don’t let that stop you from getting the help you deserve. You can try to search for therapists that specialise in anxiety disorders or communication disorders, maybe look for one that has a history of working with clients with autism. I don’t think it would hurt to try again. It’s difficult but I think it would be worth it for you. You don’t need to live in a constant state of fear or live like your life is being controlled by an anxiety disorder. You can get through this. Don’t give up yet.

Take care. 

-100RtR Staff

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When asking questions to 100RtR, expect a delayed response. Click here for more information.

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