100 Reasons to Recover

Submitted by:...

Thu, 24 May 2012 18:02:56 -0400

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Only 8 days left to submit to the book project! June 1st is the deadline. More information can be found by clicking here.

why does your tumblr name say 100reasons to recover, yet in your posts it starts with number like 405. Because you matter

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:55:11 -0400

Well, I started this blog about a year ago. When I started, I didn’t think it would actually become as popular as it has or that we would ever get to 100 reasons. We swept past 100 reasons pretty quickly, but the name stuck. We have posted almost 500 reasons, but we did start at number 1, and all the reasons are available for your viewing pleasure by looking through the archive. You can also look through reasons by clicking here and viewing all of our posts tagged reason, though I’m not sure if that lets you go all the way back to number 1.

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Only 9 days left to submit to the book project! June 1st is the...

Wed, 23 May 2012 18:02:27 -0400

Only 9 days left to submit to the book project! June 1st is the deadline. More information can be found by clicking here.

i cant stop cutting. its been almost 6 years

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:53:00 -0400

Even though it might seem like you can’t stop, you can stop. A part of you wants to. I don’t think you would have sent this message if that wasn’t the case. And so you can stop. It will be difficult to stop, but it is possible.

I don’t know what you have tried. Different things work for different people. Some people can stop on their own, without any help from anyone. They figure out their own ways to cope. They write instead of cut. Or drawing a butterfly on their arm works for them. Rubber bands help wean them off. Or holding on to ice. You can find a more extensive list of alternatives to self-harming by clicking here and here. You can always call a suicide hotline and they can talk you through your crises [1.800.273.TALK or 1.800.SUICIDE]. Even if you aren’t suicidal, they will still talk to you and try to keep you from self-harming.

If you have been keeping this a secret, I don’t recommend that. Don’t tell everyone, but tell people you trust. If you are still in school, tell your parents. Tell a trusted adult. Tell a trusted friend. The pain that you feel should not be something you have to struggle with alone.

If you haven’t yet sought professional help, try seeing a therapist. Selfinjury.com [1.800.DONTCUT] and selfinjuryfoundation.org [1.800.344.HELP] can link you to local resources in your area. If you are in college, your college may have free counseling. Check out those services. Going it alone hasn’t worked. Trying something new can’t hurt.

Don’t lose hope. You can recover from this. It is possible. The journey will be up and down. You will have great days and you will have not so great days, but you can get through this. Recovery isn’t perfect, but it is still possible. When you fall, get back up. Keep fighting. You can do this.

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Would you like us to just send the submission as the email itself? I hope this makes sense. I told myself when you started, I'd do the challenges, but school kept me busy. I hope to do them all in the next week or so.

Tue, 22 May 2012 22:03:20 -0400

You do include the submission in the body of the email. If you would like, you may attach it. That is probably the easiest thing to do when it comes to submitting pictures, though you may also attach word documents.

Challenges are a way for us to collect submissions for the book project. You don’t have to do all of them. You are allowed to pick and choose. But make sure you get whichever ones you choose to do in by June 1st if you want them to be considered for publication!

More information about challenges can be found by clicking here.

Submitted by:...

Tue, 22 May 2012 18:02:03 -0400

Submitted by: loveneverfailstoheal

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Only 9 days left to submit to the book project! June 1st is the deadline. More information can be found by clicking here.

Tumblr Tuesday

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:24:00 -0400

In response to Anon’s question earlier today, here is a blog that deals specifically with recovery from depression, as recommended by a few of my followers.

http://fight-depression.tumblr.com/ - “Just a 22 year old girl trying to beat my depression and anxiety and help others along the way. I post information, inspiration and my own personal diary posts.”

do you know of any recovery blogs that deal specifically with depression?

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:46:26 -0400

I do not know of any sites that deal specifically with depression, but perhaps my followers do. If any of you all want to help out this Anon, you can reply to this post or submit the links to me.

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Submitted by:...

Mon, 21 May 2012 18:04:21 -0400

Submitted by: hayrayray

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Only 10 days left to submit to the book project! June 1st is the deadline. More information can be found by clicking here.

Submitted by:...

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:36:00 -0400

Submitted by: creatingmyexistence

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Only 11 days left to submit to the book project! June 1st is the deadline. More information can be found by clicking here.

Hi :) I've been struggling with self-harm and depression for about 8 years and recently things have gotten progressively worse so I've finally decided to seek professional help. But I don't even know where to start or whether I need a psychiatrist, a psychologist or what. It's all mind-boggling and a bit daunting haha :( Any advice? :) x

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:35:35 -0400

It’s great to hear that you are deciding to seek professional help. I sincerely hope that this will get you on the right track. Of course, it won’t be easy and it’s not a quick fix. It will take time and a lot of effort. But if can you stick with it, I really hope it works for you.

If you are a student in college, you can start by seeing if they have counseling services offered on campus. Many universities do offer at least short term mental health services, and they usually will help connect with a long-term therapist.

If you aren’t in college, a good place to start might be by asking your primary care physician if they can refer you to any psychologists. I would say start out with a psychologist or counselor of some sort, and they will probably recommend a psychiatrist if they think you should also have medication. You can always talk to the person you see about that and they can guide you through that process.

A lot of insurance companies have a list of providers who are in network. If you have insurance, check that out and start calling psychologists on that list to see if they are within your price range and if you can set up an appointment with them. You can also click here and search for therapists in your area. This search engine has a lot of options to help you narrow your search and you can read a little bit about each therapist before making that phone call to set something up. You can also call the Suicide Hotlines at 1.800.273.TALK or 1.800.SUICIDE and they can connect you to local resources.

Remember when searching for a therapist that you don’t have to stay with the first one you see. If you don’t feel comfortable with them, it is perfectly okay for you to discontinue seeing them and to find someone else. It is also important to not quit therapy just because the therapist you saw was awful. Sometimes, it takes a couple of tries to find the right therapist for you. The process isn’t the most fun, but once you find a person who works well for you, hopefully you can start turning things around for the better.

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my life is super crappy up, yea i get good grades and all that crap, but it isnt everything. Just cause i do well in school people asume im that kind of kid whos a good girl and all that crap, they dont bother with asking about the real me, so im forced to pretend to be someone im not and it hurts. It hurts to know that people dont know i fake smiles, it hurts because they dont understand my situation. Not even my best friends. they dont understand what it feels like, at all.

Sun, 20 May 2012 17:13:30 -0400

Hello anon,

It’s true. People do a lot of assuming. And good grades don’t mean that everything is okay. You can be good at school even if things are falling apart in other aspects of your life. It sounds to me like you are keeping everything to yourself and expecting everyone to just magically know that something is wrong, though. If you have been putting on this act for a while, you are probably pretty good at it. If all anyone has ever known are these fake smiles, then they probably wouldn’t suspect that anything was wrong. I know that people get pretty good at pretending. People are also generally afraid to ask if something is wrong. Even though it’s so often what is needed, people don’t want you to get angry if there actually isn’t something wrong and people don’t know how to talk about it if something is wrong. Sadly, we aren’t raised with these things being talked about, so we have to make the effort to get comfortable with the topic, and that isn’t always easy.

People are not necessarily going to be able to understand exactly what it feels like to go through whatever it is you are going through. To expect that is to expect too much. Nobody can ever fully understand what it feels like for you, even if they have gone through a similar situation, because they aren’t you. What you can expect is for people be there supporting you and loving you through it, even though they may not fully understand. But in order to get that love and support, you are going to have to open up.

This may seem difficult and it will probably be scary, but people aren’t mind readers. Just because these people haven’t asked you if anything is wrong doesn’t mean that they don’t care about you and don’t want to listen to you. Maybe they just don’t know how to ask. You shouldn’t have to pretend to be someone you are not, and I’m sure that dropping the act and letting people in will feel good. Talking one on one might be best to start out with, but if you feel comfortable talking to your friends as a group, go that route. If you don’t want to initially open up to your friends, you can try talking to a school counselor or trusted teacher. Maybe you can write a letter and have them read it, or send a text or something like that.

As scary as it will be to open up, it will be worth it in the end. You deserve the love and support of your friends and I’m sure they want to be there for you. They just aren’t aware that you need it. So let them know. It will be okay.

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jenniferapple submitted (the question being referred to is this one): This is specifically for the...

Sat, 19 May 2012 17:31:00 -0400

jenniferapple submitted (the question being referred to is this one):

This is specifically for the person who submitted about contemplating suicide and feeling like a burden — I personally have been there and I know the pain of feeling like you can’t talk to anyone because your problems are so big and you feel like you don’t want to bring others down. The truth is, your true friends won’t be burdened by your sadness or pain. They’ll be able to see past it and do whatever it takes to help you feel better. I attempted suicide at 14 and, at the last minute (literally), decided to tell a friend my pain and he got me to the hospital immediately and has been with me and keeping track of my emotions for almost seven years now. I’m a psychology student now and one of the most common sentiments of the friends of someone who has committed or attempted suicide is “I wish that they’d told me, I wish I had known so maybe I could have helped.” Your friends love you and want to help you. It’s not easy to take the first step in telling someone, but as long as you’ve known the person well for awhile and you know that they’re mature enough to handle it, telling a friend is the best way to go. Also, if you need someone to talk to you’re more than welcome to get in contact with me.

I know this blog is dedicated to more sereous problems and mine seems so stupid. 3 days ago my girlfriend broke up with me, and my world cam tumbling down. I barely eat, lying in bed is a nightmare and I'm desperate. My friends don't know what to do, the counselors don't know wheat to do, I have never felt this lost in my life. Ive had relationships that have lasted years, yet this short one of two month has hurt me more than anything. I wanna scream so loudly asking her to come back.

Sat, 19 May 2012 12:15:05 -0400

Because I am not the best with relationship advice, Keisha (the person who brings you Thursday Tunes -keisha@100reasonstorecover.com) took this one for me. Here is her answer. And Anon, your problem is not stupid. Nobody’s crises should be compared to anybody elses. What hurts you is hurting you, and that is all that matters. Everybody reacts to different things in different ways. Some things break some people while others are able to brush it off. That doesn’t mean that the issue is not a serious one. If it affects you in a negative way then it is serious. This is not stupid. Not at all.

If it’s meant to be, she’ll come back. Give her some space. Sometimes relationships need space. It’s only been three days. If she really loves you or was into you, she may come back. If not, then it wasn’t meant to be. There’s so many other girls out there in the world. You can’t stay stuck up on this one. You have to take care of yourself, too. You need to eat to have energy, you need food to keep yourself well-nourished, and food really does help with thinking more positively. So not eating will definitely bring you down. Try to keep yourself busy and not lay around all day. It makes things worse because you are alone and over thinking things. Go out, hang out, have fun. Live.

You said that you’ve been in longer relationships. How did you get over those? Were there ways you distracted yourself or got over the person? Try those things. (If they are not, self-harming, that is.)

Also, don’t let your friends or counselors discourage you. Show them that you will be okay, prove to them that you are more than just a lost person. It helps you stay motivated.

Good luck. And remember to stay strong!

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I just wanted to add one thing:

Have you been seeing a counselor for a long time? Perhaps there is more going on here than just the girlfriend thing. Maybe this was sort of the last straw and other things have been building up, too. So continue seeing your counselor. And like Keisha said, do try to take care of yourself.

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I have struggled with depression, self-injury, and anxiety for about 3 years now. It's been a long journey and I ended up having to spend 3 weeks at a psychiatric hospital. I have been out for a month and a half now, and I have gone without self injury for that time as well. But recently I relapsed, and I've tried self injury in different and more severe forms. I feel worthless for relapsing. I'm ashamed to tell my parents or counselor about this. I don't know what to do.

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:58:18 -0400

First off, it is really awesome that you were able to go without relapsing for a month and a half. That is a big deal and you should be proud of yourself for that accomplishment. Relapsing doesn’t take away the fact that you were able to go 1.5 months without self harming. And it doesn’t take away the potential for you to do another 1.5 months, or even longer.

You are not worthless for relapsing. This happens sometimes. Recovery is not perfect. People slip up. There is nothing wrong with that. You aren’t perfect and nobody should expect you to be perfect. Though relapsing sucks, it is really great that you can admit that you have relapsed because now you can take the steps necessary to get back into recovery. And getting back into recovery is totally and completely possible.

You shouldn’t try to do it alone, though. You shouldn’t keep this information from your parents. They care about you and love you and want what is best for you. They need to know where you are at in your recovery so that they can help you. They don’t want to lose you to your depression, I’m sure. And you should especially not keep this from your counselor. Your counselor understands best that recovery is not a smooth process. They will understand exactly what is happening and will probably admire the bravery it takes to admit that you are relapsing. Your counselor is the person who can best help you get back on track.

Don’t keep this a secret. Help yourself by telling your counselor and your parents about what is going on. Be honest with them so that they can help you. You may feel like you are stuck right now, and that you can’t possibly get out, but you have gotten through this before, and you will get through this again. And your support team, your counselor and your parents, they will help you get through this again. That is what they are there for. So let them in.

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I got molested yesterday.

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:19:00 -0400

I’m really sorry to hear that. Remember, this is not your fault. Not matter what the circumstances were, it’s not your fault. Nobody has the right to do anything to you that you do not consent to. Ever. No matter what.

You should probably tell someone you trust what has happened to you, so that you don’t have to go through that pain alone. It may feel embarrassing or shaming, but you have nothing to be ashamed of and someone who loves you will only want to support you. They will not judge you in any way.

Victim Advocacy services are probably available to you. Many cities offer them for free, as do many universities. A victim advocate will support you emotionally and they will also support you through the judicial process, if you decide to press charges. You do not have to tell the police, but if you want to, you may do so. The victim advocate can walk you through that process and will be with you every step of the way. You can also call the sexual assault hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE .

I’m very sorry this happened to you. Remember, you don’t have to go through this alone. There is help available. Accept help from friends and seek professional help if you need to. And above all, remember this is, in no way, your fault.

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Submitted by: nnoolliessjjusttllovee One of our lovely followers...

Thu, 17 May 2012 21:26:29 -0400

Submitted by: nnoolliessjjusttllovee

One of our lovely followers created a scrapbook that features some of her favorite reasons from the blog.

Have you created something using things from 100RtR? We’d love to see it! Submit it to us and be featured on the blog.

Submitted by:...

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:03:18 -0400

Submitted by: redheaded-love

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Only 16 days left to submit to the book project! June 1st is the deadline. More information can be found by clicking here.

Only 17 days left to submit to the book project! June 1st is the...

Wed, 16 May 2012 18:01:36 -0400

Only 17 days left to submit to the book project! June 1st is the deadline. More information can be found by clicking here.

Tumblr Tuesday

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:34:50 -0400

http://h0peishere.tumblr.com/ - “This is an advice blog.”

http://curesilence.tumblr.com/ - “It’s time for you to cure your silence, say the words you have been wanting to say, write how you overcame your eating disorder, or depression. Or how you are taking steps in the right direction. No one here, will ever be judged, no one will ever feel like they’re not worthy. If you have a story to tell, submit it. Your story may help another person to create their own success story.”