- Break the Stigma, break the stigma, Mental Health, Mental health awareness, Normalize mental health therapy, Psychotherapy
Normalize Mental Health Therapy Thru this Powerful Strategy
Let’s Normalize seeking mental health therapy… by talking about it in regular conversations. ➡️ Yes. By mentioning mental health therapy the same way you’d mention the witty thing your barista said or an interaction at the gym, you normalize the conversation surrounding mental health therapy. Here are some examples of ways to normalize it: “Oh yeah- my therapist has been talking about that too.” “I was at therapy the other day and…” “I’ve been thinking about the conversation I had the other day with my therapist.” Right alongside other conversations: “Oh- I have to tell you this funny thing that happened while I was in line to grab a coffee.”…
- Coping strategies, faith and psychology, Mental Health, Mental Health Advocate, Not Alone, Suicide Awareness, Suicide Prevention, Truth
This Powerful Practice Helped Me As I Cared for my loved one struggling against Suicide
THIS is what I had to do when fighting against suicide for my loved one. 📌 I had to find pause, respite, and hope in the words found in the Bible. The topic of suicide is heavy… I needed power beyond myself to help me as I cared for my loved one struggling with suicidal thoughts and intention. It was an ongoing battle with ups and downs, and I couldn’t do it alone, I had to find strength in the power that God could offer. It can be easy to know the Bible brings comfort, but it can be so difficult to apply that knowledge in the moment when we desperately…
- Caregiving, Mental Health, Mental Health Advocate, Mental Health Caregiver, Not Alone, Pursuing health and wholeness, Suicidality, Suicide Awareness, Suicide Prevention
The Caregiver of Mental Crisis Needs Support & to Be Seen.
The caregiver of mental crisis needs support. They need someone in their corner uplifting them and saying “I see you. You are not alone. The work you are doing to keep your loved one alive matters.” They need tools and resources to know how to navigate the deep, murky waters of suicide caregiving, as they advocate for and come alongside their loved one struggling. They support their loved one day after day and need support themselves. My book: “Battle Forged & Battle Ready: A Message of Hope & Resilience for the Caregiver of Suicidality, Trauma, & Persistent Mental Illness” is for you the caregiver. It comes out of my personal…
- Beauty, Bible, Choose Joy, Coping strategies, Encouragement, faith and psychology, Fighting for Joy, Focusing on Truth, intentionality, Life Battles, Life Storms, Mental Health, Mental Health Advocate, Not Alone, Pursuing health and wholeness, Truth
The act of noticing beauty is a powerful antidote to mental health struggles
The act of noticing beauty is a powerful antidote to mental health struggles.It doesn’t remove the struggles from our life, but it uplifts and brings goodness into the difficult. ❤️ I stopped in my everyday moment to see beauty right there.Flowers still blooming though fall has come.One of my favorite flowers… The purple coneflower What beauty have you found today in your everyday life?Share in the comments ⬇️ This act of noticing beauty in your everyday life is a powerful antidote to mental health struggles. If you haven’t noticed something yet, stop, find something, and comment here. It can be a hot cup of coffee, a smiling face, or anything…
- Break the Stigma, Coping strategies, EMDR therapy, Faith, faith and psychology, For the one struggling with suicidal ideation-, Mental Health, Mental Health Advocate, Mental Health Caregiver, Not Alone, Suicidality, Suicide Awareness, Suicide Prevention, Warning signs of increased suicide risk
Truths About Suicide: Truths for the Person Battling Suicide & Truths for the Loved One, the Caregiver, of Suicidality
Suicide is a battle many face— Silently. It catches you unaware whether you are the one struggling with thoughts of it or you are the one supporting a loved one battling suicide. Both of you need encouragement, support, and truth to help you in the midst of the battle for life you are fighting. The caregiver is the loved one or close support person who cares for the person struggling with suicidal thoughts, intention, attempts, or plans. Suicidality is an all-encompassing term including anything associated with suicide to include: suicidal ideation, intention, attempt, plan, etc. It is important for many voices to come together in solidarity on this incredibly difficult…
- Anxiety, Bible, Caregiving, Coping strategies, Faith, Fear, Focusing on Truth, Overcome anxiety & worry, positive self-talk, Prayer, Pursuing health and wholeness, spirit of fear, Trauma
How to Deal With Fear and Anxiety Part 2- Focus on Powerful Truth
I learned how to do life with fear alongside.Not leading the way, not overtaking me… but fear in its’ proper place- as a tool to give information, and as an emotion to acknowledge. In caregiving for my child with a life-threatening diagnosis, I clung to the powerful truth found in 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” I prayed it. I told God I didn’t want the spirit of fear and asked Him to help me have His power, His love, His sound mind. It wasn’t a one and done conversation. It was…
- Choose Joy In the Midst, Coping strategies, EMDR, Fight or Flight Response, Mental Health, Not Alone, PTSD, Pursuing health and wholeness, Stress response, therapy, Trauma
How Can You Decrease Your PTSD or Trauma Response? It is, in fact, Possible.
You Don’t Have to Be Stuck in Your PTSD or Trauma Response. There are ways to decrease and dial down the response in the moment friend. There is hope. The intensity of your responses to trauma can be dialed down. How? The first step is self-awareness. Being aware of what is occurring and what specific things trigger you. (A trigger is something associated with the trauma memory. A trigger is not something you choose, but something your amygdala has connected to the trauma. An object, a similar situation, a sound, a smell, etc.) I know it’s likely not something you want to think about or focus on because avoidance of…
- Breathing technique, calming techniques, Coping strategies, Fight or Flight Response, Mental Health, PTSD, Pursuing health and wholeness, Stress response, Trauma
Use Breathing To Regulate Your Nervous System & Decrease Your Stress
Using our breath to help decrease our stress in the moment is incredibly helpful and important. Follow the prompts in this picture. Breathe in for a count of 3. Hold for 3. Breathe out for a count of 3. The breathing out slowly helps brings online the parasympathetic system (to rest & calm & settle the body & nervous system). This technique has a name called: Boxed breathing- a technique of breathing in for 3 seconds, holding for 3 seconds, and exhaling slowly for 3 seconds helps regulate anxiousness or triggered moments, stressful moments. You can do it multiple times as long as you don’t get lightheaded. I also strongly…
- break the stigma, Choose Joy, Choose Joy In the Midst, Mental Health, Not Alone, Overcome anxiety & worry, PTSD, PTSD, Pursuing health and wholeness, Stress response, Trauma
You Are Not ALONE In Your Battle.
You are not ALONE in your battle. Do you believe it? Do you have anyone in your corner, supporting you, coming alongside you in the battle(s) you are facing? Have you opened up to anyone and shared the silent or secret battle you face? Have you let anyone in friend? Do you have someone in your life who feels safe and you can trust to share what you are battling? I believe community is *vital* to making it through the battles we face. Safe, trustworthy, confidential, supportive community. Did you know “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). This is talking about Jesus. Jesus is…