another reminder.
the world is heavy
but your bones
(just a cubic inch)
can hold 19,000 lbsounce for ounce
they are stronger than steelatom for atom
you are more precious than diamondand stars have died
so that you may liveyou need to remember these things
when you say that you are weak
and worthless
Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all.
“
| — | Bill Clinton (via fiuactiveminds) |
Ugh….these are unhelpful words
Why doesn’t our culture teach us to say caring things like
“I know it seems like nothing is wonderful and everything hurts; but it won’t last forever and you are so much more than just frazzled nerves and leaky tear ducts. You’ll be a lot happier after I remind you why I love you, it’s okay that you forgot”
*I meant this for my personal blog, but it clearly resonated*
If you don’t understand mental illness, good. Good for you. You shouldn’t have to understand.
If you don’t understand why some people can’t get out of bed in the morning, good. I hope you jump out of your bed every day ready to take the world by storm.
If you don’t understand how someone could drag a blade across their skin, or bruise themselves, pick, probe, burn, then good. I hope you’re never that desperate to feel something.
If you don’t understand what would drive a girl to keep starving herself despite everything she’s lost in the process, good. I hope you stay heavy and present and real.
If you don’t understand what eating everything in your kitchen only to throw it all up solves, good. I hope you always remember that it solves nothing.
If you don’t understand why he won’t just go to rehab or church or find someone who can help him, good. I hope you always remember you have somewhere to turn.
If you don’t understand how she can put getting high above her own children, good. I hope you never fall in love with a substance that only kills you in return.
If you don’t understand how someone can keep swallowing bottles of pills, tying knots in ropes, or standing at the tops of bridges, good. I hope you’re never that desperate for relief.
If you don’t understand how people do it, good.
You’re not supposed to.
It’s all fucking sick.
It’s all fucking mental.
When you say your prayers tonight, thank God for ignorance.
It’s healthy.
If you don’t understand why some people can’t get out of bed in the morning, good. I hope you jump out of your bed every day ready to take the world by storm.
If you don’t understand how someone could drag a blade across their skin, or bruise themselves, pick, probe, burn, then good. I hope you’re never that desperate to feel something.
If you don’t understand what would drive a girl to keep starving herself despite everything she’s lost in the process, good. I hope you stay heavy and present and real.
If you don’t understand what eating everything in your kitchen only to throw it all up solves, good. I hope you always remember that it solves nothing.
If you don’t understand why he won’t just go to rehab or church or find someone who can help him, good. I hope you always remember you have somewhere to turn.
If you don’t understand how she can put getting high above her own children, good. I hope you never fall in love with a substance that only kills you in return.
If you don’t understand how someone can keep swallowing bottles of pills, tying knots in ropes, or standing at the tops of bridges, good. I hope you’re never that desperate for relief.
If you don’t understand how people do it, good.
You’re not supposed to.
It’s all fucking sick.
It’s all fucking mental.
When you say your prayers tonight, thank God for ignorance.
It’s healthy.
“
| — | “If You Don’t Understand” (via babyspooks) |
Crying does not indicate that you are weak. Since birth, it has always been a sign that you are alive.
“
| — | Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (via zombiebondage) |
why do plus sized models have to be called “plus-sized” why can’t they just be called “models?” it’s like when they say “gay marriage” why can’t it just be “marriage” i’m so sick of society and their stupid theories of what is right and what is wrong bye
A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?”
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.”
It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!I think this just changed my life.
Beatrice the Biologist Rocks
So I know this isn’t exactly on topic, but it’s related. My own body image issues were always complicated by my mental health issues, or maybe vice versa; but I can say nearing 30 with my anxiety and depression well mitigated has allowed my body image to blossom. It’s amazing how wonderful it is to wake up and not be disappointed about it, and it’s freed my brain to find beauty in the world, but most importantly, in myself.
This has a few important aspects for me. The fact that we don’t discuss injury to our psyche in the same way we do injury or illness to our body; the stigma of mental health treatment and counselling is such that we often don’t widely admit to mental illness, let alone have common language to discuss it with friends, acquaintances, and strangers.
But also the fact that it’s not socially acceptable to offer emotive care for people struggling with mental health issues. When a person has a physical ailment which hospitalizes them, they receive calls and cards and gifts and flowers; when a person has a need for psychiatric hospitalization it’s seen as shameful, spoken about only in whispers, and no one ever sends flowers. Rarely is it spoken about outside the family or immediate friends, and it’s never discussed without a great deal of stigma.
It’s so taboo to discuss, most lay-people don’t even understand the lexicon and definitions, let alone have any understanding as to how it impacts daily life, what it’s like to live with, or (most importantly) how to support loved ones who are suffering.
I’m gonna continue to do my part to destroy the same and stigma surrounding mental illness by being vocal about my own struggles, and raising the voices of others who are struggling, through my blog The Lame Dame. If you have a mental illness, talk about it; if you don’t, please still talk about it. End the Stigma.
I want to get more comfortable being uncomfortable. I want to get more confident being uncertain. I don’t want to shrink back just because something isn’t easy. I want to push back, and make more room in the area between I can’t and I can.
“
| — | Kristin Armstrong (via youuidiotkid) |
DSM 5 has considered- and has roundly rejected- two proposed diagnoses that are frequently misused to justify involuntary psychiatric commitment under Sexually Violent Predator statutes. Not only were ‘Coercive Paraphilia’ and ‘Hebephilia’ denied status as official diagnoses, they were not even given a face saving place in the usually inviting DSM Appendix. This constitutes a total and unequivocal American Psychiatric Association rejection of these pseudo-diagnoses and compellingly confirms that they have no credibility in courtroom testimony.
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE ANGRY ABOUT THINGS
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE UPSET ABOUT THINGS
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
DON’T LET PEOPLE TELL YOU YOUR RESPONSE IS INVALID BECAUSE IT IS EMOTIONAL OR BECAUSE THEY DISAGREE
DON’T LET PEOPLE TELL YOU YOU DON’T HAVE A RIGHT TO A RESPONSE
DON’T LET PEOPLE INVALIDATE YOUR EMOTIONS
THIS HAS BEEN A PSA IM MAD AS HELL
Depression is not selfish. Anxiety is not rude. Schizophrenia is not wrong. Mental illness isn’t self-centered, any more than a broken leg or the flu is self-centered. If your mental illness makes you feel guilty, review the definition of “illness” and try to treat yourself with the same respect and concern you would show to a cancer patient or a person with pneumonia.
“
| — | (via goldenphoenixgirl) |
