My name is Bethany Avery, and I suffer from complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). I started showing symptoms of C-PTSD when I was 16 years old, and I first sought treatment for my disorder when I was in college. Finding solid footing in the shaky world that C-PTSD creates has been a tough but important battle, and I’m excited to share my story and coping methods as part of the "Trauma! A PTSD Blog" at HealthyPlace.
A diagnosis of mental illness can be shocking for both the patient and their loved ones. Prior to my husband’s diagnosis, I held a skewed view of mental illness believed the stigma surrounding it. After his diagnosis of schizophrenia, I repeatedly asked myself why it couldn’t be something more seemingly straightforward, such as anxiety or depression. I learned to accept his illness over time, but it is difficult when others are not able to do the same.
Imagine you decide to plant a tiny sprout in your garden. When it flourishes, it will bring you deep joy. But first, it needs your focus and care to grow. Those who come into your garden and see your sprout give you support and space, encouraging your progress. But occasionally, a different kind of person comes into your garden. Knowingly or unknowingly, they march across the soil, step on your plants, and in the worst-case scenario, grind your tiny sprout into nothing.
In September and then again in January, I increased my antipsychotic for schizoaffective disorder even though I knew it would probably cause weight gain. And, it did. But I am much better off now mentally than I was before I made the changes, so I don’t want to decrease the schizoaffective medication just to lose weight.
Social anxiety can be life-limiting, its negative effects filling people with seemingly constant fear and dread. Can you really reduce social anxiety with mindfulness meditation? You can indeed; however, it's a persistent and gradual process of meeting the root of this type of anxiety and creating a sense of calm rather than agitation. Let's look at how this happens and gain a mindfulness meditation to help reduce social anxiety.
Having depression can sometimes lead to developing negative habits as we try to cope. Often things that aren't necessarily wise or healthy feel good at the moment. Sometimes it's easier to do what is comfortable rather than that which requires work and sacrifice. Depression drains us of our energy, thus making it difficult to take even that first step towards building healthier habits. What are some of these negative habits? How can we start moving away from these non-desirable habits towards more positive coping skills?
One of the most difficult things I’ve had to figure out recently is how to set boundaries again after my abusive relationship ended.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can often lead to boredom. It can also result in discovering exciting methods to counter that discontent. In certain ways, I get bored less often than friends who do not have the condition, and what someone considers uninteresting is entirely subjective. Still, it appears I am not alone when it comes to ADHDers who absolutely despise being bored.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an effective type of treatment used for issues with self-harm. Originally developed to treat borderline personality disorder (BPD), it is currently used to treat a variety of mental illnesses such as eating disorders and chronic depression. DBT targets emotion dysregulation to help patients cope with the severity of their distress.
The mainstream culture needs more advocates for eating disorder awareness—and as someone in pursuit of healing for your own life, this advocate could be you.
It has been estimated that every 62 minutes, at least one person dies from an eating disorder which means this disease has the highest mortality rate out of any mental illness1, but it also remains one of the most painfully misunderstood. If there is a passion inside of you to raise the public consciousness for eating disorder recovery and to draw attention to the millions of people whose lives are affected by this illness, then here are some guideposts to help you become an advocate for eating disorder awareness.
I feel your pain. What has helped me in the past are several books: "Radical Acceptance" by Tara Brach and "Beyond the Secret: Spiritual Power and the law of attraction" by Lisa Love. You are not alone! We all feel the same from time to time. The key is to love yourself and know that we all have different paths in the life. You can be with a perfect partner and feel lonely..
I wish you all the best in your journey. You are not alone!
I really have so much to say about this man. When I was pregnant, he hit me on my nose causing me to bleed. He has left me a swollen eye, lots and lots of bruises, kicked me with his shielded work shoes, almost broke my nose, slapped me several times. He has even hit me when I had my daughter in my hands. ( she was about 6 months) It’s constant arguing and yelling at home. Every time he yells or raises his voice at me I try to defend myself and he says “shut up or I’ll beat you up.” I am so tired of it. Its even weird when we are actually talking in peace. One day I was going to go to my moms house and he was gunna leave to go back Go work(about 1pm) I came inside and told him that I wasn’t gunna fit with the truck and so I told him to move a bit(his work truck) he got so angry he was yelling at me. He told me why I’m so anxious to leave(keep in mind my mother works at 3pm) which is what I told him. I got in the truck and he came and opened the passenger door and told me to stay at my moms house and never come back and if I did come back he was gonna kick me out. He then slammed the door shut and I started crying. I felt like shit honestly. I knew if I left he was gunna leave me and I didn’t want that. I stayed in the truck for about 15 minutes just thinking. And asking God Why I’m living this life. I don’t have the courage to leave him because I have no where to go. I know my parents will always be there for me but I don’t want to go back to their house. Unfortunately My Brothers girlfriend passed away in my moms house right next to my old room and honestly I feel scared to go back. I have never worked in my life and my daughter is sooo attached to me that I doubt she’d stay with someone to watch or babysit her while I work. I feel stuck. We depend on him money wise.