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Many people are struggling with finances and self-esteem, and while these two might seem unrelated, they are actually deeply intertwined. Personal finances have a significant impact on self-esteem and vice versa. Most people fail to realize that the guilt, shame, and insecurity from poor money management can greatly affect their self-perception.
Maintaining and improving your cognitive skills, or the ability to use your brain, is an integral part of living happily into old age. Your cognitive skills allow you to think, reason, and process information. Small changes in your daily routine can strengthen these abilities, boosting your brainpower, mood, overall wellbeing, and emotional state.
Navigating life and relationships after facing verbal abuse is different for everyone. The tools and strategies you use to recover may not be what someone else chooses. One common aspect of recovering from verbal abuse is grace. Recognizing and providing yourself grace as you learn to maintain healthy relationships is vital for your recovery. 
My medications for schizoaffective disorder cause a lot of weight gain, as readers of this blog well know. So, when I developed osteoarthritis in my knees at age 42, I started going to a nutritionist. I wanted to lose weight to take pressure off my knees. After a while, my nutritionist put me on a popular medication to support weight loss. At first, it was working really well. But then terrible side effects set in, including unbearable nausea, so I had to stop taking it.
One of the most important things that I have learned to recognize about my anxiety, and something that I often talk about in terms of coping, is what I do when my anxiety gets triggered. This has been important because I've learned ways to avoid or confront the triggers. And so, throughout this process, I've also learned how to recognize the anxiety symptoms that I most often experience.
As a teenager, I struggled to accept my learning disability diagnosis. I didn't want to be thought of as slower than my peers. I wanted to be seen as intelligent. In my early 20s, I felt the same way about my anxiety and depression diagnoses. I wanted to be in control of my emotions by simply getting over my depression. But now, I realize that accepting my mental illness diagnoses was crucial for improvement. Here are four ways I learned to accept my mental health conditions.
With the rise of "main character energy" in the post-pandemic, there's been a lot of buzz over the past few years over the notion of "romanticizing your life." In short, this idea urges you to fall in love with your own existence the same way you might fall in love with another person. A simple Google search yields list upon list of ways you can do this. This content is fun and zesty but ultimately flawed. Approaching your romance with yourself with dos and don'ts is as effective as wooing a crush by giving them a handbook. True romance is spontaneous and melting, not structured and task-oriented. If you're interested in romanticizing your life, there's a simpler way.
Bullying and negative feedback can be devastating to your self-esteem and massively contribute to feelings of being powerless, unworthy, and alone. Overcoming these things is an essential part of your self-esteem journey. In this article, I walk you through strategies to overcome bullying and negative feedback to build your self-esteem.
Last week, I wrote about feeling embarrassed to talk about my eating disorder in face-to-face conversations. This week, I remembered why I experienced that level of embarrassment. I was raised in a climate of body shaming, forced to interact with relatives who see no issue with fatphobic comments and behaviors. I have family members who are insensitive to recovery from my eating disorder (ED).
Healing from a verbally abusive situation will be a unique journey for everyone. One person's strategies may not be successful for someone else. Finding the right tools to deal with the side effects of abuse can be challenging. Thankfully, I have several methods to help combat my self-doubt and reinforce my worth, including strategies like daily affirmations for verbal abuse.

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Elizabeth Caudy
HI, Brooklyn-- Thanks for your comment. I am sorry you struggle so much with OCD and washing your hair. But kudos on finding creative ways to do it anyway! I know that's not easy. I wish you well. Elizabeth
Mary-Elizabeth Schurrer
Hi LAA,

Thank you so much for reaching out to share your experience. As the blogger here at "Surviving ED," as well as someone who has dealt with anorexia for almost 20 years (the last five of those years spent in eating disorder recovery), I can empathize how you feel. I know how much courage and vulnerability is takes to be honest about where you are currently at in the healing process. I also know how uncomfortable it can be to submit to the advice of a therapist or nutritionist when you have been living with the mindset and behaviors of an eating disorder for so long. The ultimate decision to heal is yours, but I would encourage you to continue seeking out the help of trained clinicians and listening to their expertise. I understand this is hard, but I want to commend you for making an effort. If you would like more information or resources, please check out the HealthyPlace Eating Disorders Community page (https://www.healthyplace.com/eating-disorders) or our list of confidential hotline and referral numbers (https://www.healthyplace.com/other-info/resources/mental-health-hotline-numbers-and-refer…). Once again, thank you for sharing.

Sincerely,
Mary-Elizabeth Schurrer
"Surviving ED" Blogger
Fynn
yeah. someone outed me to my teachers and now they are gonna call home and im terrifed
Haille Lien
To Chrissy M.-I am 15 and just made my First Holy Communion this past sunday,May 21st,2023 in the class of 7 year olds. I was dressed as a little girl also in a short sleeve,poofy,knee length communion dress and veil with gloves,lace anklets and white patent leather shoes.After my bath,i laid naked on my bed and mom baby powdered me then pinned a 10 ply thick cloth diaper on me,then put white,crinkly,adult size rubberpants on me over the diaper,followed by a plain white tee shirt and tucked it into the waist of the rubberpants.I put the lace anklets and shoes on next,then my dress and veil were put on me next.I felt very pure and little girlish in my outfit and when mom brought me out to show dad,the rubberpants crinkled under my dress!! At the parish before the ceremony,several of my friends remarked how cute i looked as a 'little girl' and they lifted up my dress and checked out my diaper and rubberpants. Even some teen boys saw the diaper and rubberpants under my dress and told me i looked cute!At my party,my dress was also lifted up and every saw the diaper and rubberpants! I felt very little girlish!
Brooklyn
I have OCD, and a lot of my intrusive thoughts and compulsions are about my hair. I pull my hair out, but what relates to this article is I am afraid of washing my hair because I have intrusive thoughts of when my hands get wrinkled from being wet they are softer, and I imagine them getting cut all over from washing my hair. For this reason, I can’t wash my hair normally. I always wash my hair in a separate shower from washing my body to avoid any unnecessary time to get my hands wrinkled. When I am washing my hair I wear plastic gloves and I use hairbrush to wash my hair. I just picked t the shampoo on the brush and act as if I am brushing my hair. This fear also makes me afraid of swimming because I don’t want to touch my hair, and I feel embarrassed every time I use the back of my hands to push hair out of my face.