Asking for help takes courage and is not a sign of weakness.
All emotions are valid, including the uncomfortable ones.
Insightfulness is a useful skill when managing mental health.
When dealing with negative self talk, remember: if it’s something you wouldn’t say about a friend, why say it about yourself?
Reframing negative thoughts. “I’m worthless” —> “I feel worthless because xyz.” “I’m unproductive” —> “I would like to make better use of my time.”
Describing conflicting feelings with and instead of but. “I feel good and I’m having anxious thoughts.” “I have people that love me and I feel lonely.”
The phrase “I am having a scary thought right now, and I am safe.”
Resting and keeping busy are both equally important types of self-care. Same goes for me-time and socializing. Balance is the key.
Coping skills can and should be used even if you aren’t actively in distress.
Having an episode is like having a “brain attack.” It’s unexpected, but treatable.
When worried about worst case scenarios, ask yourself: “Will I be able to live with it?”
Healing takes time, but more importantly it takes willing, conscious effort.
Having a mental illness is like having a full time job. Don’t feel bad for devoting so much time and energy into it.
Hey, you are not an embarrassment for not knowing how to do certain household chores/basic self-care. They do not come naturally to us. A lot of it takes practice! Maybe you had a neglectful guardian. Maybe you had one that was very coddling and never thought to teach you. Maybe you haven't lived in a place where these things were available to you or needed. Doesn't matter. It's okay to not know and far more common than you might realise.
That said, this website provides very simple instructions on how to do everyday tasks such as making your bed, using a washing machine, cooking different foods, washing dishes, taking a shower, etc. All you have to do is use the search bar to find the task you're struggling with, and it'll come up with what you need + other related how-to's:)
If you're having trouble navigating it, let me provide you with some examples:
How to clean dishes by hand
How to make your bed (with visual demonstrations of each step!)
How to fold clothes (with visual demonstrations of each step!)
How to take a shower & dry yourself off (also provides ways to shave beards, armpits, legs and genitals)
How to shave legs, armpits, beards, pubic areas, etc. (a more in-depth guide)
How to mop the floor
How to sweep the floor
How to swallow pills
How to make small talk
How to make eye contact in different situations (or how to avoid it while still looking natural)
It's also perfectly okay if these don't help or aren't appealing to you. Unfortunately, nothing helps everyone.
"Elk Centaur" by Francois Lelong
Stevens Point Sculpture Park, Wisconsin, USA
your condom breaks
you feel a lump on your breast
your friends are ignoring you
you’re stranded on an island
you got rejected by a crush
you get into a car accident
you got stung by a bee/wasp
you got fired from your job
you’re in an earthquake
your tattoo gets infected
your house is on fire
you’re lost in the woods
you get arrested abroad
you get robbed
your partner cheated on you
you’re on a ship that’s sinking
you fall into ice
you’re stuck in an elevator
you hit a deer with your car
you have food poisoning
your pet passed away
you fall off of a horse
you or your friend has alcohol poisoning
you have toxic shock syndrome
your house has a gas leak
Please don't ask me for relationship advice unless you are prepared to receive some truly upsetting information because some people are ready for the "He's exhibiting the literal textbook signs of a psychological abuser and you need to get away from him before he successfully cuts you off from your support network" talk and some people aren't
I think the worst thing about this AI craze is that it will make a new generation very stupid. Like yeah learning to code is a skill but if you don't have to learn art or writing principles anymore you realize how damaging that is for a whole generation of kids right? You already hear about people forging essays and shit with AI, even science lit using AI images instead of actual correct studies.
My fear is that this goes hand in hand with the fascism coming out of the woodwork lately. The censoring of the internet, of media, etc. People are deliberately trying to keep you stupid and unable to think for yourself.
the story of kfc fucks me up man. the colonel founded this gas station that expanded to restaurant, the chicken at the restaurant gets popular, makes KFC, it gets big and he sells it to a corporation for a lot of money. realizes he got sorta scammed out of the true worth of kfc so tries to get more money and they refuse and the courts side against him. then he starts a new chicken restaurant claiming the corporate people were not making chicken to his standards and kfc sued him because kfc owned the colonel's likeness and the courts agreed. a corporation owned this man's name and appearance. he wasnt allowed to use either, thus legally erasing his reputation making it harder for him to get taken seriously in any food venture. the man, to the day he died, was going into kfc's and throwing fits because the food had fallen into such bad shape he hated it was associated with him. and it's like, whether he's a bad man or a good man or whatever, a corporation owned his identity, stopped him from using his reputation and identity in other businesses, and refused to acknowledge his outrage that they changed his recipes and still attributed it to him. this is literally the obnoxious plot of a jay and silent bob movie, but it was this dude's real life. what the fuck.
Thinking about how my mom tried to “seduce” my dad when they were in college together by sneaking oranges into his backpack, because she grew up food insecure and feeding someone/sharing food was a big deal with her upbringing with a lot of emotional meaning–
and meanwhile my poor dad is just convinced that he’s been haunted by some citrus poltergeist because why the fuck are there always oranges in his bag he swears he did not put there???
A friend once told me that when they are struggling with getting laundry done, she pretends it is her sworn duty to smuggle the young prince out of the castle to safety, disguised in a laundry hamper.
Now, when I am struggling with hygiene, I pretend I am part of a village with an annual festival, and I get one day a year to spend luxuriously at a bathhouse in preparation.
What my friend imparted on me was the skill of turning mundane tasks into fantastical adventures to make them more compelling and bearable.
So next time you need to go on a mental health walk, maybe consider doing reconnaissance for a secret underground organisation.
Next time cooking is too much of a chore, consider you ability to turn space station rations into a feast to the delight of your crewmates.
Tumblr. I have a proposal for you.
If you vote on this poll, for ingredients for bread, I will make the bread and attempt to eat it.