Talking to parents about mental issues is extremely difficult. When you don’t even know what is going on for yourself it creates more discomfort. Once I realized that I was struggling I needed help from my therapist articulating my thoughts and feelings. She helped me put words to the things that were going on in my life. Once I told my parents they didn’t understand right away … [Read more...]
4 Steps Toward Positive Body Image
Body image is something I have struggled with for many years. I have gone through phases of obsessing to letting go and back to being obsessed. During high school it was the worst, the thought of body image never left my mind and that is not an exaggeration. Body image is such a hard thing to deal with because the thoughts are so incredibly powerful. Every time I would eat … [Read more...]
10 Ways I Hope to Change My Life in This New Decade
As 2020 sets in, I'm reflecting back on the last 10 years: graduation, first jobs, first boyfriends, the onset of my anxiety... so many things. Who would have thought someone could pack in so much life in just 10 years? I hope my next 10 will be filled with happiness, joy, health and adventure. Here are just some things I'm looking forward to in the new decade: Career … [Read more...]
Leaning on a Friend: 4 Ways to Make a Difference for a Friend Struggling with a Mental Health Issue
When it comes to mental health conversations with friends, many of us can relate to this Ad Council video. Broaching the topic of mental illness with even close friends can be awkward and uncomfortable. Having a group of supportive friends is great resource to have when battling a mental health disorder. They can take your mind off whatever it is you are going through, yet … [Read more...]
5 Positive Coping Skills to Get You Through a Crisis
When you have a mental illness, positive coping skills can make the difference between thriving and surviving, because let's face it – difficult experiences are a part of life and its how you handle them that make or break you. While there are countless negative coping skills that may appear to help temporarily relieve negative emotions, ranging from alcohol overuse and … [Read more...]
Work Hard, Nap Hard: A Guide to Balancing Work and College Life
College. stress. These words seem to go hand in hand these days. For those of us who have jobs on top of being full time students, handling stress can become something like a third job. We go to class during the day, go to work at night, and when we get home we frantically scramble to finish our homework just to start everything over the next day, five days a week. The new … [Read more...]
My Story: Writing About Mental Illness Heals Me
While there could be a whole tome the size of the DSM to chronicle all the mental illness-tinged happenings in the life of Mary L. Sukala, that, to me, speaks as much to who I am as the fact that I weighed less than three pounds when I was born (another story for another day--I’m a preemie and triplet). It’s my medical history, nothing more. So for this piece, I’m zeroing in on … [Read more...]
Tips for Anxious Flyers
Flying can be a stressful experience. As I embark to study abroad, I thought of a few key tips I use when I fly that can help you reduce your anxiety on your next trip: Have a music playlist at the ready Be prepared to have a playlist that has enough music to last you through most of the flight. Since you will be seated with people for a while, putting your headphones can … [Read more...]
A Closed Letter to My Immigrant Parents
Dear Mom and Papí, No number of “thank you’s” or “I love you’s” could possibly cover it. You dedicated your life to make sure I could build my own. You crossed oceans and continents to get here. You kept your head down and worked hard to put me through school. You slept on floors, went to bed hungry, worked multiple jobs just to make sure we could make it. And we made it. I … [Read more...]
3 Steps for Managing Your First Weeks Back to School
Ugh. September already? I have had ambivalent feelings toward this month for fifteen years! Dread of September and of school quickly replaces the dissatisfaction of spending yet another summer day doing nothing. June, July, and August often feel monotonous—you are finally meant to have all this time and yet it is nearly impossible to find a meaningful way to spend it. … [Read more...]
Mental Health In A World of Tech
In today’s world, you can’t get away from technology. It is a part of almost everything we do. As with anything, there are pros and cons. Of course, technology helps improve life, but it also can harm it if used incorrectly. When it comes to mental health, social media can be very harmful, especially if used in the way most people do today. Have you ever posted about how … [Read more...]
Mental Health Recovery is a Process
Although mental health stories are not all the same, they all have several stages. Nothing happens overnight. So if you’re in the midst of dealing with mental health issues, don’t beat yourself up! Mental health recovery is a process. These personal accounts from mental health survivors represent some common stages of mental health recovery: Admitting That There is a … [Read more...]
LABELS, LABELS, LABELS: How I Feel About Mental Health Diagnoses
Personally, I have conflicting feelings about labelling mental health conditions. On the one hand, mental health conditions are health conditions - they have signs and symptoms, medications, and health risks. How can you expect to treat a health condition if it remains a nameless entity? What’s more, labelling it can offer a sense of closure and community - finally, you are … [Read more...]
Anxiety Hacks While Bored – YouTube Scavenger Hunt
Feeling like you need to escape and try something new to ease your anxiety? You've probably already heard that Mindfulness has been demonstrated to reduce anxiety and stress time and again. But how does one put it into practice? A daily meditation practice may be challenging to startup and continue to do on a consistent basis, so taking it one step at a time with no … [Read more...]
4 Majorly Impactful Things I Saw at the Pride Parade
I grew up in a very conservative household. I fought with my parents about whether or not I should be allowed to listen to the Spice Girls (I lost, and I still feel a void where the lyrics of “Wannabe” should be), whether or not I should be allowed to read Harry Potter (I lost that fight, too, but read them in secret), and, among other things, whether I should be allowed to go … [Read more...]