Post by Corvus Dei on Oct 13, 2017 15:31:12 GMT
This thread is meant for tips, sharing experiences and knowledge that might help with recovery from troubling/difficult states of mind. Seems quite a few people here have experienced a dark night of the soul.. My sympathies to all of you who have faced such hardships. *hug*
What I would suggest in a nutshell as after-care is simply consistent self-love and self-nourishment.. But that's easier said than done, I know.
Now if you're lucky and/or persistent, you'll be able to access professional mental health care, that is reliable and competent enough, to deal with concrete disorders or problems. It might take time to find a good therapist or larger practice, so stay critical and careful until you find someone that you can trust and whose therapy style has been shown to help with your particular problems, and that you have some hope or trust it is suited for you.
If you have friends and family that can support you emotionally, in practical matters and so on, then that's great. Sometimes you need to reach out first though, before they know you want support and how they can give it. In other cases, you could be left on your own and that's can be really tough. But there are often still ways, even if just via the internet, to connect to people that might give support and company.
Right now I don't have the money for decent therapy, and the usual such as cognitive behavioral therapy, already done that years ago for depression and social anxiety. Having to have dealt with psychosis (/spiritual emergency?) is a different cup of tea altogether. Just so you know, the 'help' I received in my second psychosis was terrible, it made everything worse, so now I'm rather cautious and cynical about my current mental health provider.. (actually, I would like to sue them for the trouble they have caused me).
Anyway..
A year after dehospitalization these things seem the most important: eat, sleep, exercise, socialize, write, meditate, draw, read.
Food: forcing yourself especially to have breakfast, preferably protein and fat rich, helps prevent fatigue, anxiety and low mood later in the day. Right now I'm working on picking up cooking again. It's a distraction, helps your mind focus on practical, step by step thinking. And in the end pretty rewarding act of self-care, to prepare something nutritious and tasty.
Sleep: keep a consistent sleep routine, try to go to bed and wake up each day around the same time. Before sleep, dim lights and create some pre-sleep habit, such as taking a shower or reading a book, whatever works for you and isn't too stimulating. Melatonin supplement can help fall and stay asleep. Atm I take sleep meds, but I want to kick off from that..
Exercise: the importance of the body, movement and posture in regards to mental self regulation has become very apparent to me. The only good thing about my hospital stay were the morning 1 hour walks, the gym and various exercises aimed at releasing tension and such, and group sport such as basketball or table tennis. I kept the morning walks as a habit, and occasionally go to the gym (when I can pay membership, lol..). Going to pick up tai chi or something again at some point.
Social contact: maybe this one should be on number one. Human contact, communication, warmth, shared experience, reciprocal support, companionship. This has been by far the most rewarding and in a way healing thing for me. With contact both with other patients (only a few though), and people from outside such as family and friends. Thing is, a lot of people have also abandoned, neglected or abused my trust, so while I really appreciate good contact when I can have it, I'm also partly scared or cynical, expecting not much from anyone.
Write: keep a journal! Seriously. Especially if your mind tends to be foggy at times, or you have mood swings, keeping a journal can be a great thing to keep track of your experiences. In better states of mind you can write feedback and tips to yourself on how to handle when your state of mind has a dip or dive. Don't only write when you need to air negative stuff, but also write down positive things, so you get a balanced view of how things are going. Also, creative writing might be a tool for self-exploration: poems, stories and such. Finally, write down goals! Long term, short term, divided into subgoals, things you dream of and things that are more realistically achievable. Work out how you might achieve those goals. Once you start taking steps in the direction you want, you don't know how far you may go.
One thing builds on another.
Read: I think it even has it's own term, bibliotherapy ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliotherapy ). For me, I'm taking the time to slowly read books that might change my attitudes towards more internal stability and being better able to cope with common and uncommon challenges. So for example a book on optimalism versus perfectionism, mindfulness and such. Even a book called the 'Poker Mindset' that I've started reading hands out tips that are applicable beyond just the game.
Draw/paint: great creative outlet, no matter what the form or material.
Meditate: I'm a newb at this but yeah, another important tool.
So yeah, those activities, doing them in a self nurturing, loving, accepting and hopeful, courageous ways (it takes a kind of courage to look after yourself again, after life has beaten you down and you've been through hell), can do much imo towards growing a stronger center, sense of self, self-knowledge, coping skills, finding a place in the world, in a deeper way connect to others etc.
I had a talk with a friend recently who shared some resources, might post those soon. Was going to write about grounding and getting back in touch with reality after a psychotic break, will do so later.. Any questions or comments welcome. Might also list some self help books I've read. And I'm dabbling a bit in nutritional/natural supplements, will write about that as well perhaps. Hope this is of use to anyone.. Feel free to share whatever habits or tricks have helped you.
So while we go through dark nights of the soul, and burn the fat off our souls as a friend called it, we also need times of rest, recovery, nourishment..
Cheers, and all the best.
(sorry if I'm rambly or if the post isn't in depth enough, I have trouble concentrating atm)
What I would suggest in a nutshell as after-care is simply consistent self-love and self-nourishment.. But that's easier said than done, I know.
Now if you're lucky and/or persistent, you'll be able to access professional mental health care, that is reliable and competent enough, to deal with concrete disorders or problems. It might take time to find a good therapist or larger practice, so stay critical and careful until you find someone that you can trust and whose therapy style has been shown to help with your particular problems, and that you have some hope or trust it is suited for you.
If you have friends and family that can support you emotionally, in practical matters and so on, then that's great. Sometimes you need to reach out first though, before they know you want support and how they can give it. In other cases, you could be left on your own and that's can be really tough. But there are often still ways, even if just via the internet, to connect to people that might give support and company.
Right now I don't have the money for decent therapy, and the usual such as cognitive behavioral therapy, already done that years ago for depression and social anxiety. Having to have dealt with psychosis (/spiritual emergency?) is a different cup of tea altogether. Just so you know, the 'help' I received in my second psychosis was terrible, it made everything worse, so now I'm rather cautious and cynical about my current mental health provider.. (actually, I would like to sue them for the trouble they have caused me).
Anyway..
A year after dehospitalization these things seem the most important: eat, sleep, exercise, socialize, write, meditate, draw, read.
Food: forcing yourself especially to have breakfast, preferably protein and fat rich, helps prevent fatigue, anxiety and low mood later in the day. Right now I'm working on picking up cooking again. It's a distraction, helps your mind focus on practical, step by step thinking. And in the end pretty rewarding act of self-care, to prepare something nutritious and tasty.
Sleep: keep a consistent sleep routine, try to go to bed and wake up each day around the same time. Before sleep, dim lights and create some pre-sleep habit, such as taking a shower or reading a book, whatever works for you and isn't too stimulating. Melatonin supplement can help fall and stay asleep. Atm I take sleep meds, but I want to kick off from that..
Exercise: the importance of the body, movement and posture in regards to mental self regulation has become very apparent to me. The only good thing about my hospital stay were the morning 1 hour walks, the gym and various exercises aimed at releasing tension and such, and group sport such as basketball or table tennis. I kept the morning walks as a habit, and occasionally go to the gym (when I can pay membership, lol..). Going to pick up tai chi or something again at some point.
Social contact: maybe this one should be on number one. Human contact, communication, warmth, shared experience, reciprocal support, companionship. This has been by far the most rewarding and in a way healing thing for me. With contact both with other patients (only a few though), and people from outside such as family and friends. Thing is, a lot of people have also abandoned, neglected or abused my trust, so while I really appreciate good contact when I can have it, I'm also partly scared or cynical, expecting not much from anyone.
Write: keep a journal! Seriously. Especially if your mind tends to be foggy at times, or you have mood swings, keeping a journal can be a great thing to keep track of your experiences. In better states of mind you can write feedback and tips to yourself on how to handle when your state of mind has a dip or dive. Don't only write when you need to air negative stuff, but also write down positive things, so you get a balanced view of how things are going. Also, creative writing might be a tool for self-exploration: poems, stories and such. Finally, write down goals! Long term, short term, divided into subgoals, things you dream of and things that are more realistically achievable. Work out how you might achieve those goals. Once you start taking steps in the direction you want, you don't know how far you may go.
One thing builds on another.Read: I think it even has it's own term, bibliotherapy ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliotherapy ). For me, I'm taking the time to slowly read books that might change my attitudes towards more internal stability and being better able to cope with common and uncommon challenges. So for example a book on optimalism versus perfectionism, mindfulness and such. Even a book called the 'Poker Mindset' that I've started reading hands out tips that are applicable beyond just the game.
Draw/paint: great creative outlet, no matter what the form or material.
Meditate: I'm a newb at this but yeah, another important tool.
So yeah, those activities, doing them in a self nurturing, loving, accepting and hopeful, courageous ways (it takes a kind of courage to look after yourself again, after life has beaten you down and you've been through hell), can do much imo towards growing a stronger center, sense of self, self-knowledge, coping skills, finding a place in the world, in a deeper way connect to others etc.
I had a talk with a friend recently who shared some resources, might post those soon. Was going to write about grounding and getting back in touch with reality after a psychotic break, will do so later.. Any questions or comments welcome. Might also list some self help books I've read. And I'm dabbling a bit in nutritional/natural supplements, will write about that as well perhaps. Hope this is of use to anyone.. Feel free to share whatever habits or tricks have helped you.
So while we go through dark nights of the soul, and burn the fat off our souls as a friend called it, we also need times of rest, recovery, nourishment..
Cheers, and all the best.
(sorry if I'm rambly or if the post isn't in depth enough, I have trouble concentrating atm)
Thanks, phoeniX.
