Gum on My Shoe

Some time ago, my friend Liz Kay wrote a blog post about a “motivational” quote she’d come across that struck her as particularly unhelpful and inappropriate. I recommend checking out her post . It’s a great example of how an idea, suggestion, or piece of advice , can be interpreted very differently, depending on your personal history, lived experience, and situation. Something similar happened to me the other day. For several years I’ve followed the Twitter account of author and entrepreneur Marsha Wright . I especially like the messages and memes that are shared every Sunday under her #ThinkBIGSundayWithMarsha hashtag. I often participate by tweeting a quote or message with that hashtag; either a quotation from our book or something by other writers. I also check the hashtag feed and retweet content I find interesting or relevant. Some of it is too upbeat, even for me (I well remember Fran calling me pathologically positive not too long after we became friends — and it wasn’...

This post was inspired by a recent conversation with my friend Brynn. I was talking about the piece I was working on at the time; a collection of articles on self-care . She asked, “Do you take your own advice?” I paused before answering. “Sometimes! You know, that’s such a great question. No one has ever asked me that before.” I knew it deserved more than a fleeting response, and resolved to explore it further. This article is my reply to Brynn, and anyone else who’s ever wondered if people who share their wisdom publically ever take their own advice. What Kind of Advice Are We Talking About? I’ll start by saying I don’t consider myself in the advice business. I’m wary of offering advice to anyone unless it’s been specifically asked for. For the purpose of this article I’m going to use the term as a shorthand for “ideas, suggestions, wisdom, and guidance.” I’ll focus on the contents of our book High Tide, Low Tide: The Caring Friend’s Guide to Bipolar Disorder and this blog, b...

self care is hard. it is not just face masks and bath bombs. it is crying, getting out of bed, sticking to your goals, allowing yourself to open up to others, not staying at home, getting rid of negative ppl. don’t believe social media’s false definition of self care. it is more. (@soignevenus / twitter) In the third in our series of themed posts , I’ve selected articles from our backlist which cover various aspects of self-care. The World Health Organization defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.” I prefer the longer but far more accessible description by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Self-care means taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical health and mental health. When it comes to your mental health, self-care can help you manage st...

By Fran Houston I have found when I not only allow but gently accept my feelings — especially the difficult ones — I get to integrate all parts of myself. My illnesses get to be here too. Pushing them into silence only hurts. And when I share these inner experiences I find kindred spirits who long for that same honesty, freedom, and wholeness. Hiding behind closed doors in our hearts and allowing others to hold the key is the essence of stigma, throwing us into invisible institutions that are more dangerous than the physical ones that existed not so long ago. Let’s replace silence and stigma with openness, awareness, and kindness.   Originally posted on Facebook Aug 23, 2016. Photo by Ales Maze at Unsplash.  

What we don’t need in the midst of struggle is shame for being human. — Brené Brown Trigger warning: suicide and suicidality. This is posted as an awareness piece for World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10). Suicide is not a sign of weakness. Inspiration and Ego This article was inspired by a friend who questioned something I’d written in an open letter to my father. Here’s what she said: I did want to briefly comment on something you wrote in your blog post about open letters , in particular the one to your father where you wrote “You never let me see it’s okay to cry and be weak sometimes.” I question why you put “cry” and “weak” in the same sentence, and it makes me wonder what “weak” means to you, especially since you champion the “fighting stigma” cause. It isn’t “weak” to cry, or to have feelings or emotions — in fact, it’s the opposite. I think that’s important to note, especially when the suicide rates among men are so high — you may want to address that...

A good friend of ours, mental health writer and advocate Sarah Fader, has a new book out. According to the title, it may — or may not — be a mindfulness book. Intrigued, I caught up with Sarah and asked if she’d tell me a little about her book and why she wanted to write it. SF: This book is important to me because my mom taught me how to manage my anxiety with mindfulness when I was eighteen. That was over twenty years ago and it stayed with me. MB: What’s the key message you have for your readers? SF: I want people to know that mindfulness isn’t just a trendy word. It can help you cope with panic and anxiety, and there are simple ways to incorporate it into your life that you may not have thought of. This Isn’t a Mindfulness Book, or Is It? My mindfulness journey plus three easy ways to meditate in everyday life is available from Amazon (print and Kindle). Amazon com | Amazon UK I found it an interesting read. If you’ve heard of mindfulness but don’t know what it is ...

Check out our top posts for the past month. Posts are listed by the number of page views they attracted during the month, most popular first. 40 Mental Health Blog Topics From the Caring Friend’s Perspective With Love: A Curated List of Open Letters Blogging Besties: A Joint Q&A With Aimee Wilson Bombogenesis: Some Things You Just Can’t Plan For! Our Top Posts of the Month (July 2022) Write without Fear, Edit without Mercy: Eight Questions for the Honest Blogger Joy not jealousy Feels Like Home: Four of My Happy Places Exploring Bipolar Disorder and the Sister Diagnosis of Schizoaffective Disorder. Is My Friend or Sibling Underdiagnosed? How to Educate Yourself about Your Friend’s Mental Health Condition Our most visited pages were: Contact Us Resources News and Appearances About Us Our books Testimonials   Photo by todd kent at Unsplash.