Gum on My Shoe

My dear friend, One of the things I love most about us is that we’re open and honest with each other. We talk about pretty much anything and everything. There are some things, though, that maybe I’ve never told you. Things I’d like you to know. Maybe you already do. You’re a smart cookie! I want to tell you, nevertheless, because sometimes it’s good to hear things, even when we know them already. You are never a burden . I’m putting this one first because it’s fundamental to who we are as friends. You take me at my word when I say call or message me any time, day or night. You’re respectful of times you know I’m busy or with other friends but if you need me I know you’ll reach out and ask. You understand I’d much sooner you did that, than for you to feel you shouldn’t bother me or I’m too busy. Maybe you do feel that way sometimes. If so, I get it. I feel that way too at times. It says a lot about us that we’re able to overcome those inhibitions and ask for help when we need t...

Always make decisions that prioritize your inner peace. ― Izey Victoria Odiase We make hundreds of decisions every day. What time to get up. What to wear. Where and what to eat. The majority of our decisions are minor, even trivial, and we make them without weighing all the options and consequences. But every now and again there’s a decision to be made and we just — stop. We’re unsure which way to turn, or if we even need to decide right now. That’s when we turn to our strategies for decision making. But what are they, exactly? In this post I explore eight techniques I use, and one I don’t because I’m scared to. 1. The 51% Test In a recent conversation with Fran I shared that I was undecided about whether to reach out to someone I’d lost touch with. There was no obviously right or best path to take. Fran listened to me for a while, then asked, “Are you 51%?” I knew what she meant. It’s an approach we’ve used on numerous occasions. I closed my eyes, gauging how I felt abou...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic these days, so I thought I’d check it out. I downloaded an app called AI Chat and began giving it writing prompts. After a few interesting but fairly generic results, I decided to request something more specific. I chose a quotation from The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien which I’d been working with in another context. Here is the writing prompt, exactly as I presented it to AI Chat. Write a 1200 word blog post relating to mental health, inspired by the JRR Tolkien quotation “Tell me, who are you alone, yourself and nameless?” Include a title for the blog post optimised for SEO. I haven’t edited the resulting article in any way. Exploring the Depths of Mental Health: Who Are You, Alone, Yourself, and Nameless? J.R.R. Tolkien, the beloved author of The Lord of the Rings , once asked the question: “Who are you, alone, yourself, and nameless?” This introspective query, while seemingly simple, is imbued with profound dept...

By Eric Russell I want to begin by expressing my gratitude to Martin Baker for allowing me this opportunity to share my experience with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). His book, High Tide, Low Tide , focuses on the intersection of mental health and relationships. So here I come down a side street to narrate my journey along the ECT path. I have bipolar disorder. After all the medications I tried failed to calm the episodes and manage the symptoms my doctor asked if I were ready to discuss ECT. She explained that while medications have a success rate of 30-35%, ECT sees a roughly 80% efficacy rate in academic studies. However, at that moment I was too nervous to hear the favourable comparison. Although I was afraid of the unknown, my doctor convinced me to educate myself and make a fully informed decision. In the end I opted in. As a part of the preparation my primary care physician had to sign off that I was physically healthy enough to undergo ECT. ...

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. The Stress Bucket and Other Models That Help Me Talk about Mental Health How to Give Mental Health Help and Advice to People You Don’t Know Please Wait Here Until You Are Useful The Box on the Shelf: A Strategy for Handling Difficult Issues and Situations Free Books for World Bipolar Day Our Top Posts of the Month (February 2023) Effective Strategies to Manage Paranoia in Bipolar Disorder and Schizoaffective Disorder Exploring Bipolar Disorder and the Sister Diagnosis of Schizoaffective Disorder. Is My Friend or Sibling Underdiagnosed? How to Use a Spreadsheet for Wellness and Self-Care How to Use Text-to-Speech to Improve Your Blogging Our most visited pages were: Contact Us About Us News and Appearances Our books Resources Testimonials   Photo by Vitolda Klein at Unsplash.   ...