Hey, guys – welcome back to TNTH.
First and foremost, I hope everyone enjoyed the nine-day blogging spree we went on to ring in TNTH’s second birthday. In all honesty, I never knew just how helpful and amazing writing on a blog would be for my self-discovery, revelations, and on my mental health journey. So for those who tuned in: thank you for doing so!
Speaking about my mental health, it is only right to be transparent on here and to be honest with myself because that’s sorta the whole idea for today’s SAS post.
It’s starting to get bad again.
In the time I am writing this post, I’ve been going through a lot of personal issues that somewhat brought me back a couple of steps behind my process. It sucks to fall back into this hole after being good for almost two months, but I’ve accepted that with anxiety and depression, it’s never going to go completely away and I will have episodes that are worse than others. It also sucks because we just started a new year, and here it comes – the depression decides to kick in harder than usual.
I mention this because it is so important to understand when and how these episodes occur and how we shouldn’t live our lives in denial thinking everything is peachy keen. It doesn’t do us any good when in denial; it actually hinders our progress and delays the process of getting and going through it.
So whether you are a person who deals with these types of episodes frequently or you know someone who does, it’s important to understand that boundary between “just a bad day” and “it’s getting bad again.”
You’ve might’ve seen this list of things floating around people’s social media a couple of times a month, and I can’t stress enough just how important it is to know these signs for yourself or the people around you that may show these signs. Of course, this list is just the tip of an iceberg; everyone’s episodes look different and people act differently when they do. I know for sure that some of the things listed on here represent a lot of how many episodes function, but I also know my Trichotillomania tends to flare up, and I also know that personal hygiene isn’t always a priority on my list when it’s getting bad again.
I mention these signs because it’s so important to help yourself or get some help when you are aware of these signs of it getting bad again. Letting it drag on for days and weeks on end is extremely unhealthy, and in most cases, it will worsen. The worst thing that could possibly happen is digging yourself into a hole you can’t get yourself out of, and from personal experience: it’s one of the scariest places to be in.
So, please – take the time to understand how your episodes look like in order to prevent severe ones in the future and to get the help that you may need in order to feel better. I know as I’m writing this, I am trying my best to identify the things that may be getting me bad again and trying to eliminate then so that I’m stress-free at least. I know once I’m stress-free, the little flares also clear themselves out.
Take care of your mind the same way you would your body. Learn your signs.
-Liz. (:
Letters From Liz. 