GRIEF!
I'm a person who has been combatting a mental health issue for oh so many years. So much has been tried. Medications! Finally, three years ago I really learned that that is simply not enough.
I tried 1:1 therapy years ago but it wasn't effective for me. I had no idea how to "talk about" my emotions. I had no insight into them. I began to think they just were what they were.
Perhaps the therapist I worked with wasn't skilled. The topic of self esteem was the fo...cus of sessions. Without a doubt that is important. It just wasn't enough, Until I could manage emotions that negatively impacted my relationships with others my self esteem would always suffer.
At last I discovered a group of individuals just like me in a therapy group called STEPPS. STEPPS is essentially a very friendly-user approach to CBT/DBT. It requires group participation and feedback too. With others talking about things that bothered them, I started learning about concepts like "triggers' and "filters" which were events and thoughts that complicated my emotional response. It was such VITAL INFORMATION. All the sudden I started realizing things that would surely spell trouble. I was informed!
The beauty is that in addition to seeing the warning signs, I started learning ways to change how I'd react to them. It requires slowing down, registering the issue, and then applying some plan. On a bonus, I learned that sometimes that new plan backfired. I still became OUT OF CONTROL angry, depressed, even suicidal. I'd quit jobs, fight with others, give up. But all the sudden I was learning COPING skills.
In the event all my preparations for confronting a trigger failed and I did find myself in an INTENSE, non beneficial emotion, I could maybe do something about it. Good smelling lotions. Talk to a kind soul. A hot bath.
Right now I think my greatest obstacle is dealing with grief. I lost my brother (who was also a best friend) years ago. In December, I lost my mom and the surprisingly a sister on the 24th. I simply wasn't ready for that.
I've been doing the "right things" I think. But boy oh boy does it hurt sometimes. And you know what? It's OK.
Grief happens. It feels horrible. But today I planted a thought in my head. Grief is the normal, expected thing a person who has invested his/her heart would do. So...
I'm going to grieve.
When I'm ready I'll consider the tools I have in my coping skills. I'll take that bath. I'll write in my journal. I'll light a candle. And eventually I'll be on track. It's ok to take a moment though. It's simply OK. #mental health #grief #STEPPS
I'm a person who has been combatting a mental health issue for oh so many years. So much has been tried. Medications! Finally, three years ago I really learned that that is simply not enough.
I tried 1:1 therapy years ago but it wasn't effective for me. I had no idea how to "talk about" my emotions. I had no insight into them. I began to think they just were what they were.
Perhaps the therapist I worked with wasn't skilled. The topic of self esteem was the fo...cus of sessions. Without a doubt that is important. It just wasn't enough, Until I could manage emotions that negatively impacted my relationships with others my self esteem would always suffer.
At last I discovered a group of individuals just like me in a therapy group called STEPPS. STEPPS is essentially a very friendly-user approach to CBT/DBT. It requires group participation and feedback too. With others talking about things that bothered them, I started learning about concepts like "triggers' and "filters" which were events and thoughts that complicated my emotional response. It was such VITAL INFORMATION. All the sudden I started realizing things that would surely spell trouble. I was informed!
The beauty is that in addition to seeing the warning signs, I started learning ways to change how I'd react to them. It requires slowing down, registering the issue, and then applying some plan. On a bonus, I learned that sometimes that new plan backfired. I still became OUT OF CONTROL angry, depressed, even suicidal. I'd quit jobs, fight with others, give up. But all the sudden I was learning COPING skills.
In the event all my preparations for confronting a trigger failed and I did find myself in an INTENSE, non beneficial emotion, I could maybe do something about it. Good smelling lotions. Talk to a kind soul. A hot bath.
Right now I think my greatest obstacle is dealing with grief. I lost my brother (who was also a best friend) years ago. In December, I lost my mom and the surprisingly a sister on the 24th. I simply wasn't ready for that.
I've been doing the "right things" I think. But boy oh boy does it hurt sometimes. And you know what? It's OK.
Grief happens. It feels horrible. But today I planted a thought in my head. Grief is the normal, expected thing a person who has invested his/her heart would do. So...
I'm going to grieve.
When I'm ready I'll consider the tools I have in my coping skills. I'll take that bath. I'll write in my journal. I'll light a candle. And eventually I'll be on track. It's ok to take a moment though. It's simply OK. #mental health #grief #STEPPS
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