The start of Trauma CBT | Tips for improving poor mental health | World Mental Health Day
I need to stop starting my blogs in this way but...writing 2 blogs in one day didn't happen. Surprise surprise. I think I have gotten to the point where I just need to write when I feel I am able rather than trying to commit to certain times as it seems to be getting more and more challenging. So, lets try that.
I will start by writing about a few things I got up to last week before moving onto the main bulk; the start of my trauma therapy.
For those who do follow these blogs, I actually can now officially say that I have a hobby. I'm sure a lot of people have many hobbies and don't think too much of it but for me to say that I have 1, that makes me very happy. And that hobby is diamond painting. I even got a friend of mine into it so that's even better. I recently finished my first one which I gave to my Dad as a late birthday gift and now I am onto my second and loving it even more. My Stepmum also bought me a new jumper as well as some new bamboo socks. I do love some new socks. I'm a real adult now.
World Mental Health Day was a week ago and for that reason, I really want to write about some things that I have found to have helped me. That doesn't mean they will necessarily work for you as every individual is different but they are definitely worth a try. I won't cover them all today but I will talk about a couple.
1. A decent sleeping schedule (getting at least 8 hours a night)
This is much easier said than done, I know. I have struggled with sleeping my whole life. But, it is possible. I'm not saying that you will get a full nights sleep without waking at all every night but doing these things could help: Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every day. Even if you cannot sleep, resting and lying down is still beneficial to you. Even if you have slept poorly the night before, get up at your usual time anyway. If you keep doing this, you will be training your body and getting it used to the schedule so that in time, it gets easier.
2. Eat little and often
I used to be very fit and very healthy until I moved out of my family home when I was 18 years old. I will be honest, since then I have gained 5 stone. You may choose not to decide to take advice from me due to this but I can only share what is helping me right now. And that is to eat small amounts often. I am currently trying to eat every 3 hours. But rather than eat crisps and chocolate, I'm eating fruit (especially apples as I find them very filling), smoothies and yogurt. Really try and find food that is healthy but filling for you, it makes so much difference.
I will continue to write out some tips and tricks that are currently helping to improve my mental health in the next blog.
Before I head off, I'd like to write about the start of my trauma CBT. I started this last Wednesday and let me say this, it was not easy. I had to talk outloud about the traumatic situation I was in as a teenager. The one that gives me nightmares and keeps me awake at night. But I had to talk about it as if it was happening now. Instead of saying 'I was', I said 'I am'. It was also recorded. After this, I wrote down my nowness, vividness and distress levels. Over the coming weeks I now have to listen to this recording every 2 days and record these 3 things again. The purpose of this is to expose me to it slowly over a period of time and hopefully in doing this, it will get easier to hear/go through and those percentages will go down. Hopefully one day, it won't affect me nearly as much as it does now. I have complete faith in my therapist and although its incredibly difficult, I believe that she knows what she's doing and I will try.
Today when I went to see her, she wanted to try and alter my mindset. Last week as I spoke, she wrote down things that she wanted to talk about in todays session. I blame myself for what happened. I feel a lot of guilt, shame and I'm humiliated. I feel like what happened was my fault. I know deep down it is not, but I need to train my brain to have that as my first thought and not having to dig for it. Todays session was the first one where I really felt like I was going somewhere. I do believe I am in a better place mentally thanks to today and I will continue to work on it and I will overcome this.
For anyone who is struggling, you aren't alone and please don't stop trying. It takes time and a huge amount of hard work but when you start feeling that small bit of hope and that small bit of progress, you know it will be worth it in the end.
I will start by writing about a few things I got up to last week before moving onto the main bulk; the start of my trauma therapy.
For those who do follow these blogs, I actually can now officially say that I have a hobby. I'm sure a lot of people have many hobbies and don't think too much of it but for me to say that I have 1, that makes me very happy. And that hobby is diamond painting. I even got a friend of mine into it so that's even better. I recently finished my first one which I gave to my Dad as a late birthday gift and now I am onto my second and loving it even more. My Stepmum also bought me a new jumper as well as some new bamboo socks. I do love some new socks. I'm a real adult now.
World Mental Health Day was a week ago and for that reason, I really want to write about some things that I have found to have helped me. That doesn't mean they will necessarily work for you as every individual is different but they are definitely worth a try. I won't cover them all today but I will talk about a couple.
1. A decent sleeping schedule (getting at least 8 hours a night)
This is much easier said than done, I know. I have struggled with sleeping my whole life. But, it is possible. I'm not saying that you will get a full nights sleep without waking at all every night but doing these things could help: Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every day. Even if you cannot sleep, resting and lying down is still beneficial to you. Even if you have slept poorly the night before, get up at your usual time anyway. If you keep doing this, you will be training your body and getting it used to the schedule so that in time, it gets easier.
2. Eat little and often
I used to be very fit and very healthy until I moved out of my family home when I was 18 years old. I will be honest, since then I have gained 5 stone. You may choose not to decide to take advice from me due to this but I can only share what is helping me right now. And that is to eat small amounts often. I am currently trying to eat every 3 hours. But rather than eat crisps and chocolate, I'm eating fruit (especially apples as I find them very filling), smoothies and yogurt. Really try and find food that is healthy but filling for you, it makes so much difference.
I will continue to write out some tips and tricks that are currently helping to improve my mental health in the next blog.
Before I head off, I'd like to write about the start of my trauma CBT. I started this last Wednesday and let me say this, it was not easy. I had to talk outloud about the traumatic situation I was in as a teenager. The one that gives me nightmares and keeps me awake at night. But I had to talk about it as if it was happening now. Instead of saying 'I was', I said 'I am'. It was also recorded. After this, I wrote down my nowness, vividness and distress levels. Over the coming weeks I now have to listen to this recording every 2 days and record these 3 things again. The purpose of this is to expose me to it slowly over a period of time and hopefully in doing this, it will get easier to hear/go through and those percentages will go down. Hopefully one day, it won't affect me nearly as much as it does now. I have complete faith in my therapist and although its incredibly difficult, I believe that she knows what she's doing and I will try.
Today when I went to see her, she wanted to try and alter my mindset. Last week as I spoke, she wrote down things that she wanted to talk about in todays session. I blame myself for what happened. I feel a lot of guilt, shame and I'm humiliated. I feel like what happened was my fault. I know deep down it is not, but I need to train my brain to have that as my first thought and not having to dig for it. Todays session was the first one where I really felt like I was going somewhere. I do believe I am in a better place mentally thanks to today and I will continue to work on it and I will overcome this.
For anyone who is struggling, you aren't alone and please don't stop trying. It takes time and a huge amount of hard work but when you start feeling that small bit of hope and that small bit of progress, you know it will be worth it in the end.
Comments
Post a Comment