Let me try to explain why I had a knee jerk negative reaction to the news that Facebook is launching suicide prevention tools on its site the other day. First off I think it’s praiseworthy that the company is trying to help people who are suicidal, of course. That goes without saying. But I had a trigger response to the idea that someone like me might one day feel suicidal and post something there that would be policed, and I... Read more
This is a wonderful post!! Really insightful. Read more
I am 8 years free from self-harm 🙂 Read more
Dear BP, Hi, how are you? How have you been? I’ll admit I’m a little nervous writing to you because I don’t want you to think I’m asking to see you. And I don’t want you to think about me and decide to visit. I’m just not ready to be around you. But I did want to check in with you since you’ve been relatively quiet lately. If you recall, it’s been about six months since we spoke. Well formally... Read more
I’ve had migraines since I was a child. As long as I can remember I’ve been dealing with them. My earliest recollection is laying down in the nurse’s office in 4th grade, with one hand on my stomach and the other flung across my forehead and eyes. Even though it was dark, I could still sense light trickling in from somewhere. And it hurt. The nausea was excruciating and I just wanted my mom to come to the school and... Read more
Art therapy is widely known to be an excellent tool in alleviating stress related to mental and physical illnesses. But for me it’s specifically coloring as an art form that seems to have a calming effect. This makes it a wonderful coping mechanism. The American Art Therapy Association says, “A goal in art therapy is to improve or restore a client’s functioning and his or her sense of personal well-being” (arttherapy.org). When I was in the hospital we used art... Read more
depressionistheenemy For a long time colouring books have been associated with something that we do and grow out of some time during infancy. It has even been suggested that around “real school” age, we stop encouraging creative activities like coloring and drawing and instead encourage more structured academic activities. It is hard to deny that there is some elements of truth in this statement. This is regrettable, seeing as there has been much debate surrounding the usefulness of this exercise, from... Read more
This really resonated with me as a Black Muslim woman living with mental health issues. I’m so glad I came across this post via slay girl society. Read more
I have a thing for numbers. I guess you can call it a strange sort of fascination. I don’t love math, but numbers themselves are fascinating. It’s how they interact that gets me. Combinations, coincidences, pairs, all of it. It’s part of how my OCD manifests. I get hung up on numbers in every facet of my life. For example, on social media I always check my followers versus how many people I follow. Not because I’m interested in how... Read more
The Muslim Hippie
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