Family and Friends

No body will care about them if I don’t , and no body cares about them , you cannot understand what am going through every day , even though am sick it’s still on me . But am going through a tough situation now . I try my best but this is too much . Not that we can get any happiness at home here but God is watching each and everything going on in our life. Am in situation where I feel like am burdening some people but am so sorry if I burden to someone . God make away and keep me strong . I feel like giving up .😔#FamilyAndFriends

Watching the memorial of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps has been very emotional.

Some years ago my Wife and I visited the Auschwitz camp as her Grandmother was enslaved there as forced Polish labour. It was harrowing and confronting in so many ways.

The depravity that humanity is capable off is frightening. The challenge for me is what do I do in response to this awakening. I can’t change history but I can change the future. How?

By loving those are different to me. By seeing everyone I meet as having worth. By practicing forgiveness and kindness. By being grateful.

By never forgetting.

There is More talk about Self-Care than the Most Critical Key to Happiness and Great Relationships of all types——-“SELF-LOVE”.

With this in-depth look at what Self-Love looks like-for your own personal growth, I would like you to take an honest look inwards and determine if you Practice Self-Love.
If you’re not, or if you’re not doing all of the bullet points given below, don’t worry— “Each morning, we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”

As always, let’s have a great conversation about this topic below 👇 in the comments where you can use this space for your own place in your mental wellness journey. Not your mental illness journey— I am here as a friend to guide you through to the other side as much as possible—yes, that is where I stand, and the magic only happens if you let me—so how about more group members join in for your sake.

The Mighty friends that have opened themselves up to this opportunity are telling me and showing me that they are really starting to get it, and they are taking bigger, new, determined steps in their lives.

"Self-Love" refers to a deeper internal state of accepting and valuing yourself unconditionally, while "self-care" focuses on taking practical actions to maintain your physical and mental wellbeing, like getting enough sleep, eating healthy, and engaging in activities you enjoy; essentially, self-love is the mindset that drives you to practice self-care. Self-Love is the mindset too that heals the pain and keeps you in the light, Determined to keep pushing away any darkness and to stop doubting yourself.

Key points to remember:
* Self-love:
* A feeling of intrinsic worth and acceptance, regardless of circumstances
* Becoming your own best friend - treating yourself with the same respect and understanding you would give a close friend.
* Be the love you never received.
* Includes embracing your flaws
* Foundation for setting healthy boundaries and prioritizing your needs
* learn to say no when needed and clearly explain why
* Don’t seek Anyone’s validation
* Positive self-talk: Use encouraging language to speak to yourself, focusing on your strengths and accomplishments.
* Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings, recognizing negative self-talk and actively replacing it with positive affirmations/relabel upsetting thoughts
* Say something nice to yourself in the mirror — looking into your eyes & smile at yourself & say “I love you”and your name. (Yes, I actually stop myself to do this & it’s Wonderful)
* cultivate self-compassion
* Encourage Yourself
* Talk to someone you trust who *Has The Capacity To Listen*-and, Another Big Key Here is that ***Being vulnerable - completely honest and thorough- about what you’re going through with someone else is a major form of self-love because you’re taking the time to dig deep, regardless of how uncomfortable it is, And, on top of that, you’re showing yourself that you want to work out whatever’s going on with you***
* avoid comparing yourself to others
* practice gratitude
* Seek out opportunities for growth
* Creating a safe zone all your own is an act of self-love because it gives you a designated area where you can focus on your needs and emotions instead of other people’s. The key here is creating a space that feels good and peaceful when life is neither of those things.
#MentalHealth #Mindfulness #Selflove #Selfcare #Selfharm #SuicideAttemptSurvivors #SuicidalIdeation #SuicidalThoughts #Suicide #Trauma #MajorDepressiveDisorder #PersistentDepressiveDisorder #Depression #Anxiety #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #Agoraphobia #BingeEatingDisorder #EatingDisorders #EatingDisorder #ChronicIllness #ChronicFatigue #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #LymeDisease #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder #PostTraumaticStressDisorder #PTSDSupportAndRecovery #PTSD #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #AutonomicDysfunction #AuditoryProcessingDisorder #Deafness #ADHDInGirls #ADHD #AspergersSyndrome #AutismSpectrumDisorder #Addiction #CerebralPalsy #IntellectualDisability #Disability #Blindness #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #BorderlinePersonalityDisorderBPD #Fibromyalgia #ChronicPain #Migraine #IfYouFeelHopeless #BrainInjury #MotorDisorders #MultipleSclerosis #RheumatoidArthritis #Arthritis #Grief #Loneliness #AnorexiaNervosa #Relationships #SocialAnxiety #FamilyAndFriends #Caregiving #CrohnsDisease #CysticFibrosis #AlopeciaAreata #Cancers #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #ParkinsonsDisease #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #POTS #Stroke #Diabetes #SelfharmRecovery #RareDisease #DownSyndrome #AddisonsDisease #IrritableBowelSyndromeIBS #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #ObsessiveCompulsiveandRelatedDisorders #ObsessiveCompulsivePersonalityDisorder #DissociativeIdentityDisorder

Whatever you are facing right on. To the storm you are navigating. In answer to the desperate prayer you are silently praying. This is for you. You are seen. You are loved.

Patience - The attitude of understanding that things happen in their own time, including our own experiences.

The importance of patience is also a way to accept the present moment without resistance.

Patience is a form of wisdom.

I would like you to think about where in your life, and in your mental health, that you can apply Patience.

And, as always, to help You even more- Let’s have a convo about this topic by commenting below 👇

Jay Shetty sat down with Alicia Keys on one of the most critical podcasts for us, his (free) podcast called “On Purpose” which is the worlds’ #1 Mental Health podcast.

Side Note: Before he became an award-winning podcast host, Jay Shetty has been a great teacher and guide throughout my journey to mental wellness.

In this conversation/episode called “5 Ways To Overcome Self Doubt & Build Confidence Within, Nov 11, 2024;
Jay Shetty asks Alicia Keys:

“What was the work you had to do in order to go from someone who was anxious, doubtful to become someone who manifested this beautiful, incredible full life?

What was the work in the beginning stages that you had to reorient your mind?”

To this, Alicia Keys says: (who by the way Also lives a life with intention/on purpose with Mindfulness)

“I think one of the things that I had to come to terms with is that pretty much nothing is going to come in the time frame that you think is going to come.”

“And I realized, wait, you know, as hard as I try to push the thing forward, when it's time, it's time. And if it's not time, it doesn’t matter what I do. It doesn't matter how much sleep I don't get.

It's not going to be time until it's time. And so I think that that steadiness of like kind of, you just have to put one foot in front of the other is just as simple as that.”

“And so I discovered that that is how we get where we're going.

Like this increment of small, ***determined*** moments.”

And, she also advises “Have Grace with yourself. It’s alright. You are doing your best and you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Have some grace.
And we can start again and try again and it’s ok.”

Let’s recap the attitudes of our healthiest mental state that I have covered so far in this group: Beginner’s Mind, Acceptance, Non-Judgment, and now too, Patience.

#MentalHealth #Mindfulness #Relationships #FamilyAndFriends #Depression #Anxiety #MajorDepressiveDisorder #PersistentDepressiveDisorder #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #SocialAnxiety #ChronicFatigue #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicIllness #BingeEatingDisorder #EatingDisorders #MoodDisorders #MotorDisorders #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #Agoraphobia #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #ChronicPain #AutismSpectrumDisorder #Migraine #Selfcare #Selfharm #Grief #SuicidalIdeation #SuicidalThoughts #SuicideAttemptSurvivors #Suicide #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder #PTSD #PostTraumaticStressDisorder #Trauma #Caregiving #IfYouFeelHopeless #Fibromyalgia #AutonomicDysfunction #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #CrohnsDisease #CerebralPalsy #Addiction #Disability #ADHD

And then, we will all Keep Doing This VITAL, easy, short practice.

One of the many things I learned from the “Resilience Skills” University online course I took that I keep teaching you about here only in this group is that Resilience Needs Mindfulness.

And, 1 of the first things to learn about Mindfulness is how to practice conscious breathing and why.

Mindfulness conscious breathing exercise to practice daily 3 or 4 times—
In/Out: This is the first practice on Conscious Breathing:

breathe in (a good, deep inhale), and say or think “I know that I am breathing in”,
breathe out (a longer, full exhale), and say or think “I know that I am breathing out”

After a while of practicing this, you can shorten the cue words to saying or thinking simply “In” on the Inhale, and “Out” on the Exhale.

“When we continue to practice like this, something wonderful happens—-we stop the thinking.
This is already a miracle happening because when we think too much, we are not truly ourselves. But this way, our mind and our body becomes aligned/in the same place; instead of our body here but our mind is elsewhere— in the past or in the future.

If we practice breathing in and out with some concentration, we attain what is called the oneness of body and mind.
The body and mind are unified and you begin to be there truly yourself.

When you are not really there, you cannot see things clearly and deeply. You miss everything, everything seems to you not clear, vague.”

Running to the future or going back to the past- you miss life, that is only here in the present moment.

Breathing in and out consciously is how to get back to the present moment.

What you are looking for —joy, inner peace, freedom …is all in the present moment.

If you feel agitated and not solid, vulnerable, breakable — then you practice this in order to get solid again:

Practice sitting in a stable position and practice breathing in and out. Saying “breathing in, I see myself as a mountain, breathing out I feel solid.

From time to time, a very strong emotion overwhelms us. That emotion could be anger or despair or fear. And when we are overwhelmed by a strong emotion we feel very vulnerable, like we may die, But we are more than our emotions. We are more solid than we think. And therefore, practicing being solid like a mountain is very helpful.

Source: Thich Nhat Hahn’s The Art of Mindful Living (read by the great man himself on YouTube — I am always so calmed by his voice even.)

#Mindfulness #MentalHealth #Selfcare #Depression #Anxiety #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #MajorDepressiveDisorder #PersistentDepressiveDisorder #MoodDisorders #PTSD #PTSDSupportAndRecovery #Agoraphobia #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder #Trauma #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #AnorexiaNervosa #Addiction #EatingDisorders #Selfharm #SuicidalIdeation #SuicidalThoughts #Grief #Suicide #Fibromyalgia #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #CerebralPalsy #Cancer #MultipleSclerosis #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #ADHD #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #PanicAttacks #PanicAttack #ChronicFatigue #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #MyCondition #Relationships #FamilyAndFriends #RareDisease #RheumatoidArthritis #Arthritis #CrohnsDisease #NarcissisticPersonalityDisorder #Caregiving #SocialAnxiety

#FamilyAndFriends