MightyMinute

Bad days are inevitable — and sometimes we experience a ton of them in a row (heck, sometimes even month- or year-long stretches). A lot of the time though, we all develop shortcuts and pick-me-ups that help to soothe the burn that accompanies dark times. Gotta do what we can to preserve our mindset and overall ability to cope!

What are the small or big ways you try and make lemonade out of bitter citrus? Is there a particular person you visit or call? A sweet or salty treat that always perks you up? Maybe you’re a fan of trying a new park with your dog or rereading a book with an ending you know (and love)?

Who knows, maybe you can turn someone’s day around with your suggestions below. ⬇️

#MightyMinute #MentalHealth #Anxiety #Depression #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #RareDisease #Disability #CheckInWithMe #CheerMeOn #ADHD #Autism

You know what always cheers us up in the middle of week? Saying something kind to ourselves — which can be especially important if our inner voices have been critical lately.

Need some inspiration? Below are some compliments you can choose from. If none of them resonate, share your own pick-me-ups in the comments instead!

❤️ “You are brave. You are calm strong.”
🧡 “I’m so proud of how far you’ve come.”
💛 “You look lovely today.”
💚 “You made the right decision.”
💙 “You are such an encouragement to everyone around you.”
💖 “You always know how to find the light in the dark.”
💜 “You did it — even when it felt impossible!”

#MightyMinute #MentalHealth #Anxiety #Depression #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #RareDisease #Disability #CheckInWithMe #CheerMeOn #ADHD #Autism #Caregiving #Grief

One of the most common topics of conversation on The Mighty is about how hard it is to be employed and stay employed when you live with a chronic health condition. For a lot of us, that means we’re unable to work at all or have medically retired early. For others, you may be handle part-time work but not full-time employment. And then there’s a group of us who push ourselves to work out of necessity (life is expensive!), but are left with no energy to give to others or our responsibilities — let alone have fun.

Where do you fall? Finish today’s prompt in the comments below. 👇

#MightyMinute #MentalHealth #Anxiety #Depression #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #RareDisease #Disability #ADHD #Autism #Caregiving #Cancer #Migraine #Fibromyalgia #BipolarDisorder

What does this week look like for you, Mighties? What are you looking forward to or dreading? In case your energy and/or mood is low today — and instead of a full phrase or sentence affirmation to set the tone — let’s all pick a word to describe, define, or work toward over the next several days.

Here are a few examples to get you warmed up (feel free to borrow them or come up with your own!): courage, kindness, patience, celebrate, strength, understanding, or gentleness.

What’s your word? Mighty staffer @xokat’s is “centered.”

#MightyMinute #CheckInWithMe #MentalHealth #ChronicPain #Anxiety #Depression #ChronicIllness #RareDisease #Disability #CheerMeOn #ADHD #Autism #Grief #Caregiving

There are whole books about problem-solving strategies, so instead of asking HOW you solve life’s conundrums, let’s discuss whether or not you consider problem-solving to be something you excel at.

Mighty staffer @xokat says: “In general, probably true. Sometimes there’s a little bit of anxiety spiraling before I can detach myself emotionally and think through it logically, though. But I tend to be pretty good at breaking things down into steps, talking it out, and coming up with a band-aid solution if I can’t truly solve it. But all of my skills go out the window when it comes to things breaking in my house — I phone a friend SO fast in those instances!”

#MightyMinute #MentalHealth #Anxiety #Depression #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #ADHD #Autism #RareDisease #Disability #Caregiving

Let’s do a mid-month, self-care check-in (woof, that sure is a lot of hyphens!).

How have you been with prioritizing yourself the past few weeks? Have you been able to carve out daily time for a little self-care — even if it’s only five minutes? If not, what about the weekends?

We’d love to know how you’ve been taking care of yourself, and if your answer is “I haven’t,” we’ll share this message: You deserve the time it takes to refill your well before giving to others.

#MightyMinute #MentalHealth #Anxiety #Depression #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #Disability #RareDisease #ADHD #Autism #CheckInWithMe #Selfcare #Caregiving #Grief

We’re opening up today’s post with some very simple self-reflection: What color matches your mood, temperament, and/or mindset right now?

If you’re low on energy, feel free to just pop the corresponding color’s emojis into the comments. But if you need to get something off your chest or could benefit from some microjournaling, tell us the reasoning behind your color choice. 🌈

P.S. Mighty staffer @xokat says she is feeling very yellow — her pain is nearing critical mass, her anxiety is ramping, but nothing has reached its breaking point yet!

#MightyMinute #CheckInWithMe #MentalHealth #Anxiety #Depression #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #RareDisease #Disability #ADHD #Autism #Caregiving #DistractMe

Overcoming a fear is essentially turning something that shuts you down mentally, emotionally, or physically into an experience that’s either palatable or — best-case scenario — actually pleasant. Fears come in all shapes and sizes, and can also develop or re-emerge over time. For example, you may develop a greater fear of heights as you age; or a fear you had in childhood, like visiting a new-to-you house, has greatly diminished.

But today, instead of just identifying our fears (though there’s so much value in that!), we want to talk about conquering them. What was the last fear you overcame, or made progress toward conquering? We’re cheering you on!

📚 Here’s a Mighty story you might be able to relate to: Facing the World After Anxiety Kept Me Indoors

#MightyMinute #CheckInWithMe #ChronicPain #MentalHealth #Anxiety #Depression #ChronicIllness #RareDisease #Disability #ADHD #Autism #Trauma #Grief #Cancer

We’re not quite sure there’s ever been a time when society has given us so many reasons to feel hopeless. It’s hard out there… to search for the light, grab it, run toward it, and borrow a little bit of the bright for ourselves.

But hope — however you define it, however you choose to capture it — exists in a lot of small ways. So we’re curious how you would finish today’s prompt.

Are you grateful to live in a world where coffee exists? Where flowers sprout? Where dogs provide a daily dose of gold-star companionship? We’d love to hear. (And in case we haven’t said it lately… we’re glad to live in a world where you exist.)

#MightyMinute #CheckInWithMe #MentalHealth #Anxiety #Depression #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #RareDisease #Disability #Caregiving #ADHD #Autism #Grief

There is a clinical term in psychology called “the anniversary effect.” It’s the physiological and psychological manifestation of trauma anniversaries (e.g., the date your parent died, the date of an accident, or the date you went no-contact with someone close to you). Symptoms can include: GI upset, rapid breathing, panic attacks, sweat, loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, chronic pain flare-ups, etc.

Have you ever experienced the anniversary effect? What symptoms did you have?

💡 P.S. This Mighty story explains the concept so well, and has some great tips about how to cope: 7 Tips to Help You Deal With the 'Anniversary Effect'

#MightyMinute #Trauma #PTSD #CPTSD #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #MentalHealth #Anxiety #Depression #CheckInWithMe #Grief #Cancer #ADHD #Autism #Caregiving