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There’s No Such Thing As Insignificant…

when it comes to making progress!

I just recently got back from going to my grandma’s. While I still got anxious and struggled a little, I was able to make progress when it came to certain areas. While it may seem insignificant to some, I know that it wasn’t. At one point, I thought I was going to have to sit down like I usually do before I got to her apartment room, but you know what? I didn’t! Also, when we left, I found it easier to just get up from the couch in the lobby and walk out. I didn’t need any help doing so!

I’ve spoken about this before, but we really do need to recognize the progress that we make. Every positive step we take towards accomplishing our goals, shows us how strong we are and proves to us that we can get through our anxiety. We can’t afford to take those accomplishments for granted. We have to take notice and we have to take them for what they are: a sign that tells us that we are stronger than our anxiety and obstacles.

Small steps can also lead to larger ones. If we pay close attention to the small steps we make and if we celebrate our accomplishments, it will allow us to have more confidence in ourselves. More confidence allows us to take bigger “risks” and soon we’ll see that, really, there weren’t many risks at all. Why? Many times we feel as if we’re in danger, when really, it’s just our anxiety playing tricks on us!

So, next time you make progress (whether it’s a big step or seemingly small one), remind yourself that no positive step is insignificant! As always, I wish you all the best!

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Imagination

I love this quote and image for so many reasons. For one thing, worry IS a waste of our imagination. Instead, we should be creating stories, poetry, and the like. We should be using our imagination for positivity instead of negativity. Also, this image is beautiful!

Please check out Fight or Flights’s blog!

fightorflights

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Liebster Award #7!

I’d like to give a special thank you to Matt from In Silence We Suffer for nominating me for the Liebster Award. It means so much to me and Matt is a great friend and writer! Please check out his wonderful blog!

The Rules:

  1. Thank your nominator and tag them in your post(s).
  2. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
  3. Nominate 11 blogs with less than 1000 followers.
  4. Ask your nominees 11 questions and let them know on social media.

The Questions:

  1. Tea or coffee?
    • I’d have to say coffee. I don’t drink it a lot but I’m not a fan of the flavors of tea.
  2. Vinyl, CD or iTunes?
    • CDs!
  3. How would you describe your paradise?
    • A garden where it’s about 70 degrees, I have minimal to no anxiety, and I’m with family and friends. Oh, I’d also be a professional author! I’d also like to be married and maybe have kids too (and a dog). However, let’s just start with being with family, friends, and managing my anxiety better.
  4. What do you enjoy most about blogging?
    • Being able to connect with people and make wonderful friends
  5. What did you do today?
    • Well, it’s really early here, but I’m going to my therapist’s and exercising/practicing face my anxiety
  6. If you were to blog about a different topic than the one you already write about, what would it be?
    • Probably about writing or sharing my opinions on different matters. I love writing and am very opinionated.
  7. Do you have a favourite quote?
    • Yes: “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
      –Toni Morrison
  8. How would you spend your perfect weekend?
    • Spending time with my family somewhere. Maybe shopping with my mom.
  9. What is/was your favourite subject at school?
    • English! Well, technically creative writing, but I like English too!
  10. What’s the one thing you wish you could write about, but don’t feel comfortable actually writing about?
    • Oddly enough, I’d kind of like to write a book about getting through anxiety. The thing is that I don’t think I’ve gotten through it enough yet to write an actual book about it. Plus, I fear that writing an actual book on it would just let me relive the worse times.
  11. Any blogs that you’d recommend a follow?

My Nominees (I won’t be nominating 11 this time):

1.) Dearest Someone,

2.) blackboard2016

3.) The Bag of Nerves Lady

4.) Anxiety in NYC

Have you been nominated for this award before by me? Check by clicking here!

Questions for my nominees:

1.) What is the kindest compliment someone could give you?

2.) What food (or foods) have you never tried and have no desire to?

3.) Valentine’s Day is coming up! Describe your perfect date!

4.) What’s your most important accomplishment?

5.) If you could do one adventurous thing and you knew you’d be okay, what would you do (i.e. rock climbing, sky diving, etc.)

6.) If you could make up your own blogging award, what would it be called and what would it be for? By the way, you could always do this!

7.) What is your number one goal in life?

8.) If you write stories, poetry, etc., do you find it better to write on a computer or on paper? Why?

9.) What do you like reading/writing better? Poetry or stories? Why?

10.) What would your dream house look like?

11.) What’s the last dream you remember having (if you don’t want to, you don’t have to give too many details)?

 

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“You’re Weird”

“You’re weird.” “You’re strange.” “Why are you like this?” “No one else acts this way!”

Chances are that if you deal with anxiety or some sort of mental health issue, you’ve heard some of these rude comments. As ironic as it is, after writing about how some people can be really kind, one of my own family members told me that I was “weird” while I was having an anxious moment. As many of you know, these comments, especially from those who we love, can really hurt.

As I was sitting where I was feeling anxious, I was trying to remember all of the progress I’ve made in general and as of late. I was starting to feel better but still felt stressed. Then, when my relative said what they did, I must admit that it just made me feel worse.

I know that not everyone suffers from anxiety. I know that the way I act due to my anxiety may not always be considered “normal”, but I struggle and I try very hard to get through this. While I try to focus on the fact that I’m trying really hard and that some people will simply never understand what I go through, it still doesn’t always make it easy to deal with people who are unkind.

I’d like to tell you all something. I know it’s difficult to see your friends and family (or maybe even others) put you down because of what you go through but please remember that the way they treat you is not your fault! Some people just don’t know how to act in certain situations. I’m not saying that it makes it okay, but sometimes it’s just how it is. Also, sometimes when someone doesn’t understand something, they tend to be rude instead of trying to understand or doing research. It’s unfortunate, but true.

To all of you who may be reading this and don’t struggle with a mental health issue but know someone who does, please try to be kind. If you don’t know what to say or do, ask the individual. If you don’t understand and can’t find it in your heart to care, then fine, but don’t be cruel. If you don’t understand but want to help, then try your hardest. Just because you don’t understand something doesn’t mean you have to be cruel about it.

*If you’d like to hear a great song about the importance of sensitivity towards others’ feelings, please check out the following link. The second video under the comment section is I’m Sensitive by Jewel. Also, by clicking the link, you will be directed to Kaylaa’s blog over at CommonSenseGal.

http://commonsensegal.com/b-g/comment-page-1/#comment-630

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A Special Message

So yesterday I was watching One Tree Hill. In one of the episodes a girl read some mean comments about her on the internet. In the show (and in real life actually), she played a girl who was just starting to enter the world of being a singer. While she was telling her friends about the mean comments, one of the characters said the following:

“It’s the easiest thing to tear down somebody’s work. The hard part is actually creating it. It’s criticism vs. creation.”

This made me think of something. There are so many people in the world that use the internet as a soap box for cruelty. Instead of taking the time to be kind, they are cruel. Instead of just keeping their mean comments to themselves, they feel the need to force them on others.

However, I have found that through blogging, there are so many of you out there that are kind. Instead of cruelty, you spread kindness. Even if you don’t agree with someone, you aren’t mean. For the most part, you share your opinions in a nice matter.

Now, I realize it isn’t always this way. There are tons of people who comment rude things on each others’ blogs and tons of individuals that in general, find things about others and their writing to pick apart. I find this horrible and quite frankly, pointless. What’s the point of tearing someone down? What’s the point in spreading your hatred? It’s one thing to have an opinion, it’s another to be cruel and hurt someone’s feelings.

I wanted to write this post as mainly a thank you. I want to thank all of you who go out of your way to be kind to me and others. So many of you inspire your readers in ways that you might not even realize. Not only do you inspire others with your posts, but also with your kind, thoughtful, and honest comments.

Please don’t ever doubt how much your kindness means to others. While we shouldn’t always depend on others to be happy, it certainly makes life better when we hear nice words about ourselves and what makes us most happy. So please, continue to spread kindness and please don’t ever doubt that your kind words make a difference!

 

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The “Medicine Issue”

Before I get into this post, I’d like to make something very clear. You should always take medication as prescribed by a doctor that you can trust. The purpose of this post is not to say that you should go against what your doctor says, but rather to explore the situation of not wanting to take too much medication, while still wanting to take the right amount. Let me explain.

I’m not a fan of medication. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have to take it. I wouldn’t have irrational fears and I wouldn’t suffer from anxiety so much that I would need medication to help me control it. Unfortunately, I feel like at this point, I still do need some medication and my therapist and psychiatrist certainly agree.

However, I still don’t like that I have to take medication and I still don’t like how much I take. In my opinion, I should be taking less, but like I said, my therapist and psychiatrist feel differently.

I guess part of it is my fault. If I’d practice even harder, my anxiety would get more manageable on its own. It’s still hard though to take so much medicine. I realize that some people take even more than I do, but it’s still hard for me. I’m currently on two different medications for anxiety, medicine for seizures, and folic acid (which is a vitamin, but still something that I’m putting into my system). I’m also taking vitamin D, but again, I know that that’s slightly different. Even if I wasn’t counting the vitamins, that’s a lot of medication.

I’ve learned to accept that I’ll probably be on the seizure medication the rest of my life. My seizure medication keeps my seizures under control, so really, I’m okay taking it. Now, do I like taking it? No. I don’t think anyone likes taking medicine, but I’ve accepted that I need it.

I don’t like taking so much medicine. Not only is it tiring planning your day around when you have to take it, but you can almost sometimes feel it building up in your system. Sometimes after I take it, I feel a stomach ache coming on. It’s just exhausting taking it day in and day out.

I know I’m considered slightly stubborn when it comes to taking more medication. Instead of just taking whatever my psychiatrist recommends, I tend to be a little hesitant about it. I take it slow and I really try to consider whether or not I want to take more. I don’t honestly think there’s anything wrong with this. Don’t get me wrong, I think we need to listen to our doctor’s, but I also think we need to do what we think is best for ourselves. I think it’s important to make a balanced decision. You have to consider both what your doctor recommends and how you feel.