All The Feels

Phobias are one of the most common forms of mental illness. It’s a type of anxiety disorder that is brought about in fear of humans by objects and situations.

When it comes to mental health, it isn’t uncommon to see phobias and fears that trickle down along with it. It’s shockingly common, actually.

5. Mysophobia

Having a mental illness can be hard. But living with it every single day, all day, all night, is just straight up exhausting.

It doesn’t matter what mental illness you have; the effects of it are all exhausting, mentally and physically.

People think getting out of bed and doing your normal daily routine is easy to do. But living with a mental illness, getting out of bed can be the hardest thing to do. Because that means you have to get up and see people and socialize and go out into the world.

You wake up still exhausted because of your racing thoughts all night. When you finally get the will to sit up, you see it’s at least 20 minutes past your “getting ready time”, per-usual.

And because of this, you’re already having anxiety because you got ready late, therefore giving you more anxiety. This already gives you a bad thought for how your day is going to go (every day). And when your day starts off bad every single day, it gives you no hope for better days to come. This terrible mindset can ruin your mind.

So, that’s just the mornings; Let’s get on with how the rest of the day would usually go.

Whether you go to school or work, or you even stay at home doing nothing, you pretty much know your day is going to be complete and utter hell. Why? Because your mind is stuck with you. No matter the distractions, even if nothing technically goes wrong in the day, you just don’t feel good inside; Because your mind and evil thoughts are constantly eating away at you, turning every good thing, bad.

So because of this, you sleep to escape your thoughts, but dread waking up to the next morning, because you know what the day will bring: your own personal hell.

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The exact cause of this disorder isn’t known; but the combination of genetics, the environment, and your brain chemistry play a big role.

Schizophrenia is chronic, which means it can last for up to your entire life.

A common myth is that schizophrenia is a “split personality”. IT IS NOT.

What exactly is it?

Well firstly, it’s thoughts, actions, and/or experiences that seem “out-of-touch” with reality.

The person may have disorganized speech or behaviors, as well as memory loss.

If a person has schizophrenia, they’ll likely have trouble concentrating and not participate in activities.

The biggest thing about schizophrenia is that the person with this disorder has trouble distinguishing between reality and non-reality. This is why some people suffering can be delusional and have disorganized thinking. They literally cannot connect and organize their thoughts logically.

Many dealing with this also suffer from hallucinations.

Like my biological grandfather.

I’ve never met the man. Before I was born my grandmother remarried. But a few years ago, my bio. grandfather found my mom and reached out to her. They began texting back and forth, but something seemed eerily off. She showed me their texts and he would text her multiple times if she didn’t answer and claim she was purposely ignoring him. Then a big shock came.

My mother told me he was Schizophrenic.

Suddenly everything made sense. He claimed all these things because he didn’t know what was real or not. He legitimately thought maybe my mom was ignoring him.

Fast forward a couple of weeks since the news. My grandfather asked if the two could meet up for awhile to catch up. My mom agreed.

After they met up for awhile, my mom told me even more shocking news: He claimed someone was after him.

Now, my mom knew this wasn’t true but she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

What would you do if you constantly felt as if someone was after you or someone was ignoring you on purpose and all these other things?

Then he started giving my mom money.

The reasoning behind this I’m not entirely sure. But all I know is that it was not normal or usual for this to happen.

Eventually and sadly, my mom quit contacting him because she didn’t know how to handle these situations, because she of course had never dealt with this sort of thing before.

Schizophrenia is real and it can be intimidating to others around the sufferer. This is because, like all mental illnesses, you never truly know what’s going on inside someones head.

Schizophrenia is not curable by any means, but there is medicine you can take to subside the effects of it. However, many with the disorder opt out of the medications because when they take the drugs, they “feel as if they are not themselves”. They feel drugged out and tired and just plain lose themselves.

I myself don’t know what the best thing for someone with this disorder is, but what I do know is that people don’t educate themselves enough with this illness in particular, creating many misconceptions.

So maybe the best thing someone without Schizophrenia can do is learn about it and educate themselves and better understand and stop the stigma. Schizophrenics aren’t scary or dangerous. They’re scared and lost in their own minds. They’re human, too. They’re beautiful beings; like all people; illness and everything.

Alright, don’t look at me like that. We all knew it was coming. It’s 2018. Social Media is a big part, maybe majority, of our lives. And what comes with Social Media isn’t always happy and funny, either.

Let’s starts with the basics. Social Media is a bunch of websites and apps such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

Many social media apps can be dangerous because they allow you to connect with potential “catfishers”. A catfish is a person online who isn’t who they say they are on social media. This isn’t only potentially dangerous, but can mess with your head. You can develop a friendship/relationship online with someone, real feelings and all, but they will be faking it the whole time. And once you find out they aren’t who they say they are; maybe when they refuse to video chat, send more pictures of themselves not already on their timeline, or meet-up; you’ll be crushed. You’ll feel so played and hurt and wonder why someone would do this to you of all people. All those feelings you had was for some fake person who never existed in the first place.

Social media can also make you feel isolated. This is due to the fact that you may see people engaging in conversation without you or see your friends out-and-about without you, without even inviting you. This concept is hard to understand for some. Some may think, “Well how can you feel isolated when there’s millions of people on social media?” That answer can be easy if you’ve felt this isolation before. “That’s why I feel isolated; There’s all these people on here and I’m stuck here scrolling and not talking to a single person or socializing.”

Apps such as Instagram where it’s main forte is pictures can really hurt your self-esteem as well. You may see someone who uses filters and makeup and maybe even photo-shop. But you may not see that; You might just see some beautiful person “way prettier than me”, “way curvier than me”, “way skinnier than me”, “way…….than me”. The list goes on and on for what you might think in your head. Seeing pictures of all these other people can really make you damage how you look at yourself, even though someone you think is prettier than you might think you’re prettier than them. It’s a self-esteem burner.

Things such as Twitter and Facebook where people post their opinions and rants and vent online can start a lot of drama, where some really mean people can say hurtful things. You can get into an argument with someone and all of a sudden all of their friends are arguing along with them, all after you. It can really get your heart beating and get your anxiety sky-rocketing, and get you bullied like there’s no tomorrow.

I’m not saying Social Media is bad, but you really do need to be careful when on it. Social Media can be a fun thing! But you have to use it properly; It can either be the most fun or the worst time of your life; It’s all in how you use it.

Being in a bad mood is normal, trust me. Being a teenager, your hormones are bound to mess with your mood. But what if all you seem to feel is one mood; pure anger? Not just a little bit, but completely and utterly enraged. That could be a red flag your mental health is off.

Feeling anger like this is a dangerous game when it comes to yourself and others because it may push your past your limits without you feeling any remorse or thinking a second thought about it.

This is where the line crosses between being in a bad mood and being abnormally angry:

A. It’s all the time. You find yourself pissed off at every little thing, no matter what it is. Your mom could be talking your head off so you scream at her. The fast-food joint got your order wrong so you storm back inside and cause a scene demanding they make it new and for free. You do something wrong yourself and start smashing things in your bedroom; This all in one day; Everyday.

B. Violence. Whether it be you smashing your own belongings or others, you feel the need to do it. Or worse, you hurt the person. Punching, kicking, pushing, fighting, etc. are all very dangerous. Sure, it happens here and there, but if you feel the constant need to hurt someone physically, that’s a big red flag.

C. Bad Thoughts. Your inner anger could be dangerous too. You can find yourself constantly thinking angry thoughts about hurting someone or smashing something. You just have so much anger built up you’re pretty much screaming at someone inside your head, when in reality they’re just sitting there minding their own business or simply talking to you or someone else or something of the sorts.

What you can do:

If you’re thinking angry thoughts and realize it, maybe try and do something constructive to get your mind off the negative and angry things and more on whatever you’re doing. Maybe go for a run or draw or binge watch your favorite Netflix series. Anything calming is amazing at keeping you and your mind at ease!

If you really need to blow off some steam, try doing something to tire yourself out such as working out or going for an intense run. But make sure not to overdo it as you could seriously injure yourself. If you tend to get angry a lot, think about joining a sport that could get your anger out daily such as football or lacrosse.

Getting yourself to enter a positive state-of-mind will hopefully help you train yourself to act and react calmly in situations that would usually trigger you to become angry.

PSA: Self-diagnosis is never the answer, however knowing warning signs is important in the beginning steps to seeking professional or even self-help; whatever you yourself are comfortable with. Not every solution works for every situation and for every individual, as circumstances are different for everybody. 

A word from the editor: Remember to stay calm and breathe, remember a bad day isn’t forever. That’s why it’s called a bad day, not a bad life. No life is bad, you just have to make the best out of every bad situation. Trust me, we’ve all been there. ❤

We’ve all been there, trust me. It’s the last night before an essay, project, or whatever is due and you’re so fed up already with the million other pages of work your other classes have given you. So you decide to just lay on your bed. Your mind is racing and you begin to wonder if working at McDonald’s and living in your parents basement for the rest of your life is really that bad of an idea after all.

It may be funny at first thought, but for some, school is beyond that “funny little thought”. It means that they have to be around people who constantly stare at them when they have social anxiety and walk in crowded hallways when they’re claustrophobic. They have to stand up and read in front of the entire class when they have a reading disability. But the biggest issue isn’t the people, it’s the system in general.

Students are not only expected to sit in school for 6 hours 5 days a week for 10 months, but are also bombarded with outside-of-school work from each and every single class they have and expected to do all of it at the same time, usually all due the very next day.

There are so many young minds that just could not handle all the pressure and work from school, that they either got their General Education Diploma (GED) or just plain and simple dropped out. This is due to the fact that schooling has changed so much over the years in such a drastic way. Instead of worrying about actually teaching the students things, the system is more worried about how much content they can bombard at us in a single year. There are literally deadlines for when a unit/chapter should end now, whether the students understand and are ready, or not.

These students more than likely had great potential, but schooling just wasn’t fit for them in a way where they could actually expand and grow, and oh, I don’t know, actually learn. 

Also, who the hell divided this stuff?!

10 months of school and 2 months of summer?! 5 days of school and 2 days for the weekend?! That leaves us almost no time to grow and learn who we are and travel and know what we want to do when we finally leave school. If it were up to me and 99.9% of the students, our vote would be one big NOPE.

So many students, myself included, had literal mental breakdowns over school and all the stress that comes with it. All the unnecessary homework, fast-paced schoolwork, tests that end up not making sense, etc.

Studies showed there is seriously NO BENEFITS TO HOMEWORK. WHAT?!

The school system needs to change.

Sincerely,

All The Students, Ever

Lets start by asking the big question:

What does bipolar even mean?

Well, in scientific terms, bipolar is a disorder that is associated with episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs. Bipolar Disorder is also known as Manic Depression.

But in simpler terms, you’re just either really unusually happy or abnormally sad, and it switches back and forth more than twice daily.

But chances are, if you’re on this post then I’m guessing you already know that. Let’s get to why you’re really here.

Let’s get to the signs!

1. Loss Of Touch With Reality

What this means is that when you’re bipolar, you tend to daze off into space more than normal. You don’t ever realize what’s going on around you. Someone could be talking your head off and you wouldn’t even know it.

2. Angry Outbursts

A lot of the time, Bipolar Disorder is tied to anger because you’re suffering and don’t know how else to cope with your confusing emotions. You get so frustrated with yourself and everything around you because you can’t even control your own feelings.

3. Being Excessively Ecstatic

When dealing with Bipolar Disorder, it isn’t always all negative feelings. Maybe you feel a sudden feeling of energy out of no where while reading a book or scrolling through social media. You can literally be watching a sad movie and feel as happy as ever, not knowing why.

4. Serious Anxiousness

Because Bipolar Disorder can be so scary and confusing, you often develop anxiety as well. The fact that not even you yourself can control your emotions is a scary thought. You’ll perhaps find yourself too scared to be in social settings (social anxiety) or maybe even have anxiety attacks if it gets too out of hand.

5. Loss Of Motivation

Often times being bipolar can make you feel like you’ve lost who you are as a person. It can make you feel depressed overall. You’ll no longer want to do the things you used to love. You think there’s no longer a point to do anything. Because once you lose yourself, what do you have?

Bipolar Disorder isn’t all set-in-stone. These signs can obviously mean other things, or nothing at all. Not every symptom you may be experiencing has to mean you have a mental illness. However, you should never brush it off. These signs are serious and even though they can be common, it may be a warning sign your body is trying to give you that something is off.

WARNING: THIS POST MAY BE SENSITIVE TO SOME READERS

As a child you never would have thought your life would end up like this.

Feeling a constant weight on your shoulders and a constant whisper in your ear, “It’s never gonna end.”

When you’re depressed, you aren’t just sad. You’re in constant agony and pain all within your mind and you keep feeling burdened by yourself and your doings. You feel as though everything you do is wrong and everything you say annoys people. You always feel like hey, maybe the world would be better off if I was dead.

The biggest issue with depression is that not only are they in a battle with themselves, society takes stabs at them, too. Society sees depression as a disorder people “fake” for attention, however this is almost never the case. If someone is publicly depressed, it is a cry for help. They want someone to tell them they are not alone, they want someone to for once show they care about them, anything to show someone cares.

The main thing I see going hand-in-hand with depression is suicidal thoughts and/or actions. Whether it’s self-harm, writing explicit things, listening to suicidal-themed music, etc.

Self-harm is the biggest matter in question. Why do people do it? Well, self-harmers do it as some sort of release. They see it as the only thing they can control in their life.

The release part: The pain they feel as they self harm relieves the pain they feel internally and exerts it externally, unfortunately onto themselves still.

The control part: As they self harm, they do it so they have something they know they can control, since they feel they’ve lost themselves.

The pain reminds them that they can feel still, that they aren’t as numb as they think.

Some people who are depressed don’t only self-harm. If their depression doesn’t go away as time goes on or with medications, it can and will take over the whole being of the person. If someones depression gets too out-of-control, they make take things too far…

The person may want to take their own life by whichever means possible.

The saddest part about depression is that many people have succeeded in their suicide attempts. Many parents have gone childless. Many families, one member less. Too recently many people have taken their lives due to bullying and social media and their own minds.

Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death by teenagers in the U.S. in 2018.

Is Depression Preventable?
Well, depression can’t per-se be ‘prevented’. However many teens and adults going through hormonal changes and/or a tragedy who may be experiencing depression can treat it. There are many medications and options to keep you up-and-at-it. Trying new hobbies and distracting yourself with productive activities may keep your mind at ease. Medications also definitely help cope with depression and prevent things from getting out-of-hand.

NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE: 1-800-273-8255

Anxiety forces itself to be your best friend, though it knows you think of it as your worst enemy; it just doesn’t care.

Many people with Anxiety Disorder have symptoms such as being in a bad mood for no reason, feeling a sudden uneasiness, finding it hard to breathe, crying for no apparent reason, social anxiousness, mood swings, and many more.

The thing most people don’t understand about anxiety is that it isn’t just being scared or nervous. Sometimes it’s you finding yourself being abnormally quiet, or weirdly over-talkative. Maybe it’s an angry outburst that even you don’t know the reason behind. What most people tend to think is that people who have anxiety are over-reacters or faking it.

But the truth is, people dealing with it truly are suffering. 

Imagine this: Your mind goes into a million directions at once that not even the person themselves can control or slow down. Everything goes too fast all of a sudden and things and people swoosh past you in a blur and then crash. 

That person has just fainted from an anxiety attack.

This is real life, and for many people. The people who talk too much or the people who are too quiet might be the worst sufferers, and no one would ever know. Many suffer by themselves in silence or until they can get by themselves so they can finally just release all their anxiousness.

If you or someone you know is suffering from anxiety, you are not alone. There are millions of sufferers going through what you are going through right this very second. Reach out, engage, find what helps you. You can get through this. There are so many options to relieve this scary time, you just have to be willing and ready. 🙂