Happy Monday friends! Today, as part of my Suicide Prevention Month focus, I wanted to give you a list of resources I’ve found for those who struggle with mental illness of varying levels of severity and also for “bystanders,” or people whose loved ones struggle. I hope these resources are helpful for you, regardless of which category you would place yourself in. And please know that no matter how you feel about yourself, you are loved, you are enough, you are heard, and you are never alone. I’m also sharing my personal mental health experiences in the past few weeks, and a few small joys that have helped me keep the darkness at bay. Enjoy!
Full disclosure/ a little story time
I wanted to start this post with a little update on what’s been going on chez moi these past few weeks.
Since the beginning of this year, my goal was to spend the last semester of my undergraduate college career in Mexico City. I was completely convinced that this was the best thing for me to do: as a Spanish major, what I most wanted to experience was complete immersion into Spanish. I’ve also grown rather disillusioned with the land of Unending Stupidity Always and hoped that a temporary escape this semester would lead to longer-term expat experiences in the future. (Not to say that the US is completely terrible; there are plenty of decent people and things here, just feels like they’re being outweighed by all the negative things right now).
I had gone through all the steps in the study abroad application process, reserved a room for the semester, enrolled in classes and even attended the first week online. And then, at the last possible moment, the provost of my university decided that hybrid (one day in person and one day online) classes didn’t qualify as study abroad credit. My semester in Mexico was denied at quite literally the eleventh hour, on a technicality caused by the pandemic, and decided by someone who was as far removed as they could be from my experience as a student.
Since then, I’ve gone through every stage of grief multiple times over. I’ve questioned everything and raged at the system that I now have to deal with for one more semester. After enrolling in classes that pale in comparison to the ones I was taking in Mexico, I have tons of angst and not a lot of motivation to actually participate and complete the assignments. All the joy seems to have gone out of college for me, and even though I’ve had a decent number of “good days,” they all seem tainted with sadness and hurt and anger around the edges.
I wanted to share this because, even though I share encouraging and uplifting on my content every week on The Fangirl Fulfilled, my personal life isn’t perfect. I’m struggling right now, and while I wouldn’t place myself on the you-need-to-talk-to-a-professional level of “struggling,” it’s still real and it’s still hard. There are days when I’m super motivated to study (not for my classes but for research outside them) and days when it’s all I can do to get myself to both my jobs and then to eat something. There are times when I feel content with life, and others when I feel trapped in my dorm, my university, and even my own skin. So yeah 🤍
Small joys I’ve been focusing on to keep the darkness away
Here’s a list of small joys I’ve found to focus on in this season of struggling that have helped me keep up my mental health as much as I can and defeat the darkness that tries to creep in.
- Making coffee drinks
- Counting the monarch butterflies that pass by me
- taking aesthetic notes for the fun of it
- beautiful fabric
- rearranging the furniture in my dorm room
- the feel of oil paint on a brand-new fresh canvas
- the look of the sun coming through my window
- the feeling when a student I’m tutoring learns things because of my help
- all the beautiful songs (here’s my mental health playlist 🙂
- virtual kitties on Neko Atsume
- drawing people that actually look like people
- the novelty of checking out the maximum number of books at the school library (25)
- doing research because I want to and not because someone tells me to
- reading a good story with a positive or uplifting ending
- sitting outside with the sun on my face
- riding my bicycle to the store (although my wallet has suffered as a result)
Garden-Variety Mental Health Issues
I think it’s important to distinguish between the two parts of mental health discussions. The first is what all of us are susceptible to: shorter periods of poor mental health that are mostly emotional or situational and can change relatively quickly. This is the type of mental health that can be tended to by reading a good book, listening to some excellent music, or doing something else you enjoy, and doesn’t require medical attention. Here are some resources for this type of mental healthcare:
- Skills Over Pills | Song for Charlie
- Ten Things You Can Do for Your Mental Health | University Health Service (umich.edu)
- Burnout Prevention and Treatment – HelpGuide.org
- 31 Tips to Boost Your Mental Health | Mental Health America (mhanational.org)
- Everyday Mental Health Tips | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (bbrfoundation.org)
When what you’re going through is more serious…
Of course there is another, more serious branch of mental health that is immensely important to consider as well. Mental health disorders can include anxiety, depression, ADHD, and addiction, and can make it next to impossible to make it through daily life. Here are some resources I’ve found that can help you figure out which disorder you might be suffering from and what to do next.
- Depression – Project Semicolon (this website has lots of details on a variety of mental illnesses and disorders)
- SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) | SAMHSA
- Mental Health Resources – Mental Health First Aid
- Mental Health Resources: What You Need to Know (healthline.com)
When someone you love is suffering…
Perhaps the hardest place to be when it comes to mental health is on the outside. As in, someone you know and love is suffering from mental illness, and you aren’t sure how to help or support them. Here are some resources if this is where you are:
- Psychological First Aid | Coursera
- (170) Suicide – YouTube (this is an account called Psych2Go on YouTube– they post SO MANY good mental health videos)
- How to Help Someone with Anxiety | Johns Hopkins Medicine
- Helping Someone with Depression – HelpGuide.org
- Helping Someone with Depression – HelpGuide.org
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post. If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, please know that it is never too late. You are not alone, you are not helpless, and you are loved more than I know how to say. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at thefangirlfulfilled@gmail.com if you need someone to talk to.
Have a great week!
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