The PTSD Is Strong In This One.

[chokes back tears] oh god

free space is “if i tell anyone they’ll just pity me”

i swear it makes (some) sense in context: voyager edition

hey so you know that vicious cycle of mental health making you unproductive which makes your mental health worse? don’t worry friend I am here with something that can help

just get one thing done. break the cycle. it doesn’t have to be some big task. in fact it’s better if it isn’t. decide on something that takes five minutes or less. keep it tiny and manageable - the key is to feel like you’ve accomplished something, so when your brain is all, you can’t even do a single thing all day except lay in bed being useless, you can be like, oh but I did do something, brain, suck on that. it might not seem like much at the time but it helps a lot to have something tangible you can point to

do you have dirty dishes in your bedroom? get rid of ‘em. you don’t have to wash them, just put them in the sink with soapy water. done. easy.

do you have a pile of empty water bottles sitting there? good for you staying hydrated. but you don’t need a mountain of plastic reminders. throw a few in the trash or in recycling. don’t worry about chasing down every single one, just pick a number. get rid of 5 or 10. easy, manageable even if you feel terrible. done.

do you need to do something early tomorrow? get something ready now. just one thing. lay out an outfit. fill the coffee maker so you can just press a button tomorrow. pack your backpack or purse. bonus benefit, future you will have an extra few minutes to breathe in the morning.

do you have a pet? spend 5 minutes with your pet. cuddle them. play tug of war. make baby noises at them. your pet loves you. I bet they miss you when you’re sad. you’ll both feel better.

has it been 3 weeks since you did laundry? pick your clothes up off the floor and put them in a laundry basket. don’t actually wash them or even take the basket anywhere. just collect the clothes for later so they aren’t spread all over. it’ll make actually doing them that much easier when you have more energy

did you manage to wash your clothes but not put them away? fold something. fold another thing. and one more. put them away. three things. you got this one.

did you do your one thing? good. I’m proud of you. even if it didn’t make you feel better, guess what? you did a thing. you got something done, you can be done now. you can go back to bed if you want.

This has become really important in my life lately. I've basically combined bullet journaling, doodling, washi tape, and calligraphy into an art therapy book. The beauty of the book itself, knowing that even my art isn't perfect, and the catharsis I get is all priceless. I may dissociate while doing it, but it's helped keep my mind calm, while also reminding me about appointments, and to take my medications. I highly recommend art therapy.

For more posts like this go to @mypsychology