Mental Health Inspiration

The Tears of My Youth   I remember my very first encounter with depression. I was only five years old. My mother hit me with the belt that day. I don’t even remember what I’d done. She just got so angry and started hitting me the belt. I was so incredibly sad. It wasn’t the pain of the whipping but the fact that she blew up at me and I upset her so much that she had to go to the extent of beating me. She’d never done that. I never thought she’d ever be capable of hurting me in such an awful way because she was always a good loving and nurturing mother. She was my mother and father as my father died while she was pregnant with me. She always had a warm meal and took me to school. She is a woman of faith. She is a strong Catholic and taught me all about God. How could she do this? I felt so much agony within me. I went and hid under the kitchen table. I stayed under it for hours until the late evening, pressing my knees to my chest sobbing loudly. “How could my mommy do ...

My First Time in Heaven   February 2, 1999   Losing my mind was a slow process until one day it took over rapidly. I went madly insane. My family became worried. By now my brother Junior was stable. He went back to work and was on medication. His acne was clearing up and now he was the one reaching out to me. One day he said we had to go somewhere. We didn’t say anything to each other all through the car ride. It was silent, yet so loud. Everything just kept getting louder and louder and my world was spinning. It was the silence of the night that became so loud in my head. It was all the traffic lights that blinded me. I leaned my head against the glass window and tried to find peace. We arrived at the glass house and walked in through the automatic glass doors. I noticed that there was a dining room to my left. It was dark but the bright light from the hallway gleamed into the dining room and I could see the white daisies that were in vases on each table. T...

When I saw Britney Spears on the news on a gurney with paramedics, sirens blaring, a team of policemen, two helicopters, chaos, and a lot of paparazzi and she was placed on a 5150 my heart was breaking and tears filled my eyes. I said to myself, “Oh my God! Even a pop princess can have a mental breakdown.” Suddenly, I started having flashbacks of all the times I was strapped down on a gurney being taken to a mental hospital. I could still hear the sirens in my head and feel my heart being torn apart at the thought that my beloved pop star was going through the horrors of psychosis and depression, all while being in the public eye. I had been feeling manically depressed for months and just couldn’t get out of the cycle. I had thought about putting myself voluntarily in a mental hospital, but the thought of my freedom being taken away terrified me. I went out to a night club with my friend Joel and then came home feeling unstable, thinking that maybe I shouldn’t have had the red bull...

Healing, Beauty, Forever Hope at Last Forgiveness from a soul that is bleeds Wounded Heart The touch of God Healing, Beauty, Forever The pain from my past The tears of my womanhood Acceptance from God in heaven Even through the contradiction of man Healing, Beauty, Forever Life after Depression The sun is not black The angels sing when she awakes Healing, Beauty, Forever Healing at last Beauty in the everlasting soul Forever in God’s light will she dance Healing, Beauty, Forever Is hope through the seasons of heaven There is life Where there was life no more

We all know that the shadow of depression can haunt us for months, years and it feels like a lifetime. What I didn't know back when I was battling my suicidal depression was that I can control the way that I cope. My only coping skill years ago used to be overdosing. I have lost track of how many times I've tried killing myself. I'm alive for a reason but back then I didn't know. Any little thing, a break-up, a bad day, an argument with my sister was just a good enough reason to pop all those pills. I didn't want to deal with it. I have learned now in my journey of mental health recovery that although it may be hard to control all those unbalanced chemicals in my brain, I can control the way that I cope. One of my best coping skills has been my spirituality and meditation, believing and praying to my higher power, exercise, family and friends support, support groups, online networking with other mental health consumers, writing in my journal and taking pictures ...

Holistic Health: Mind, Body and Spirit Mental health recovery isn’t only about popping pills because medication can only do so much. Working for DMH, I learned about the Holistic approach to mental health. Holistic health is about the mind, body and spirit and how we nurture things elements of ourselves striving for a healthier life and getting to that point of feeling as if we have conquered the battle and the battle has not conquered us. This means that we need to have to learn coping skills that allow our minds to perceive the world is a new positive light. We can learn coping skills by talking to our mental health professionals, psychiatrist, therapist, case worker and attending support groups. There are even online support groups like MD Junction and there you will find a network of mental health peers that will become friends during your journey, together you will uplift each other. We need to seek knowledge. Read, research and even read some uplifting blogs  ...

Coping Skills January 23, 2012 Friends I do not give into depression. Actually, I have learned through my recovery that I don’t even like to call it depression. I don’t like the word depression, nonetheless feeling it. If I have an episode it will last like three days and then I pump myself back up and keep going on. I think about positive energy and light. Negative energy be gone! Positive energy welcome! I reject those horrible feelings with empowering words and affirmations. Yes I can! I am a survivor not a victim! I will get through this. I am a beautiful strong human being. There is light in my soul. God is with me. I have found healing. These are my coping strategies. I hate it when things are dark and gloomy, why be sad when you alone have the power to transform those feelings of despair by finding the resilience of your spirit. There is life after horrible things happen, a beautiful bountiful life. God didn’t make you to be weak but to be courageous and fight. The pe...