A Lesson from Kanye West - Becoming your own Rock

So, as you may have read from previous posts, my current living arrangements are rather up and down.

For three weeks, I live alone. Sometimes, this can be great. Cue whatever I want to watch on Netflix, minimal washing to be done and well, tidying up after myself can always wait until tomorrow!

Then of course, are the downsides.

My rock features red hair and a grizzly beard

Five Ways I've Learnt to Deal with a Bad Day

I feel like I've come a long way from the beginning of this blog already. Although it's been less than four months, I can say that seriously sitting down and evaluating how I can overcome some pretty long-standing issues with my mental health has been highly rewarding.

But in no way has it been easy. In fact, I probably had the biggest relapse in the form of a severe panic attack - seemingly from no-where. Yet I haven't looked back since and this refusal to give in to anxiety is very empowering.

So, from my journey thus far, here are my top five ways I've learnt to prevent a bad day.

I'm back from the Dread

I've taken a little hiatus from blogging recently. If you read my last post, I was having a particularly bad day.

Well, I don't like to dwell too much on what happened, but things got a lot worse.

The Black Dog, the Dark Cloud, the Bell Jar. Whatever analogy fits your demon, you can't ignore it

Hello guys,

I've seriously been in two minds about making a post today. For the most part, I've tried to keep this blog as upbeat and positive as possible. But of course when dealing with something like mental illness, that's not always feasible.

I didn't want to post anything today because basically, today has been a bad day. Some of my more difficult posts had been manageable because the feelings had passed. Today, what I'm describing is exactly how I feel right now, and I'm feeling pretty vulnerable. But of course, it's times like these more than ever when people need to be able to open up and be honest about they are affected.

Check out this helpful video one of my university friends shared through social media today, it explains how depression functions through a concise analogy.

Clarke Carlisle Suicide Attempt: Mental illness doesn't discriminate, neither should we

Quite a sombre post today folks. Many football fans will have seen the recent devastating news that Clarke Carlisle, a former Burnley FC defender and TV pundit, admitted he had attempted suicide by jumping in front of a lorry last December.

Stock Photo: Mental illness has the potential to affect
anyone from any background

You can read the story on the BBC here.

How to fill your mind with your mind: Mindfulness meditation and taking your mind back from anxiety

Hello to you reader,

Two things I'm stoked to share with you today.

Firstly, today I revisited a very powerful technique called mindfulness. You may have heard of it before, but if you haven't, a boiled down version is that it is a form of mediation. Now, for those who instantly think 'Yeah right, like I have an hour a day to stare at a lit candle making 'Ommmm' sounds,' bear with me a second.

Stock Photo: Mindfulness can help reduce the need to put your head in your hands.
Unless your full time job is Hide and Seek Champion.

Some unhelpful brain-pickings that tend to float around my skull and why they are irrational

So, this first exercise is to identify negative thoughts. I'll explain why I think I think these thoughts (I think). And then I will rationalize with myself as to why they are untrue.

I found this exercise very helpful when I received CBT counselling for when I was suffering from bulimia (ex-bulimic now, and the lowest weight of my adult life; it is possible).

Here's one I've grappled with today.