What do you do when you feel your mental health slipping?

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TwilightPrincess
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18 May 2019, 12:21 pm

I’m just curious about what you all do to cope during difficult stretches besides therapy or medications (they’re a given!).


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magz
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18 May 2019, 12:29 pm

Lock myself in the apartament (balcony if the weather is nice) alone, avoiding human contact.
I can't completely avoid human contact because of my family responsibilities but I do as little as possible.
Hanging up on WP, solving jigsaw puzzles, playing logic games, reading on my last casual special interest - Permian tetrapods. Listening to my special music, the songs that make me cry. Sometimes dancing to myself. Wrapping myself in a cozy, fluffy blanket.
Sleeping more with help from pills.


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kraftiekortie
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18 May 2019, 1:51 pm

Watching traffic on a Cameroonian highway via YouTube.



TwilightPrincess
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18 May 2019, 2:04 pm

magz wrote:
Lock myself in the apartament (balcony if the weather is nice) alone, avoiding human contact.
I can't completely avoid human contact because of my family responsibilities but I do as little as possible.
Hanging up on WP, solving jigsaw puzzles, playing logic games, reading on my last casual special interest - Permian tetrapods. Listening to my special music, the songs that make me cry. Sometimes dancing to myself. Wrapping myself in a cozy, fluffy blanket.
Sleeping more with help from pills.


Those sound like some good ways to keep your mind occupied and destress.


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TwilightPrincess
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18 May 2019, 2:05 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
Watching traffic on a Cameroonian highway via YouTube.


Is it places that you want to go or is watching a video enough to relax you?


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jimmy m
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18 May 2019, 2:08 pm

magz wrote:
reading on my last casual special interest - Permian tetrapods.


That is an interesting special interest. But a worthy one. Because the same mechanism that caused trilobites to go extinct in the oceans was also responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs on land, many years later.


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magz
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18 May 2019, 2:42 pm

jimmy m wrote:
magz wrote:
reading on my last casual special interest - Permian tetrapods.


That is an interesting special interest. But a worthy one. Because the same mechanism that caused trilobites to go extinct in the oceans was also responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs on land, many years later.

No, the mechanism of PT and CP extinctions seem completely different.
PT seems linked to drastic climate change and enormous volcanic activity, CP extinction seems to be about breakdown of ecosystems after an asteroid impact and "impact winter".
I can write more when I get sober. Goodnight!


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Amity
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18 May 2019, 2:49 pm

I try to be kinder to myself, to balance out the building negativity. I do some things I enjoy, baths, massage, being outdoors being with animals, more so of late I've been considering returning to yoga to help with mind body regulation.

Once i recognise what is happening it can feel like I've been hijacked or manipulated by something inside of me, so I tend to be distrustful of my emotions, as I'm not myself. I rely on rational thought as much as possible, though that also becomes unreliable if the anxiety/depression really takes hold. At this point I need to rely on others to 'reality test' as Kraftiekortie (Hi there) would say.

When my working memory starts to decline I'll go to the doctor as a minimum, and if i have the funds I'll organise yet more therapy.

I'm starting to recognise that I've stored physical memories in my sympathetic nervous system, as I have unresolved traumas that typical talk therapy and medication can remedy temporarily but not completely rectify.

These physical sensations are triggered quite easily it seems and as I understand it now seem linked to the anxiety=depression cycles I go through.
Mentally I might be in a good place, but spiral significantly when unrelated small issues trigger these physical memories.

I think its possible that people especially undiagnosed adults on the spectrum will have a higher than average share of these physical memories.



TwilightPrincess
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18 May 2019, 3:37 pm

Amity wrote:
I try to be kinder to myself, to balance out the building negativity. I do some things I enjoy, baths, massage, being outdoors being with animals, more so of late I've been considering returning to yoga to help with mind body regulation.

Once i recognise what is happening it can feel like I've been hijacked or manipulated by something inside of me, so I tend to be distrustful of my emotions, as I'm not myself. I rely on rational thought as much as possible, though that also becomes unreliable if the anxiety/depression really takes hold. At this point I need to rely on others to 'reality test' as Kraftiekortie (Hi there) would say.

When my working memory starts to decline I'll go to the doctor as a minimum, and if i have the funds I'll organise yet more therapy.

I'm starting to recognise that I've stored physical memories in my sympathetic nervous system, as I have unresolved traumas that typical talk therapy and medication can remedy temporarily but not completely rectify.

These physical sensations are triggered quite easily it seems and as I understand it now seem linked to the anxiety=depression cycles I go through.
Mentally I might be in a good place, but spiral significantly when unrelated small issues trigger these physical memories.

I think its possible that people especially undiagnosed adults on the spectrum will have a higher than average share of these physical memories.


I really like practicing yoga and taking long walks. I find both of those things somewhat helpful. I also love taking long baths. It’s really relaxing. I think those things help a lot with anxiety, but I’m still not where I’d want to be... I really am trying to avoid making a whiny post (not that there’s always anything wrong with that).

The idea of physical memories intrigues me. I’ll have to look into that.


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Alterity
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18 May 2019, 4:05 pm

I take time for myself, doing things I find enjoyable like reading or just sleeping lol

My primary thing is to spend time with my animals.This also often includes some kind of physical activity. Play with them, walk with them, do maintenance on their stuff, groom them etc. I always feel better after being with my horse for awhile and unlike with my cats, she gets me outside


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TwilightPrincess
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18 May 2019, 4:17 pm

Alterity wrote:
I take time for myself, doing things I find enjoyable like reading or just sleeping lol

My primary thing is to spend time with my animals.This also often includes some kind of physical activity. Play with them, walk with them, do maintenance on their stuff, groom them etc. I always feel better after being with my horse for awhile and unlike with my cats, she gets me outside


I love horses. I take my son to horse therapy and I enjoy being around the horses. I haven’t ridden in a long time, though.


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jimmy m
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18 May 2019, 6:48 pm

magz wrote:
No, the mechanism of PT and CP extinctions seem completely different.
PT seems linked to drastic climate change and enormous volcanic activity, CP extinction seems to be about breakdown of ecosystems after an asteroid impact and "impact winter". I can write more when I get sober. Goodnight!


In both cases oxygen levels on Earth went from around 35 percent down to 15 percent. That took a major event to bring down oxygen levels that low. Even if you burned everything on the surface of the planet, that would only account for around 10 percent of the reduction. Same cause.


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Noca
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18 May 2019, 11:55 pm

Listening to music that articulates how I am feeling.



auntblabby
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19 May 2019, 12:12 am

hard sweaty work out in the yard. when i was young i'd run for hours then swim laps for hours until i was too exhausted to think or feel anything. then i'd sleep the sleep of seeming death.



magz
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19 May 2019, 5:10 am

Twilightprincess wrote:
magz wrote:
Lock myself in the apartament (balcony if the weather is nice) alone, avoiding human contact.
I can't completely avoid human contact because of my family responsibilities but I do as little as possible.
Hanging up on WP, solving jigsaw puzzles, playing logic games, reading on my last casual special interest - Permian tetrapods. Listening to my special music, the songs that make me cry. Sometimes dancing to myself. Wrapping myself in a cozy, fluffy blanket.
Sleeping more with help from pills.


Those sound like some good ways to keep your mind occupied and destress.

In therapy, I identified my major stressors: human interactions and sensory overload.
So when I feel my mental health is spiralling downwards, I try to reduce those two and retreat to my comfort zone.
Your major stressors may be different or the same. Your comfort zone most likely differ from mine. But maybe you can relate to the idea.


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shortfatbalduglyman
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19 May 2019, 9:12 am

Eating

Stim

Withdraw