Habits that ACTUALLY help my mental illness

Growing up and transitioning into a new life is scary. And it scared the shit out of me. For the past year, life was mentally challenging with coping on my new environments. I fell into depression and anxiety and found out I have Borderline Personality Disorder. (Update: got diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder and yes BPD) I like to keep this real to I'm just putting this out there. Needless to say, life for me was mentally turbulent and basically I was unhappy and burnt out. I ended up neglecting relationships, taking care of myself and my health.

I've tried apps, cheap therapy etc. but honestly none were effective. Turns out, it's corny but the simplest things helps the most, but are also the most challenging to practice.

I started to regain strength in the summer by focusing on things that had made me happy and along with having no pressure nor stress from school for 3 months, I was able to feel some sort of motivation :)

So, as I have started my second year in uni, I have been VERY consciously taking specific steps in helping myself stay happy. I'd really like to share some of them:

1. As I've mentioned, I neglected taking care of myself. This included not eating regular meals, not regularly cleaning myself etc. So I have been trying my best to brush my teeth consistently twice a day, bathing whenever I feel gross etc. (These actually sound very simple to do but it's literally one of the hardest things ever for people struggling with depression) And when I do these simple tasks, I tell myself to take my time and that there is no rush to it. I want to enjoy cleaning myself and I've started to learn how to like it again! This actually really helped me feel more stable so far for the past month. I feel that this is exactly how "loving yourself" feels like

2. Never be sorry for feeling someway, or distancing from people that do not make you feel good about yourself. I've learnt that you need to listen to your feelings carefully because it tells you what you actually need. I've always been a timid person who likes to please people. But I've learnt that I am the priority and putting yourself first before others is necessary. And you should never ever feel bad nor sorry for it

3. Take a breath. Or cry. Sometimes, I calm myself down by stopping myself and letting myself to breathe and CALM down. But sometimes, I also tell myself that I should cry it out. I think crying is really healthy and effective in letting out your emotions and burdens. I've felt so much relief so many times after crying to myself or onto someone's shoulder. And I feel that everyone should not always see it as a bad thing nor a sign that your life is getting worse. Sometimes we just need a good cry

I hope that this reaches out to whoever else has been struggling the same way and that this helps. We're in this fight together and things will never be smooth and healing is never ever linear nor easy. I know how hard things can be, but I believe in everyone of you 🤍

#selfcare #Lemon8SG #selfcaretips

#lovemyself