Breakdown of the Mental-breakdown.

 Are you in the middle of a mental breakdown? or just finished having the 5th mental breakdown of the week? maybe this day? then same girl same . its the hardest thing ever, the worst thing ever . our minds are flooded with thoughts , some thoughts that don't even make sense but we try to make sense of it. We question everything, we question our own existence at times, we loose ourselves in that spiral and feel like will never find a way out of it. That feeling of being stuck, that constant numbness or in other cases deep sadness or anger and frustration as to why things are not working out . Why me? why? how does no one understand me, is there no one who gets me? I have no one.

Is this you? Well I'm sorry and I understand you and let me give you the reassurance that you are not alone in this , no you are not .

Are you different from others? 

Its okay to not be okay ,but its not okay to judge yourself harshly, its inevitable when you're having a bad brain day, So how about you treat yourself with more compassion? Treat yourself with care, think of yourself as a fragile and beautiful pottery and handle with care.

Well I'm assuming your first thought is NO I do not want to take of myself. I don't want to do anything and in fact I cant even move. Well now more the reason to treat yourself with care and love .

"What do I do?"

Breathe.

Pause.

Breathe.

These are the steps you gotta  take before the actual ones, to finally do something about your mental health and follow some advice, so be patient.

Step 1 : Do not do anything that builds up your pressure or stresses you more.

Step 2 : Give yourself the time you need but as hard as it is , do not dwell in it for months or years. Find out your problem or problems , only then we can find a solution .

Step 3 : As much as you want to depend on someone else, a lot of times you cant. A lot of times the one support that you want the most , is the only support you cant get, but lets give ourselves a shot, shall we? 

Step 4 : Lets help ourselves. sounds stupid? impossible? difficult or a little obvious? great now lets try something that we never do.

Step 5 : Take baby steps. the smallest steps are what's gonna help us the most. Trust me I know what's going on , and sometimes the only way is the walk the path we pave ourselves. 

Step 6 : Open your mind to the possibilities that you cant even see , open yourself to the impossible , lets say believe in magic? now bare with me , I am aware this sounds childish but have you seen the happiest and relaxed humas are the babies.

Step 7: We are going to find what's gonna help us , who is gonna help us get through it,    we are deliberately finding solutions but this time without overwhelming ourselves , were gonna sit back , relax, and know that the universe didn't put us here to be miserable.

Step8 : Lets find the solutions!

1) Journal:

Bottling things up only makes it worse , suppressing your emotions make them stay longer in your mind and body , instead writing it down , pouring out all your sadness or anger onto a page sounds silly but its powerful. Try it, write down each and every little thoughts that come up and then suddenly there would be a point after which you will feel a sense of pause, a calm moment as you have nothing else to say.

2) Give yourself the space:

If everything and everyone is triggering you, its time to give yourself some space, get comfortable, go into hermit mode if needed, let your body feel safe, maybe go sit under the shower, feel the water, or draw up a bath, some like cleaning, cleaning your environment declutters your brain. Go outside, get some coffee.

3)Nature:

Our bodies aren't meant to stay in always, nature has a way of healing us , its a scientific fact. Nature -the tress, the wind , the sun, they all give us energy. A natural antidepressant if you will.

Grounding : the process of walking bare-foot on the grass. They is a transfer of ions from the ground into our bodies through our feet. grounding yourself can actually get you back to your own self, get back your energy.

4)Screens off: 

I cannot stress this enough but constant screen time, whether it's your laptop or your phone, drain us out. Have you ever stopped to notice that after scrolling for hours together on your phones you feel more tired? then you feel guilty for wasting your time, but just can't stop checking one more message or sending that one more reel. I understand that watching something is a good distraction from your emotions and worries but don't forget its not a solution rather it makes you feel worse physically and mentally exhausts you.

5)Let's Eat:

There are 2 types of tendencies, Skipping food and Bingeing food, both are extremes.

 For the ones that stress eat or binge , I'm aware of the sense of comfort that food gives , but too much of that again makes you feel worse, isn't it right? As hard as it is , give yourself a detox, and I am not saying go cold turkey, but rather just reduce the amount, have specific timings where you consume your food , just one step at a time. (not a medical advice, for the ones suffering from eating disorders)

For the ones who skip food , the tendency to in a way punish ourselves in the form of not eating or loosing the will to eat, think of food as a form of self care. A selfcare where you nourish your body by eating something you enjoy, getting rid of the thought that food is a reward 'earned'. and again remember one step at a time.

6)Seek a Professional:

Just like how we have mentors in our lives for career, coaches for sports, teachers for education, even the therapists are the same, they just help us navigate lives because sometimes life is hard and there is no shame or judgment having a little bit of help. Having a therapist whom you trust, who could guide you, make you understand about your own selves, just makes it easier.

7) Movement creates magic:

 Movement of any kind shakes off the negative, daunting energy in our body. This is the part where you've got to force yourself off the couch and move! Dance if you want, blast off music, dance like a dork, move your body, shake your glutes but just get moving. Movement gets rid of the stagnant energy that's stuck in your body, especially around your hips or chest. So get movin.

Remember a mental breakdown is just our bodies way of telling us it needs rest. Its totally normal to have days where its hard for you to get up, understand your body's needs and give it with compassion and patience. 

If anyone ever needs someone to talk to, feel free to reach out to me!

- LOVE

Clare.