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gameofdrarry · 4 years ago

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Wizards Hearts Recs: Established Relationship

Wizards Hearts was a four-month-long Drarry reading fest. Players were given a playing deck of 52 tropes, and were asked to find 52 different fics to read and comment on to fill their decks. To prevent the same few fics from being read, fics were restricted to only being used for the game three times before being considered ineligible for further points. The tropes and submissions list can be found here.

Check out the masterlist of fics for this trope below the cut!

📜 Malfoy Meet Muggle by PenNoire Rated: Teen Words: 25,326 Tags: Animagus, Established Relationship, Fluff, Humour Summary: Draco Malfoy is surprisingly happy in a comfortable relationship with Harry Potter. Unfortunately, Harry wasn't brought up doing things the wizarding way, and if Draco wants to make this work, he's going to have to learn to integrate the magical with the muggle. Really, how bad can it be? ❤️ Read on AO3 or FFN

📜 A Nightmare Waiting to Happen by triggerlil Rated: Explicit Words: 21979 Tags: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Claustrophobia, Eye Trauma, Eye Gouging, enucleation, Childhood Trauma, Vomiting, Choking, Unreliable Narrator, Horror, Body Horror, Clones, Abuse, Nightmares, Zombies, Cannibalism, Sectumsempra (Harry Potter), Legilimency (Harry Potter), Hospitals, Character Death In Dream, Antagonist James in Dream, bug horror, Snakes, Moths, Child Death in Dream, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Established Relationship, Hogwarts, Post-Hogwarts, Abusive Dursley Family (Harry Potter), Attempted Suicide, Suicidal Thoughts, Torture, Corpses, Graphic Description of Corpses, Hurt/Comfort, Curses, Magically Powerful Harry Potter, Protective Draco Malfoy, Husbands, No Explicit Sexual Content, Homophobic Language, Sexist Language, Bullying Summary: Draco sat beside Harry's bed as the man breathed deeply; his eyes were moving rapidly beneath his eyelids, and every so often, he would twitch or part his lips. Draco couldn’t imagine what was going on in Harry’s mind, but he clutched his husband’s hand, wishing he could take his place, do anything to help. Harry Potter is cursed into a nightmare-verse—escaping one nightmare only causes him to fall deeper through the layers of his subconscious—will he be able to free himself, or will his deepest fears swallow him whole? ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Age is just a number by gnarf Rated: Teen and Up Words: 1555 Tags: Old Age, Humor, Fluff, Established Relationship, Dementia, Plot Twists, Shoplifting, Just Add Kittens, Muggle London, HP Fluff Fest 2020 Summary: Married for decades, their life is perfect. Until Harry gets a call and hears the following words "Mr Potter, we caught your husband stealing ten large packs of King Sized condoms." ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Our Dreams, Our Pride by ahhhnorealnamesallowed Rated: Mature Words: 10319 Tags: Hermione Granger is a Good Friend, Healer Draco Malfoy, Healer Harry Potter, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Holidays, a very british coach holiday, Ireland, POV Alternating, Swearing, discussion of sex and sexual acts, Slice of Life, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, (or very little plot), Magic University - Freeform, Post-Secondary, Getting Together, Established Relationship Summary: For six years, Harry has promised Draco a 'big thing' for their anniversary. This year is the year Harry is going to make it happen, even if he does so in a very Harry Potter way. Including last-minute vacation planning, some very sassy old people, a coach bus, and less anniversary sex than expected. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 No Wizard Is an Island by Novaa Rated: Mature Words: 50009 Tags: HP:EWE, Post-Hogwarts, Ensemble Cast, Slow Burn, Quidditch, Getting Back Together, Established Relationship, Ministry of Magic Employee Hermione Granger, Auror Ron Weasley, Auror Harry Potter, Healer Draco Malfoy, Apothecary Draco Malfoy, Quidditch Player Ginny Weasley, Slice of Life, Harry/Draco Big Bang 2018, Community: harrydracobang Summary: For a life is made of the people living it, and no wizard is an island. A twenty-years journey in the intertwined lives of Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Draco and Harry. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 The Arrangement by RurouniHime Rated: Explicit Words: 65746 Tags: From Sex to Love, Established Relationship, Past Relationship(s), Domestic, Requited Love, Making Out, Jealousy, Falling In Love, Angst, Confessions, Moving In Together, Introspection, Pining, Community: help_haiti Summary: It's worked for years. Why change it now? ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Training Exercises by spookywoods Rated: Explicit Words: 1313 Tags: Auror Draco Malfoy, Blindfolds, Hand Jobs, Married Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, It's Curry Night at the Malfoy-Potter Residence!, so you know it will be hot, Terrible smut and terrible puns, here all week Summary: Harry comes home from work to find Draco sitting in the dining room in the dark, wearing a blindfold and little else. “It’s for training,” Draco says. “Training?” “Sensory and environmental magic.” “I could help you train,” Harry says. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Take a trip into my garden by Andithiel Rated: Explicit Words: 5974 Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Porn with Feelings, Established Relationship, Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, First Time Bottoming, Draco in lingerie, Bisexual Harry Potter, Rimming, Anal Sex, Really there might be too much feeling for it to count as pwp, As usual when I write, Enthusiastic Consent Summary: Harry has only been dating Draco for about two months, but he’s already obsessed with the git. And he knows that today, Draco has something special planned, something that includes him being dressed in skimpy lingerie. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Forget-Me-Nots and Narcissus by triggerlil Rated: Mature Words: 14430 Tags: Piano Player Draco Malfoy, Wand Maker Harry Potter, Summer, Domestic, Work partners - Freeform, Established Relationship, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Post-Hogwarts, Wakes & Funerals, Grief/Mourning, Minor Character Death, Gardens & Gardening, Panic Attacks, apple picking, Wandmaking (Harry Potter), Classical Music, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort Summary: His long pale fingers travelled across the keys, the sound of the piano cresting and falling, one moment soft and enticing, in the next fast and sure. The first few buttons of his white shirt were undone, revealing a pale chest and thin lines of scars; the sleeves rolled up to his elbows to reveal strong forearms, one marred by a smudge of black ink. Or in which Draco is overcome by grief, and Harry is there to keep him afloat. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Through the Window, Clear Skies by tackytiger Rated: Mature Words: 1415 Tags: Falling In Love, Idiots in Love, Moving In Together, Boyfriends, Domestic, Potions Master Draco Malfoy, Emotionally Repressed, True Love, Mention of wanking, mention of fucking, but mostly just love, Engagement, Drarry Discord Writers Corner Drabble Challenge Summary: What would happen if Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy moved in together, too soon after they started kissing and then fucking and not hating each other anymore? Will Draco insist on a wine rack? Or: Domestic Drarry with a bare hint of angst. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Sweet Nothings by vivi1138 Rated: Mature Words: 1985 Tags: Major Character Death, Character Death, Minor Character Death, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Depression, Grief/Mourning, Loneliness, Hallucinations, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, POV Draco Malfoy, Established Relationship, Hopeful Ending, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Muteness, Terminal Illnesses, Physical Disability, Loss of strength, Bodily Fluids, Heavy Angst, Hospitalization, Missions Gone Wrong, Auror Partners, Minor Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Afterlife, Mental Health Issues, hopelessness Summary: What do you do when you lose the one you love? After a raid goes wrong, Draco navigates the waters of his grief and may very well lose himself in the process. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Love Found by peachpety Rated: Explicit Words: 7500 Tags: Double Agent Draco Malfoy, BAMF Harry Potter, Hogwarts Sixth Year, love realizations, Boys Kissing, Legilimency (Harry Potter), Occlumency (Harry Potter), mind connections, Intense Emotional Action Sequences, Canon Dumbledore Death, Established Relationship, Teenage Boyfriends, Boys In Love, Non-graphic Mentions/Recalls of Offscreen Sexual Activity Between Consensual Minors, Magic and Emotions Conveyed as Color, Threats of Physical Violence and Intimidation, References to Past Forced Submission, Killing Death Eaters, Eventual Happy Ending, Minor References to Past Snape/Lucius Summary: During Harry’s sixth year, Draco Malfoy joins the Order as a double-agent and continues with his task to get the Death Eaters into the castle as assigned by Voldemort. Draco succeeds with his mission the evening Harry returns from the caves with Dumbledore. The boys reunite on the Astronomy Tower and, with the Death Eater’s arrival, are forced to engage in a fight, driving Harry to come to terms with his feelings about true friendship and romantic love. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Christmas Is For Sex (and Love), So Give It To Me by GoldenTruth813 Rated: Explicit Words: 53218 Tags: PWP, Established Relationship, Christmas, Bondage, misuse of frosting, making gingerbread houses, coming without touching, Blowjobs, Fingering, anal penetration, Rimming, misuse of fairy lights, Praise Kink, Nipple Clamps, erotic massages, Lingerie, Harry in Lingerie, Butt Plugs, Masterbation, Dirty Talk, Overstimulation, Topping from the Bottom, Ice Play, misuse of snowballs, misuse of brandy custard, veritasium, Public Sex, misuse of christmas candles, Wax Play, floating blow jobs, bubble baths, Candy Canes, misuse of candy canes, sex with feelings, Clubbing, naughty letters, babysitting teddy, Edging, healing past trauma, really so much more than sex, but lots of sex too, spiked hot cocoa, Drunk confessions, Anal penetration with a foreign object, french!draco, Switching Summary: Draco buys Harry an Advent House, intent on helping Harry create all new holiday memories, and have a lot of great sex in the process. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 there’s a trick with a dragon I’m learning to do by curiouslyfic Rated: Explicit Words: 20000 Tags: Politics, economics, social commentary, international relations, mature characters, complex relationships, intellectual comradeship, working together to achieve a common goal, sharp dressers, snark, banter, armchair sex, wall sex, desperate kissing, orgasm denial, playful biting, Machiavellian intrigue, wizard banking, Potterverse ghosts and goblins, pursuit, subtle seduction (i.e. life-saving and/or political acts that can be interpreted as courtship), and frivolous decadence Summary: Harry’s live-in’s a workaholic being courted — harassed — by an array of weeping minions and an assortment of overprivileged pricks. Harry’s bloody portraits are being harassed — courted — by, well, an assortment of things Harry doesn’t even want to think about. Harry’s had a long week already and so far, his weekend’s not looking much better. At least he can say with certainty there's no place like home... ❤️ Read on Dreamwidth

📜 Last Offices by tackytiger Rated: Mature Words: 6737 Tags: Major Character Death, Character Death, Blood and Injury, Memories, Unhappy Ending, Wakes & Funerals, Falling In Love, Sad Harry Potter, Preparation of a body for burial, Non-Linear Narrative, Flashbacks, Getting Together, Grief/Mourning, Happy Memories Summary: It didn't seem fair that Malfoy was dead, and Harry was supposed to just keep on living without him. He had lost enough people to know that he probably would keep on going—his stubborn heart was still beating, after all, even though it felt like it was going to break. But first, he had to get through the laying out of the dead—those old Pureblood funeral rites—even if every time he touched Malfoy's too-cold body, he was reminded of how things used to be, and how things might have been. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Love Is by xErised Rated: Teen and Up Words: 26529 Tags: Emotional Roller Coaster, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, Post-Hogwarts Summary: Aurors Harry Potter and Ron Weasley are presumed dead during a mission gone wrong. Their partners — Draco and a pregnant Hermione — refuse to believe that they're gone, even after a year of their absence. A tale of loss, longing and love, with a happy ending. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Making A List and Checking It Twice by blithelybonny Rated: Explicit Words: 20758 Tags: Porn with some plot, Established Relationship, Kink Exploration, Kink Negotiation, Dom/sub, Making Out, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Semi-Public Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Masturbation, Voyeurism, Dirty Talk, Spanking, Frottage, Rimming, Sex Toys, Butt Plugs, Subdrop, Aftercare, Bathing/Washing Summary: ON HIATUS - WILL BE COMPLETED -- A life-changing event is headed Draco and Harry's way - what better way to celebrate than by checking a few things off the old sexual bucket list? ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Dreams That You Dare to Dream Really Do Come True by Drarrelie Rated: Explicit Words: 11751 Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Established Relationship, The Burrow (Harry Potter), Birthday, Harry Potter's Birthday, Birthday Party, Birthday Presents, Birthday Sex, Birthday Smut, Sexual Fantasy, Sex Toys, Sex Toys Under Clothing, Secret use of sex toys in public, Internalised Kink Shame, Praise Kink, Consent, Enthusiastic Consent, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Blow Jobs, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Porn with Feelings, Fluff, Light Dom/sub, Dom Harry Potter, Sub Draco Malfoy, Top Harry Potter, Power Bottom Draco Malfoy, POV Harry Potter, Don't copy to another site, Fanart Welcome, Podfic Welcome Summary: Today, Draco’s new boyfriend turns nineteen and the annoying tosser has refused to present a wish list. It’s not Draco’s fault if he felt compelled to get a little creative, right? ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Up the Duff by CorvetteClaire Rated: Explicit Words: 86755 Tags: Mpreg, Magical Pregnancy, Fluff, Smut, Light Angst, Wizengamot, Unspeakables (Harry Potter), Snarky Malfoy-style Humor, Snarky Draco Malfoy, Harry's Thing with Walls, Adorable Toddlers, Pregnant Draco, Protective Harry, Desperate Malfoys Summary: Draco Potter is hugely pregnant and (much to his surprise) enjoying himself. He loves having Harry fuss over him and looks forward to adding another Potter to their little family. Unfortunately for Draco, his parents have found out about their impending grandchild and have no intention of letting him separate them from this child, as he did from Bob (Felix). Their attempts to force their way into Draco's life may bring down even greater troubles on his head when the wizarding world at large finds out that Draco Potter, née Malfoy is up the duff! Or The fic that answers the burning questions... How many servings of McDonald's french fries can a pregnant wizard eat in a single day? Just how adorable and persuasive can a quarter-Veela toddler get before his fathers sell him to the Goblins? Is it possible to conceal a pregnant belly the size of a Hogwarts carriage under a glamour? What could be more ruthless and dangerous than Malfoys in need of an heir? Will Harry and Draco ever agree on a name for their child? Are girls really easier (and will our heroes ever find out)? ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 what the body wants is coolness by lastontheboat Rated: Teen and Up Words: 13428 Tags: Day At The Beach, Established Relationship, First Time in Public, draco overthinks things, harry is affectionate, Beach Quidditch, no smut just fade to black, HP Drizzle Fest 2020, Community: hp_drizzle, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE Summary: "Are you done primping yourself yet?" Draco asked, feeling mulish. "We can still meet your friends on time if we leave now, but we'll have to walk quickly." Harry rolled his eyes. "It's a beach day, Draco," he said patiently. "Not a pureblood society event." "Yes, well, not all of us have the goodwill of the rest of the wizarding world to fall back on when we commit acts of social barbarism." ~~~ Draco and Harry have been seeing each other for months, and Harry decides the best way to tell their friends is to bring Draco to a group beach outing. Draco's given up enumerating all the ways this plan could go wrong. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 A Memorable Speech by Samunderthelights Rated: Teen and Up Words: 1300 Tags: Drarropoly: A Drarry Game/Fest, Drarry, Fluff, Silly, Weddings, Established Relationship, Short & Sweet, Don't copy to another site Summary: Harry is asked to give a speech at Teddy's wedding, but when he gets flustered, it becomes a speech the wedding guests will remember for a long time. ❤️ Read on AO3

#established couple #established relationship #drarry #drarry recs #game of drarry #wizards hearts #wh masterlist

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alannah-digitalcommunities · 4 years ago

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Week 6: Digital Citizenship and Health Education - Body modification on Visual Social Media

This week we reviewed the topic of ‘Digital Citizenship and Health Education, specifically body modification and Aesthetic Templates on Social Media. Body modification is a form of 'Aesthetic Templates' on Instagram and was a term I discovered in one of the readings. This particular reading exemplifies the idea that people interested in body modification are "shopping" for aesthetic templates. Aesthetic templates were essentially created by microcelebrities and are universally popular throughout social media, especially Instagram. You may know microcelebrities as social media influencers and/or models who promote products to their followers and fans for commercial gain.

What is visual social media?

Visual social media is a form of marketing and is the practice of using video, images and other visual content (like infographics) to help your messages stand out from the noise and clutter to more effectively reach your audience. It's a system that's worth adopting. ("What Is Visual Social Media Marketing (And How Does It Raise Engagement)? [INFOGRAPHIC]", 2021)

What is public health?

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines public health as “the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts of society.” ("Public health services", n.d.)

How social media affects public health:

Social media has become a cost-effective way for the public health practice to inform audiences of health issues, enhance communication during public health emergencies or outbreaks, and respond to public reporting of a particular public health issue. ("Social Media in Public Health: Strategies to Distill, Package, and Disseminate Public Health Research", 2020).

Public Health’s role in the pandemic:

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, public health organisations have made good use of social media to inform the public about the disease and help individuals globally control the spread of the virus. With technology always evolving, digital technologies such as IOS apps have become more advanced and influential in the past decade, but more so since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since week one of this Digital Communities unit, I have concluded that Social Media is influential in many ways; from being a tool for political communication and engagement, to spreading awareness and promoting activism, evolving social movements in our society, and now in week 6, a device to inform the public about health.

I use social media every day, for fun and to socialise but also for educational purposes. Something I appreciate a lot about engaging with social media is interacting with news and information concerning public health and health in general. There are a few apps I use but the one that comes to mind that has been especially useful is the COVIDSafe app. This app was mainly helpful last year during the pandemic's peak and I don't use it anymore as there hasn't been any active covid cases where I live. "The COVIDSafe app is a tool that helps identify people exposed to coronavirus (COVID-19). This helps us support and protect you, your friends and family." Without the help of technology, finding close contacts relies on people: being able to recall everyone they have been in close contact with and knowing their contact details. ("COVIDSafe app", 2020)

https://www.health.gov.au/resources/apps-and-tools/covidsafe-app#

Effective Public Health Social Media Campaigns

According to current statistics, there are 2271 million people use Facebook, 326 million Twitter, 1000 million Instagram and 287 million use Snapchat. ("The World's Best Public Health Social Media Campaigns - Bang The Table", n.d.). As a result, public health campaigns increasingly compete for people’s attention and seek to influence their behaviour through these social media channels. But this requires continually adapting to trends.

#Loveyourcervix Campaign

The objective for the #loveyourcervix campaign is to make young women who may feel embarrassed about the appearance of their vulva not embarrassed as a lot of young women avoid having a cervical screening for that reason. The campaign is intended to promote body positivity and remind women “that smear takers have seen hundreds of vulvas!” Women that attend for cervical screening when they are first invited aged 25 are more likely to attend in the future, significantly reducing their risk of developing cervical cancer." (Public Health Wales).

Mental health related campaigns

Mental health has become a popular subject for social media campaigns. More and more people are willing and wanting to be open and share their personal experiences with the world on their social media pages. Individuals also want to get involved in tackling the stigma associated with talking about mental health.

#HereForYou Campaign (Instagram)

A one-minute campaign video featured three Instagram users talking about their past struggles with eating disorders, depression and suicidal thoughts.

youtube

Man Therapy Campaign

Another campaign that promotes mental health is the Man Therapy campaign. It is based in Colorado, USA and is aimed at working-aged men (24-54 years old) who account for the largest number of suicide deaths in the U.S. These men are also the least likely to receive any kind of support. They don't talk about it with their friends. They don't share with their family. And they sure as heck don't seek professional treatment. They are the victims of problematic thinking that says mental health disorders are unmanly signs of weakness. ("Man Therapy | Men's Mental Health Resources", n.d.).

The campaign features a fictional character named Rich Mahogany, who provides “manly mental health tips” in humorous videos. The Men Therapy campaign was also created to counter the myth that strong men don’t need to reach out for help.

Body modification on Visual Social Media

Aesthetic templates and Aesthetic Labour

‘Aesthetic templates’ refer to: poses, accessories, props or body work.

Aesthetic templates are linked to digital influencer brands that often promote unhealthy body image ideals.

Aesthetic Labour:

In workplace settings, workers enact aesthetic labour by embodying attributes that will resonate with customers for commercial benefit (Dean, 2005; Witz, Warhurst & Nickson, 2003)

Examples of Aesthetic Labour include:

- Smiling with sincerity

- Dressing in a suit and tie

- Using particular body language and hand gestures

As you can see in the image below of this model, she is not only using body language and hand gestures to demonstrate bodywork and aesthetic labour, but she’s also smiling with sincerity as she promotes a Bondi Boost product.

These images of these Instagram influencers/models also depict bodywork through a range of behaviours that alter their physical appearance; either online, through editing or physically in the offline world. Bodywork is evident in these influencer's photos as these women have all used body language and angles to make their bodies appear a certain way in which helps them gain attention from their viewers.

Pornification

Pornification emphasises heteronormative standards of beauty and sexuality.

It has become normalised within western societies to display sexuality that reflects the aesthetics of commercial pornography (Tyler & Quek, 2016; Lynch, 2012; Drenten & Gurrieri, 2019)

Pornification is about portraying a heteronormative display of sexuality or 'porn chic' aesthetic oriented towards a male audience (Drenten & Gurrieri, 2019)

For social media users, selfies are often the result of work understood as sexualised labour (Drenten & Gurrieri, 2019)

Imagery like these is only a few examples of what my Instagram feed is flooded with. Highly sexualised images like these are shaping 'influence' on social media platforms, especially on Instagram. The main reason that influencers are posting content like this, posed and with barely any clothes on is because these kinds of images help them gain the most amount of attention and following. The body plays a pivotal role in influencers' posts, and one of the easiest ways for women to gain attention on social media is through a highly sexualised aesthetic, which is increasingly pornified. These women tend to conform to stringent standards of attractiveness and femininity for attention gain.

Here is an example of an influencer, Tammy Hembrow who uses the ‘aesthetic template’ to promote this "aminos & energy" product to her followers for commercial benefit. This pornified image is purely to grab her viewer's attention for a brand deal.

As you can see in the image above of Tammy Hembrow, she is posing in a way that highlight her lower body through body language, to accentuate her curves.

Aesthetic Templates - Masculinity:

Despite all this focus on women being pornified, pornification is also relevant to men but the reasons differ...

Whilst women tend to focus on accentuating their curves through body language, men are also exposed for provocative poses, but this is mainly enacted by gay men. The underlying difference is that men aren’t nearly as popular as women when it comes to gaining attention on social media for their pornified poses.

Implications for Public Health:

Some public health campaigns promote aesthetic templates to promote body image ideals. This advertisement by Protein World presents a female model in her bikini, accompanying writing that states, “Are you beach body ready?” The ad implies that women have to have that body type, a body that society depicts as "perfect", then you're not "beach ready". This ad is not only offensive and promotes body-shaming, but it’s also encouraging poor self-esteem and body image, especially for younger women who are most likely already feeling too insecure to go to the beach.

The original – Protein World’s body-shaming advia aol.com

This ad is another dangerous example that can have serious effects on the self-esteem of women and girls worldwide.

Victoria’s Secret: ‘Perfect’ via theodysseyonline.com

These advertisements and public ‘health campaigns’ are also linked to Body Dysmorphia (BDD) and Identity Dissonance due to individuals comparing themselves to “the perfect body” online, leading them to feel “distressed about a particular body part to the point where it interferes with daily life (Phillips, 2009).

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)

Body dysmorphic disorder is a mental health disorder in which you can't stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in your appearance — a flaw that appears minor or can't be seen by others. ("Body dysmorphic disorder - Symptoms and causes", n.d.)

TW: Suicide

.......................

Suicidal thoughts and behavior are common with body dysmorphic disorder. If you think you may hurt yourself or attempt suicide, get help right away:

Call 000

Call a suicide hotline number - Lifeline: 13 11 14

Call your mental health professional.

Seek help from your primary care provider.

Reach out to a close friend or loved one.

Contact a minister, spiritual leader or someone else in your faith community.

References:

Public health services. Retrieved 23 May 2021, from https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/Health-systems/public-health-services/public-health-services

COVIDSafe app. (2020). Retrieved 23 May 2021, from https://www.health.gov.au/resources/apps-and-tools/covidsafe-app

The World's Best Public Health Social Media Campaigns - Bang The Table. Retrieved 23 May 2021, from https://www.bangthetable.com/blog/public-health-social-media-campaigns/

Retrieved 23 May 2021, from https://twitter.com/PublicHealthW/status/1105362789067968513

Man Therapy | Men's Mental Health Resources. Retrieved 23 May 2021, from https://mantherapy.org/

#HereForYou. (2021). [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h-s9xUPvGA

Social Media in Public Health: Strategies to Distill, Package, and Disseminate Public Health Research. (2020). Retrieved 23 May 2021, from https://journals.lww.com/jphmp/Fulltext/2020/09000/Social_Media_in_Public_Health__Strategies_to.14.aspx

How highly sexualised imagery is shaping ‘influence’ on Instagram - and harassment is rife. Retrieved 24 May 2021, from https://mumbrella.com.au/how-highly-sexualised-imagery-is-shaping-influence-on-instagram-and-harassment-is-rife-578396

Five ads that took body-shaming to a whole new level. (2016). Retrieved 24 May 2021, from https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/31606/1/the-five-worst-examples-of-body-shaming-ads

Body dysmorphic disorder - Symptoms and causes. Retrieved 24 May 2021, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/body-dysmorphic-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353938#:~:text=Body%20dysmorphic%20disorder%20is%20a,may%20avoid%20many%20social%20situations.

What Is Visual Social Media Marketing (And How Does It Raise Engagement)? [INFOGRAPHIC]. Adweek.com. (2021). Retrieved 27 May 2021, from https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/visual-social-marketing/#:~:text=Visual%20social%20media%20marketing%20is,a%20system%20that's%20worth%20adopting.

#publichealth #health #socialmedia #COVID #COVID19 #pandemic #bodyimage #aesthetic #masculinity #femininity #pornification

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matildainmotion · 5 years ago

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On Staying Put in the Pot of Life as Far as Possible

No, I don’t have a cure for the Coronavirus, though I hope there may be something helpful for our collective health in here. The virus was not the bug that started this blog. It was something, someone else.

Recently a woman, six years younger than me, mother to three children at my son’s school, died of cancer. I did not know her. I do not know her husband or her children, but I know plenty of people that do. Such a loss is felt across the whole community. I think of her, and of her family, daily now. Alongside the love I send them silently, is the thought that it could have been me, that it could be my husband, my children, left behind.

This is not a new thought. I have heard other mothers talk about it too, the sudden sense of responsibility they had on becoming mothers to do their level best to stay alive. “When I go to cross a road,” a new mother once said to me, “I now tell myself I mustn’t mess it up.” For me the thought pre-dates even motherhood because my maternal grandmother did not make it across the road – she died of Lupus when my mother was eight years old. The night after her death my grandfather committed suicide. As children do, I absorbed this story in my mother’s milk, in the smell of her, the sound of her. My father was a jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, so I had a dose of loss from him as well. Consequently, despite the fact that I have lived an incredibly privileged and protected life to date, I have a hidden ‘loss alarm’ inside me.

My loss alarm is like one of those annoying, over-sensitive smoke detectors that goes off every time you burn a bit of toast, as if the house were on fire. Except toast is not the trigger. Every time I hear a story of untimely loss, it goes off. Panic follows. There is no handy ‘re-set’ button on my loss alarm – it can sound out, keeping me awake, for weeks. The stories that trigger it can be newspaper headlines: terrorist attacks; aeroplane crashes; gun men; refugees who lose their lives as they attempt to flee. Or they can be more personal: a friend of a friend I knew who died in a fall at work; a boy near our village who slipped into a grain silo; someone’s sister hit by a car – each of these sets off my loss-alarm.

Let me be clear, the kind of panic I feel is not the same as that which is currently sweeping the world and causing the shelves in shops to empty of hand sanitizer and ibuprofen. I am not afraid of death. I feel nervous about death, but in the way I feel nervous before stepping on to a stage – a slight excitement about not knowing what is going to happen. At the moment bath bombs are all the rage in our house, and my latest fantasy of death is that it will be like fizzing away until there is nothing tangible left of me, whilst the ether around where I was turns a funky, joyful colour. The panic I feel is not about death, but loss – what those left behind will have to undergo. Before I became a mother I was afraid of the grief that I might feel. Now, whilst that still scares me, the loss-alarm sounds loudest when I think of my children, left bereft.

I have tried many different tactics over the years to shore up against this loss, different ways to try to muffle or mute the wailing of the alarm. Obviously, the best way to avoid it is to do what I can to help myself, and those I love, to stay alive. Just looking both ways and crossing the road with care does not seem good enough. There is still the risk of error, of bad luck, of reckless drivers, misplaced banana skins, or thunderbolts out of the blue. I am making light of it because it is hard to write about – it feels unbearable. I understand why the king and queen in Sleeping Beauty did not want to invite the thirteenth fairy to their baby’s christening, and then, after the fairy had gate-crashed with her curse, wished to rid the kingdom of all spinning wheels, to make misfortune, as far as possible, impossible. No needles allowed anywhere, so that their daughter may stay forever safe, awake, alive.

How to live with the knowledge that survival is not guaranteed? In fact the reverse is true – death is definite. Life, not so much. When I was younger I felt that if the facts were against me, I would have to resort to magic. ‘Magical thinking’ is a strange phrase – it sounds rather wonderful but it can refer to a form of mental disorder. On Wikipedia it is defined as “the false belief that one's thoughts, actions, or words will cause or prevent a specific consequence in some way that defies commonly understood laws of causality.” If I burn all the spinning wheels in the land, my daughter will be safe. If I count to ten and touch wood twice before I cross the road then I won’t get run over. When I was eight, in the mornings before school, I would ask my mother to promise me that she would not die that day. I knew she could not do this – there are dangerous roads to be crossed every day - but I hoped the promise had a magical power that might ensure her survival. As a teenager, my years of anorexia were another magical-thought practice, a way of starving to stay alive: if I can control my weight, eat impossibly little, then loss will never touch me. In my twenties I moved from magical thoughts to magical acts, training as a circus aerialist. Often aerialists are aligned with angels, people perfecting the art of flight. Not me. I was training in the art of holding on hard, with hands, toes, backs of my knees, neck, the fold of my hips. If I could get magically good at gripping, I would never have to lose myself, or anyone else.

The problem is, it doesn’t work. These are frightened magical practices. They put you under a spell of fear. The part of me that still engages in magical thought, believes that writing a blog like this is tantamount to suicide, that if I admit the possibility that loss could happen, then it will. It feels like signposting Sleeping Beauty towards the spinning wheel. But there are plenty of stories in which the protagonist’s very attempt to escape the feared fate, brings it about. Banish the fairy and she is sure to haunt you forever. Such a haunted life is not much of a life. I know - I’ve lived it. It’s not very magical. So here I am, a mother in my forties, still aware of that loss-alarm, wondering what better ways I could respond to it than by self-isolating, trying to avoid the many spinning wheels, sharp and whirring, in the world. And there is so much danger and loss around these days, loss of people, animals, entire landscapes, loss of life as we know it. So much loss that my alarm has been sounding almost constantly for months now and I have not been sleeping. I am tired. I’d love to sleep for a hundred years. But I can’t and anyway it’s not the answer. What’s to be done?

As ever I think the answer is right here, beside me. My daughter is on the bed, scribbling on my notebook as I type this. My children are beginning to teach me some other, more helpful responses to loss. Motherhood is fraught with loss. It comes with the territory. I don’t think you can make a life without becoming intimate with the possibility of losing it. Infertility, miscarriage, childbirth, still birth. I have been very lucky. I remember looking over my midwife’s shoulder as she filled in a form, after the birth of my daughter: ‘Infant born 10.08pm,’ she wrote in one square, and then in the next square, she noted down the word, ‘alive,’ and I thought at once of how it might have been a different word. One of our first jobs as mothers is to give birth. If we survive and the children survive, I think our last job is to die, to make way for them to step into the role of being the generation in charge. From start to finish motherhood is a glorious, dangerous business, not for the faint-hearted, which is not to say you need to be tough-hearted. It is, I hope, slowly teaching me instead to become more whole-hearted – to be able to hold the whole lot.

A passage that has always helped me accept the spinning wheels and their sharp needles is the one in Kahil Gibran’s The Prophet on joy and sorrow, in which sorrow is framed as a creative act:

“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?....”

Carving, containing, holding are the verbs used here for understanding and processing loss. An alarm instructs you to leave the building, evacuate the vessel. Here is a different response: stay put, Gibran says, create a container, to hold the joy and the sorrow. I think good art is just this - a container. Be it a story, a painting, a poem or a pot – each is good at holding things. At bedtime my daughter listens to the teachings of another great spiritual poet: Winnie the Pooh. In one Pooh story the sad, grey donkey, Eeyore has a rare moment of joy when Pooh gives him, “A Useful Pot to Keep Things in” for his birthday. “You can keep anything in it,” Pooh explains, even sad things, like Eeyore’s other present, a burst balloon, and Eeyore is delighted. So that’s what I need then. Not an alarm, but a pot. A pot, not only for loss, but for the lot. Spending my life, however much I have of it, making that kind of pot feels like something I can do. That is what the novel I am writing is meant to be. And when I have finished that one, I will start on another totally impractical, utterly vital pot, a holding vessel. This is a braver magic.

I wonder also how I might integrate such a pot-making process consciously back within my mothering. Most evenings, as soon as it gets dark, my son declares that he is sad. He starts a count down, “By the time I get to ‘one’, I will have sadness overload,” he says, “You have to do something before that happens!” He starts the countdown, “Ten…nine…eight…seven….six….” What can I do? I only have six seconds left! I am tempted to rely on frightened magic, to pretend that I can keep all the bad things away, banish the beasts and the viscous fairies. I can’t. “Two…one…zero.” My son collapses on the floor.

“How are you doing?” I say.

“I’m so sad I can’t move,” he replies.

“Can you move your toes?”

“No.”

“That’s bad. I’ll have to carry you upstairs.” And, for now, I can still carry my great long-legged eight year old, and he rather enjoys it when I make groaning noises to show how heavy he is.

“Can you make it up the last two steps?” I say.

“Just about.”

Bit by bit, day by day, we practice our pot-making, bearing the things that seem unbearable, overloading with sadness and discovering that actually we can hold the load. This is not a fire drill. We are staying in the building. I am grateful for every day we get to practice.

I am still determined to do what I can to stay alive. But I believe that actually writing a blog like this, letting loss come to the party, inviting the thirteenth fairy, leaving the land whirring with spinning wheels, is my best chance at surviving. Not because my words will immortalise me, but literally, that my writing helps me keep on living, just right here, sitting on the bed, after another sleepless night, with the sun falling over my left hand typing this, and my right in shadow. So by all means wash your hands for twenty seconds, the current advice for the prevention of the spread of the Coronavirus, but as you do so, also for twenty seconds, ask yourself this: What helps you not just stay alive, but stay put in life? How do you hold it all? What useful pots do you have or are you making?

Mothers Who Make is itself meant to be a pot – a place for women who already hold a lot to come together and help hold one another. We have, in turn, put out a ‘pot’ to the world recently to ask for help in our work as we are currently unfunded. I’m busking here, online. If you like this blog and want to support me, and other MWM-ers, to sustain us in our pot-making, then please go here, and for £3 per month, become a ‘Matron Saint’ of our cause. And ultimately, for me, the cause is as grand and as simple as the need to practice holding everything - both life and the loss of it.

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juupajaa · 5 years ago

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🥀Suffering phase:

Ah man this is gonna suck. I hate this. Just feck everything about this stage. This is where it just turns so dark and brutal that there’s nothing that can make it work. I hope it’s at least informative and reaffirming. This might get heavy so read when you feel you’re ready.

So one day you wake up and go to engage in your disordered behaviour, but for some reason it didn’t really make you feel any special way. You don’t think too much of it yet. You try again later, but still you don’t get that good feeling from it. You do it again, and again, but it’s just not doing it for you anymore. I’m sorry to say this, but honeymoon is over.

Ok so here’s where eds and de split. I’m gonna go through de route first, since this is pretty much where de stops.

Some with disordered eating might recover right now. If your quality of life has improved, seeing your coping mechanism not work anymore can turn you back and make you run back to real life. For example, let’s say you started to use de to cope with pressure from school/work/hobbies. The pressure has now eased up and you don’t need to deal with it anymore. Your disordered eating isn’t needed and you can phase out of it in a short period of time and best case scenario, you never go back.

For other’s the situation hasn’t improved, they’re still at a bad place and can’t deal with the shit that’s going on in their life, so the disordered eating stays, despite it not helping anymore. Some might wallow in a state of not really getting worse or better, which can be extremely distressing since there is never any improvement or relief. Other’s might get into a cycle where their disordered eating perks up every now and then when they feel negative emotions, and sometimes is backs off and leaves when things get a bit easier for a while.

The thing about disordered eating is that it doesn’t solve your problem, so there might be pressure to try harder to engage in disordered behaviour, which can lead to your de turning into an ed. I’d like to point out that de is getting more and more common in western/modern society. Some things that probably have contributed to this are sugar addiction, high accessibility of already prepared food, and snacking instead of eating regular meals, but I didn’t check any of that so don’t take that as anything but my own ramblings. Here are some examples of what disordered eating is like and how to differentiate it from a full blown ed:

experiencing anxiety about food/nutrition/your body on the daily basis (eds have this too)

disordered behaviour, for example, restricting, purging, binging, obsessing over nutrition, other abnormal eating habits (eds have this too)

being able to take part in meals with others and act out normal behaviour most of the time, despite the extreme discomfort from the disordered thoughts (in eds, this ability is fading or completely removed)

being able to do things that go against your disordered thoughts most of the time, despite feeling extremely terrible about it (in eds, going against the disorder becomes near impossible)

being able to “switch it off” when needed, for example in order to keep it secret or to “take it easier for a bit” (in eds, there is no off switch, the disordered thoughts are constant and there’s no way around them)

being able to go on for long periods of time without really having that many disordered thoughts or without letting them bother you and hinder whatever you’re doing at the time (in eds, the disordered thoughts are intrusive, overwhelming, and they prevent you from doing unrelated things constantly)

I know this can be hard to hear for some, since the need and desire to get a full blown ed can be extremely strong. There’s no shame in that and I’ll tell you why. Your de isn’t helping you cope anymore and your life is overwhelming. Thanks to that bitch honeymoon phase, you know for a fact that this can help you feel better. The problem is however that it won’t help you, but you don’t have a lot of options, since you don’t know how to cope with your situation. The assumption is that you need to get even “better” at your thing in order to cope better again. It makes perfect sense, so don’t feel stupid for wanting for it to get even worse. For some it does, for other’s it don’t and we don’t know what exactly is that thing that makes the difference, but we all need help and new, better coping mechanisms, no matter if it’s de or a full blown ed we deal with. Disordered eating can be dangerous too and the discomfort alone is enough to start affecting you negatively. Further down I have written a list of stuff that you might experience from having disordered thoughts and engaging in disordered behaviour and a lot of what I will write about eds can ring familiar to you too. I’m not gonna talk more about disordered eating, but if you feel like you have it, I recommend looking more into it in order to understand it better.

So now let’s talk about eds. Ok so let’s say one day you get up to do something you were planning on doing, but suddenly you realize, you can’t do it. Your de prohibits you from doing something you wanted to do. And then it happens again. And again.

And AgAiN anD aGaiN.

You’re out of the honeymoon and your ed has fully formed. The difference between an ed and de is the frequency and intensity of your obsession with food/your body. It’s starting to take up hours upon hours of your day to do everything that your ed asks you to do and the pain, sacrifices, shame and guilt, are just barely worth the tiny bit of relief you get when you perform your disordered behaviour.

So by now some of you are getting malnourished. Now, being malnourished doesn’t mean you’re underweight, nor does it mean you haven’t eaten in two days. Being malnourished means you haven’t been getting proper nutrition in months. This can be because you don’t get enough calories in, you purge too much of your intake, or you are eating foods that don’t provide you with enough nutrition, such as eating only one or few things or not eating enough of something specific. You can be malnourished at any weight and you can be malnourished even if you eat multiple times a day or have some “good days” in between. Here’s what being malnourished might feel like:

You’re in a whole another world. It feels like other people aren’t even in the same universe as you

It can feel like everything’s a bit slow, even if days go by quickly, colours aren’t quite as bright as they used to be and sounds seem muted

Your work memory is so minimal that you’re having trouble getting through basic tasks without stopping to think about what you’re doing

You feel exhausted all the time, there’s no point in talking or doing anything, you just want to go lie down and even then you don’t feel like you’re resting

You’re either irritable or apathetic, rarely anything else

Even something as small as reaching for something feels like a task

You’re having trouble communicating your point to others and your point seems lost on yourself too

You’re having trouble following conversations and sometimes it feels like people are speaking gibberish and not real words at all.

Being malnourished is not fun, that I can tell you. It can sound similar to depression and those two usually go hand in hand. A lot of people with eds also have anxiety or depression and as we have already established earlier, other mental disorders play a part in your ed as well and equally, your ed might be making your other disorders worse.

Getting malnourished isn’t a requirement for an ed (or de) by no means and even if you aren’t malnourished, there are several physical symptoms you might get from the mere strain of having an ed (or de). Eds (and de) cause a lot of physical instability in your body, since your eating is disordered and you experience anxiety and stress over food/your body. Here are some physical symptoms you might experience from the continued stress alone (but trust me you probably are also malnourished):

digestive problems (constipation, diarrhea, bloating)

headaches, clenched teeth/tight jaw, neck and shoulder pains

hair loss, brittle nails, dry or irritated skin, dry mouth, bad breath despite dental hygiene

heart palpitations, a sudden sinking feeling in your chest

numbness in your limbs/shoulders, pain or weakness in your joints

excessive sweating, cold sweats, shaking/shivering for no apparent reason

irritability, fatigue, exhaustion, difficult to focus

insomnia or other sleep problems (too much, too little, not waking up feeling rested despite getting a good amount of hours in)

weakened immune system

So let’s talk about this stage itself, since we’ve been rambling about pretty much everything else. Suffering phase is pretty much what it sounds like. You’re just suffering. You’re not getting worse and worse and everything just kind of rots around you. You might be losing friends or hobbies, since your ed is making you avoid a lot of situations. You’re becoming isolated and you can’t really talk to anyone out of the fear they might intervene with your behaviour. Most of your day, if not every minute of it, is consumed by your ed and you have to keep on doing what you do, just to feel little less horrible. Here are some thoughts and feelings you might experience:

apathy over the loss of your other hobbies/interests/friends

increasing loneliness and isolation, yet you don’t want anyone to get close either

feelings of worthlessness, shame and guilt about yourself

disinterest in others, such as your friends, family, significant other

overwhelming and all-consuming disordered thoughts that get mixed into every situation, no matter if food is involved or not, making it impossible to focus on anything else most of the time

difficulty do handle anything unexpected or just mildly inconvenient without having to resort to your disordered behaviour for comfort

increasing fear, anxiety and discomfort

Suffering phase doesn’t have a time limit. It can go on forever. Some people die here, some keep coming back over and over again on endless repeat. Those with chronic eds stay here for years upon years. This is such a dark and miserable stage and while you’re in it, you might be so lost you don’t even realize to feel sadness for it. It can feel like there is no way out, there’s no way for you to ever recover, you don’t even want to recover, let alone try. I know it can feel like this is what you deserve and this is just how things are, but trust me, there is more stages to eds. It doesn’t have to end here.

The next stage is just around the corner, you just gotta start eyeing it. It is so hard to shake anyone out of this phase and we all know by now that the will to recover has to come from the inside. You’ve got to start hoping for something better. I know for a fact that you can still get a new start and there’s a reset button a little further down the road. Just please, start thinking about things you’d like to do. Places you’d like to go. People you’d like to meet and the person you want to be. Whatever these things are, think about them and try to get that spark of hope going.

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missmentelle · 6 years ago

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Hi! I just got fired from my job, which would probably have an impact on even healthy people but when combined with my bipolar disorder and an anxiety disorder, it's a lot. I feel stuck in two modes, either I go to sleep or I have to be doing something and if I'm not doing something I can feel the panic building. What steps should I take to get past this?

Hey, I’m really sorry to hear that you’re going through this! This is an extremely difficult situation for anyone to deal with, and you’re absolutely right that having two serious mental health conditions will make it even more challenging. There are a couple of things that you can be doing to try to get through this situation:

Keep in close communication with your mental health providers. Now is not the time to be coy with your psychiatrist or therapist about how you’re feeling. Be frank about your symptoms, routines and medication. Keep your prescriptions filled, take your medication, and be open to discussing the possibility of adjusting your medication to get you through this bleak period in your life if necessary. Bipolar disorder medication in particular can stop being effective when you’re under extreme stress, and that’s something to watch out for.

Maintain good physical health. Mental health is extremely responsive to physical health - bipolar disorder in particular - but it can be easy to neglect your physical health when you have a lot going on. Remember to try to eat, drink water, move and sleep. If you need to eat takeout or “easy” meals like cereal and sandwiches just to get some food into you, then that’s what you need to do.

Stick to a daily routine. As I’m sure you already know, a big part of managing bipolar disorder is sticking to a steady daily routine. Wake up at the same time in the mornings, eat at the same times every day, take your medicine at the same time, go to bed at the same time. Becoming unemployed can really mess up your daily rhythm and make it hard to have any kind of routine, but it’s really important that you try.

Lean on your support network. I know that a lot of people really try hard to be there for their friends and to take care of their friends, but now is the time to let your loved ones take care of you. Don’t be afraid to tell people what you need - whether it’s a shoulder to cry on, help scheduling a therapy appointment, a hot meal, assistance with your job search, or just reassurance that everything is gonna be okay. A lot of people aren’t sure how to support a friend who is going through a tough time, and it’s okay to spell out what you need in black and white terms.

Find helpful distractions. It’s okay to get a reprieve from your panic by escaping into a video game, movie, television show, book, podcast, or whatever else you enjoy. Just make sure to select something really engrossing that you’re highly interested in; a distraction only works if it’s so engaging that it prevents you from thinking about your problems. Mindless “background noise” isn’t going to cut it.

Pour yourself into a constructive project. If keeping busy is what gets you through the day, then be busy. And one of the best ways to be busy is to find something to do that is somehow constructive, or something that allows you to express your feelings. Dusting all the windowsills in the house to keep busy is going to get old quickly - try pouring yourself into something a little more positive, like learning an instrument or language, getting fit, starting a blog, taking up art, or anything else you’ve been wanting to do.

Install mental health apps on your phone. There are more of them out there than ever before, and many of them are free. These apps can help you manage anxiety and mood swings when you’re in a rough spot and don’t have access to therapy, and your phone is the one thing that most people tend to have on them at all times.

Try to view this as a temporary setback, rather than a failure. You can’t change what happened to you or the diagnoses you have, and you don’t have a lot of control over the way the situation played out - but what you do have control over is your perspective on the situation, and that’s more powerful than you think. Getting fired can feel like an intensely personal rejection, but it’s important to remember that there is much more to you than your ability to generate income. How you earn money is such an uninteresting part of life; it’s your friends, your talents, your strengths, your quirks, and your kindness that make you a complete human being. Remember that setbacks like these may be painful, but they are growing pains - these are things that you go through to come out stronger on the other side.

Always remember that you are much more than a performance review or a diagnosis or a shitty manager’s opinion of you - you are a whole person who is loved and cared for, and you will overcome this.

Best of luck to you!

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mentalillnessmouse · 6 years ago

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I'm pretty sure my brother is depressed. He is 15 and doesn't leave the house/his bedroom very often. He goes to school maybe once a week. He has always had mood problems since he was a little kid. The thing is, I think he has been depressed for so long that he doesn't realise how unusual his behavior is and how good he could feel if he got help. 1/3

Everyone in the family wants to help him (I have been through therapy before and am very open about that), but every time he is asked if he wants to see a doctor/therapist his reply is “I don’t know.” I understand if he doesn’t want to talk to his family members but he won’t even explain why he won’t speak to someone else! 2/3

His friends are great, but they are teen boys so I don’t think they talk about such issues very often and he only sees them at school. His grades are still high, even though he misses a lot of school. So do you have any advice for helping someone who is refusing treatment/helping to convince someone they need treatment? 3/3

Hey anon,

One thing to keep in mind is that something like going to therapy isn’t something that should be forced onto someone. Recovering from or managing mental health is a long process that requires the person to be ready to start doing a lot of tough work. I’m a bit hesitant to call his behavior “unusual” as doing such things is not uncommon with a variety of mental health issues. It is not healthy, however, to leave so infrequently and speak with people so little.

I’m happy to hear that you and your family are looking to support your brother! Having a support group is already something vital in getting into a better place mentally. I can understand the frustration you and your family may feel with your brother as you simply want the best for him, but understand that emotions and thoughts are complex for many people to sort through, especially once a person is in their teen years. It may truly be that he doesn’t know why he doesn’t want to go, but I think it would be best to respect his answer.

We have a lot of resources on our Helpful Resources Page that I hope begins to help you and your brother. If he is hesitant to go to a therapist or doctor, perhaps you could suggest our blog or send him some resources. Perhaps even gentle encouragement or offers to go walking outside with you or another family member or even engage in a new hobby together might help. At the very least, gentle reminders that you are there to support him and you want to see him live a good and happy life can go a long way.

Here are some resources for you:

Helping a friend

Want to help a friend with a mental illness or disorder? This post provides some great tips.

Want to help a friend or loved one with Social Anxiety? This post provides some great tips.

How to help a friend experiencing an anxiety or panic attack.

NAMI guide on helping a struggling friend

Helping a friend or family member

9 things not to say to someone with mental illness

Active Minds guide to helping a friend you’re worried about.

More tips on helping a friend

How to Confront a Friend (applies to both when you are concerned about them and when there is conflict in your relationship).

How to Help Those We Love is a video about learning to understand the way those we care about need our love to manifest itself, in order for it to feel real to them.

Depression, Dysthymia, and Depressive Symptoms

Help Guide, a site containing articles to help understand, help numbers, “tool kits”, and self help.

Mental Support Community, a forum to talk about regular unipolar forms of depression and how it affects your life.

Mental Help, a site that has basic information, resources, articles, and a list of books that might be helpful.

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

FacingUs Clubhouse Wellness Tracker, Wellness Book, Crisis Planning, Etc.

Mood Gym is an interactive website that allows you to learn cognitive behaviour therapy skills for preventing and coping with depression.

What is dysthymia? This is a submission from a follower explaining dysthymia.

What is the difference between dysthymia and major depression?

The black dog institute has some great resources for depression and bipolar disorder.

This is a link to a great workbook you can do to teach you about coping with depression.

Teen version of HelpGuide for depression

WebMD has some natural ways of coping with depression

You Feel Like Shit – An Interactive Self Care Guide is DepressionResource’s interactive website to cope with bad episodes and try to get you on your feet again.

Isolation

Common causes of loneliness and isolation

Why do you feel isolated?

How can you deal with it?

Depression + Loneliness

Coping with loneliness

10 Ways to battle loneliness

What is isolation?

Teen issues

Helping Teens: they address topics such as suicide, depression, sex, sexuality & pregnancy, self harm, rape & abuse, school & after school, bullies, relationships, family & friends, smoking, self esteem, religion & spirituality, general health, disorders & eating disorders, drugs & alcohol

Teen Advisor

Teen Issues

Emotions & Life

WebMD for teens

I hope these resources help address your main concerns with this scenario with your brother. If you’d like, you can show him this post or create a new document with these resources attached so he has something at his disposal if he chooses to use it.

I wish the best to you and your brother! I hope he finds even a spot of brightness in his days and that you and your family continue to support him to the best of your abilities without compromising your own health. Feel free to message us again anytime.

- Xan

#ask MIM #depression #Anonymous #answers

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hydrochlorothiazidewebsite · 6 years ago

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Benefits of Waist Training For a Sexy Hourglass Figure

Does Waist Training Work? This is another common question that we receive and the answer is always the same. It works if you work it. Your commitment directly determines the results you gain. As I always say, wearing a waist trainer for a couple of hours by itself will show results, but maintaining those results will be solely up to you. I always, always, recommend you use a waist trainer as a supplement to your fitness program. The results are miraculous if you do so. I cannot emphasize enough how resourceful waist training is if you include exercise and dieting. What is Your Recommendation and How do I get Started? Of course I would recommend waist training, but that is my personal opinion. I don’t know about you, but I like my organs the way they are. The truth of the matter is, it all depend on your goals. If your goal is to lose weight and have an hourglass silhouette then Waist Training is for you. If your goal is just to emphasize on your waist reduction, and if you like the sensation of your body being dramatically restricted then corset training is for you. To each their own. The fact is, they will both reduce your waistline; the only difference is the process. I will always stand by waist training as it personally worked for me and many of my friends My goal is to educate people as much as possible on the subject matter. So, if you do not like my depiction of corsets, I understand. However, my depiction is the truth and most of my articles always have evidence and resources to prove the point. It’s not like I’m writing randomly made up theories, these are actual facts. To get started, you first have to identify your goal. This will enable you to identify which garment is for you, and what you are looking to accomplish. Once you have your goal, you need to pick a quality garment of course. The chap route always sounds great, but quality garments show quality results. eBay and Amazon are great for getting cheap products, but not great for getting great results. Physical Benefits of Waist Training The numerous benefits of wearing corsets are what attract thousands of women to this classic invention. The results are instantaneous and evidence by simmer waistline upon wearing a corset and there are sought after long-term benefits to be expedited as well. You will improve your posture, sculpt our figure and prevent any injury. Still not convinced? Let’s check out a long list of amazing physical benefits today. • Did you know that wearing corsets could strengthen your back and help you with injuries you have experienced in the past? Yes, wearing corsets is beneficial in this aspect. It also prevents osteoporosis and other disorders such as fibromyalgia and arthritis. • By correcting postures, corsets help people with scoliosis manage better and make the back curve less pronounced. After a long time of wearing corsets, scoliosis patients can observe a significant difference in their body structure. A man with plantar fasciitis felt much relief from pressure after wearing corsets for a couple of months. • One great benefit of corsets is the reduction of headaches since people who wear corsets often are inclined to improve posture, which prevent the nerves from the spine to constrict. Communication of the spine and the brain becomes less obstructed which in turn cause fewer migraines. • We are stressing the importance of correct body posture in preventing lumbar injuries especially for people whose profession requires them to stand all day or do a lot of bending and lifting. Mechanics, nurses and carpenters experience back pains because of the nature of their work. When they wear corsets, it will gradually improve their physical support, which in turn will enhance their endurance. • Corsets have been known to help prevent the weakening of joints experienced by those who have connective tissue disorders. By wearing corsets and improving their posture, they are less likely to encounter dislocation of joints and other physically altering injuries. • Wearing waist trainers like corsets have marvelous benefits including helping singers with their vocal exercises. During concerts, they can come in handy because they help singers reach higher notes by adding pressure to the diaphragm. • Asthmatic people can benefit greatly from using corsets because proper posture improves the opening of the lungs, which allows breathing to be free and consistent. Ask your physician regarding this benefit before you do engage in waist training so that you will know if your body can handle it and if your health will be affected for the better. • A lot of women are thankful to corsets for alleviating the pain of menstrual cramps when they are on their period. It is quite a relief to them when they are in the office and not have to worry about experiencing pain while working. When wearing the corset, the framing puts pressure on the midsection including the peritoneal organs, which help with uterine contractions. This kind of pressure significantly relieves pain in the midsection area. • Since corsets add pressure on the abdomen and somewhat acts as a girdle, you can expect abdominal hernias to be prevented. It is best to consult your doctor before using corsets as a way of avoiding abdominal hernias from getting worse. Our bodies differ and you might not be allowed to do this in your situation. It depends on what your body can handle and your doctor can help you determine this. • Wearing corsets is not only preventive measure for injuries. It can also be an aid as a healing agent for abdominal injuries that are a lot worse especially the ones experienced after a car accident. The muscles in the abs region are strengthened on the external level, which in reality can stop them from collapsing. • For women who have given birth, there are special types of corsets that can be used to help with diastasis recti or what is commonly referred to as the separation of the muscles I the midsection which occur when pregnant women are in the late stages of gestation. As a safety precaution, you can inquire about this subject with you OB because he/she can better explain this in detail. • More than just he physical benefits of weight loss for people, wearing corsets can alter the psychological perception of people about their body. /when they wear corsets, they feel thinner which motivates them to use corsets often. The weight loss occurs when the corsets prevent the midsection fro getting bigger. People who wear corsets are less likely to over eat so the big picture will naturally show a much more in control person who experienced significant weight loss overtime. • People with ultra fast metabolic rate also have problems gaining the necessary weight in order to get an hourglass figure. They may experience disorders such as hyperthyroidism. If they just wear corsets for a specific period of time, they will be able to eat better and the weight gain can be targeted to specific areas in the body through the framing of the corsets. • It is not just celebrities who are looking at the great benefits of wearing corsets, so do athletes in different field of sports. Swimming coaches have encouraged their swimmers to wear waist trainers to they will have a better and more competitive form. Some swimmers who have already retired are also getting rid of their barrel chest through corset training. Athletes such as runners and body builders are noticing the benefits of wearing corsets on a regular basis an they have incorporated them in their warm up exercises as well. Most of the physical benefits of wearing corsets are on the health side and it is good to see a licensed health practitioner or your family doctor regarding these benefits. Corset training is a great innovation of human being s and with the proper guidance; it can give you benefits that may affect your entire life in a positive way.

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littlesystems · 7 years ago

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What are we even arguing about? A guide to controversial content.

So as the pedophilia-in-fandom battle rages on, I wanted to put together a scale of what the hell people are actually talking about. Because sometimes when people say “we need to protect children” they mean prevent CP, and sometimes they mean any sexual content at all.

So! I’m going to give it my best shot with giving a numerical scale to reference, rather than ~pedophilia versus ~censorship because I feel like this conversation is 80% miscommunication and 20% just plain mean-spiritedness on both sides of the table. I am using “fandom” to include fan fiction, fan art, and discussions/headcanons/RP/whatever else.

These are the various angles and desired outcomes that people are arguing, as I’ve seen:

1. Fandom ceases to exist beyond conventions and more socially appropriate “fans” - i.e. your typical dude who likes Star Wars. Fanart is sometimes acceptable outside of shipping, and any fic that exists should be Gen.

2. All fandom should be a safe space for children of all ages, regardless of the rating of the source material. Children of any age might be on Tumblr or AO3, and some of those children may have lied about their age, disabled safe search, and may even seek out adult content. Therefore, all fandom participation needs to be rated G and safe for any children, as that’s the only way to ensure children don’t see adult content. Anything less than this is abuse.

3. Fanworks can have some sexual content, but only that which portrays healthy relationships, practices safe sex, has adult characters within 3 years of each others’ ages, and can be held up as a role model for teens. Characters cannot be “aged up” if they were originally minors. Minors should not seek out any adult material, but because adults cannot prevent that entirely, the next best thing is to only have content available that teaches good life lessons.

4. Dark content is allowed, but only when it is non-graphic and not romanticized. For example, if a character is raped: the act happens off screen, from an unambiguously evil character, and the victim behaves in an acceptable “model victim” way. Subjects such as mental illness, eating disorders, abusive relationship, etc. are all given proper gravitas and everyone involved clearly fits the paradigm of either victim or perpetrator. Characters with sexual content must be over 18, and there cannot be an age gap larger than 3 years between sexual partners. Additionally, everything must be age-appropriate for the media’s intended audience, e.g. adult content cannot be made of adult characters on a children’s TV show.

5. Dark subjects are allowed to be shown, so long as the situation is unambiguously depicted as bad. A rape scene can be written, but only if it’s not titillating and the perpetrator is clearly evil. Sex scenes can be slightly kinky but should still be healthy; one night stands, breakdowns in communication, and dubious consent like sex pollen should be used sparingly, and also portrayed as bad/damaging. Teenage characters 16+ can be written about sexually, but only if done tastefully and following consent laws where the story takes place (e.g. if the characters live in California then the story follows statutory rape laws for that state), all teenage sex must be healthy and unproblematic, and all teenage sex must be created by teenagers themselves (i.e. a 25 year old cannot create teenage content). The only time dark content can be titillating is if a victim writes about the subject, in which case the creator can be expected to divulge that they were really raped/abused, and the work is stated to be for therapeutic purposes.

6. Dark content is accepted (grudgingly) because trying to determine who is enough of a victim to write something will often do more harm than good, and the desire to not hurt real people outweighs the desire to keep fandom pure. Sexual content of teen (16+) characters can’t be “gross”; age differences between characters can be greater than 5 years as long as it’s not a teenager with an adult; consensual adult incest is allowed (grudgingly), like in GoT, but only within the same generation/characters of similar ages; sexual content of adult characters in children’s media can’t be “gross,” shouldn’t be searchable by children, and may be banned on a case-by-case basis.

7. Most content is allowed, without condemning or condoning. Any graphic sexual content of characters 15 or under is banned with no exceptions.

8. Anything that is not actively illegal is permitted - currently AO3’s rules, and maybe also Tumblr to a lesser extent - provided that certain content warnings are included (AO3 has Archive Warnings, Tumblr has flagged NSFW). As these sites are hosted in the USA they are subject to American law, and content creators from other countries will also have to abide by the laws of their country regarding written or illustrated content.

______(floor of common decency)______

9. Anything goes, any time, anywhere. Tagging/warnings are unnecessary, and if minors don’t want to come across disturbing content then they can get off the internet. It’s fine to talk about sex/RP with very young people on the internet, and anyone who disagrees is a prude.

10. People who have actual photos/videos of real CP; actual child molesters.

These are obviously loose boundaries and I tried to group like-minded ideas together, but these are all angles I have seen people arguing from in the past few months (except for #10, though they definitely exist).

I am happy to engage with anyone who wants to argue any point of this list (except for #10, please go die), but I am Tired of people saying “bad content is bad and if you disagree then you’re a pedophile!” when I legitimately don’t know where they’re arguing from. Someone can say “I want to make fandom safe for children” and they could mean #2 or #7. Sometimes people argue in bad faith (if you disagree with my #4 then you’re a #10! If you disagree with my #9 then you’re a #1!!) but as a community we have got to stop talking past each other and start talking with each other.

I doubt this will get enough widespread dissemination to be generally used, but literally anyone having these discussions are welcome to link to this list as a reference point.

#the discourse #I just want these discussions to be coherent

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paleorecipecookbook · 6 years ago

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How Working with a Health Coach Can Help You Fight Chronic Disease

If you or a loved one are not already facing a chronic disease, the statistics, sadly, indicate that you have a very high chance of dealing with it sooner than you think. And conventional medicine is not going to be of much help. The conventional medical paradigm is out of date. The methods of delivering care don’t work for complex, multi-symptom chronic conditions. And, more importantly, they are not equipped to help you make the actual diet and lifestyle changes you must make if you want to regain your health.

What you may not know is that there’s a behavior change expert who’s uniquely positioned to help you make the changes necessary to prevent and reverse chronic disease: the health coach.

Health coaches fill a void by offering more intensive, client-centered care. They’re masters at helping patients break bad habits and form new, healthy behaviors.

If you’re looking to make a major change to your diet, exercise routine, or lifestyle, working with a health coach can help you set realistic goals and take the steps necessary to meet them. Keep reading to find out how these change agents can help you fight chronic disease—or prevent it from developing in the first place.

Why You Should Care about Chronic Disease Right Now

Now, more than ever, we need help stopping the spread of chronic illness. As I discuss in my book Unconventional Medicine, this problem has become an epidemic, and it’s only getting worse.

In the United States, seven out of every 10 deaths happen due to chronic disease. (1) One in two Americans is currently suffering from a chronic condition; one in four has several chronic illnesses. (2)

Unfortunately, the epidemic isn’t just limited to adults. One quarter of all American children have a chronic disease. (3) By 2030, the cost of treating obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic illnesses is projected to reach $47 trillion. (4)

Looking to lose weight? Improve your diet? Manage your stress? A health coach can help you achieve these goals—and more. Read this article to learn more about how working with a health coach can make difficult changes easier and supercharge your chances for success.

The good news is, it doesn’t have to be this way. We all have the ability to fight chronic disease and reverse serious illnesses—and health coaches can help.

Can You Prevent and Reverse Chronic Disease?

As I’ve said before, your genes aren’t your destiny. According to the CDC, genetics are only responsible for about 15 percent of diseases. (5) The rest are determined by external factors, like our:

Parents’ health at the time of conception

Social interactions and relationships

Diets

Environment

Lifestyle choices and daily habits

In fact, 85 percent of chronic diseases can be attributed to factors other than genetics. (6) Unmitigated stress alone has the power to negatively impact every part of your health, which is why learning to manage it is so essential.

You have the power to take your health into your own hands. Just by changing your daily habits, you can reverse or prevent chronic disease.

The Top Five Habits for Preventing Chronic Disease

According to the CDC, the five most important behaviors to prevent chronic illness are: (7)

Not smoking

Exercising regularly

Drinking moderately—or not at all

Maintaining a healthy body weight

Getting more sleep

And, as of 2013, only 6.5 percent of Americans follow all five of these habits. That could explain why we’re seeing such a meteoric rise in chronic illnesses.

Those who do follow healthy behaviors see incredible results. According to a 2018 study, participants who adhered to five low-risk lifestyle choices lived longer than those who didn’t. (8) In fact, the projected life expectancy for men at age 50 was 12.2 years longer for participants who followed all five habits than it was for those who didn’t follow any. For women, that number jumped to 14 years.

In this case, researchers defined healthy living as:

Never smoking

Engaging in at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise every day

Maintaining a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2

Eating a quality diet

Moderating alcohol intake

While study participants who followed all five of these habits gained more than a decade to their lives, researchers noted that, for the people who didn’t follow any of these habits, the rate of all-cause mortality jumped almost 61 percent.

You Can Change Your Habits—and a Health Coach Can Help

So now that you know what the stakes are, it’s time to start changing your lifestyle. But, as you might guess, shifting long-held habits isn’t easy.

Not to worry. This is where a health coach can shine.

Here’s How a Health Coach Helped One Man Lose Weight, Fix His Blood Sugar, and Drop Seven of Eight Prescriptions

At the California Center for Functional Medicine, I’ve seen our health coach inspire people, help them make changes, and improve their lives.

I watched one patient, Ryan, overcome multiple health problems with the assistance of a coach, as well as the rest of our collaborative care team. He started out 40 pounds overweight, pre-diabetic, asthmatic, and suffering from insomnia and sleep apnea. He was experiencing atopic dermatitis—complete with itchy, painful rashes—and ulcerative colitis. When he first walked through our doors, he was taking eight different medications regularly and turning to an inhaler and pain medicine when needed.

Ryan needed help.

Together, we got Ryan to follow a nutrient-dense, whole-foods diet and encouraged him to embrace stress management techniques. As you can imagine, these were big changes for him. He worked closely with our health coach to break each new step down into a manageable chunk he could handle. He got the chance to talk in-depth about the issues he faced and got clear advice on how to make effective, lasting lifestyle changes.

In just three months, Ryan lost 30 pounds, fixed his blood sugar levels, dropped seven of the eight medications he was taking, and left his inhaler and pain medicine behind. Working with a health coach truly helped him get better, and I’m convinced it can work for you, too.

A Health Coach Can Help You with Weight Loss

Multiple studies have shown that habit-based coaching leads to better results with weight loss.

In one study, participants who underwent habit-based weight-loss interventions showed more “clinically important” weight loss over their counterparts. (9) They also maintained that weight loss for up to 12 months afterward. Researchers also noted some other positive outcomes, like:

More fruit and vegetable consumption

More exercise

Better well-being

Less depression and anxiety

Better habit strength

More openness to change

In another study, researchers studied 271 obese individuals over the course of two years. (10) They found that the people who participated in a coaching program focused on weight loss saw a 7 percent weight loss on average after 12 months. After 24 months, that number dropped only slightly. Health coaching clients were more likely to have lost at least 5 percent of their initial body weight up to 24 months after completing the program.

Do You Have Diabetes? A Health Coach Might Be Able to Help You Reverse It

As you know, obesity and diabetes go hand-in-hand. In fact, one of the key steps to preventing or reversing type 2 diabetes is to change your diet. Coaches are in a perfect position to help encourage the diet and lifestyle changes necessary to reverse this condition.

In one study, researchers looked at the impact coaching sessions had on diabetic patients in a lower-socioeconomic status community. (11) They focused on the six-month program’s effectiveness at encouraging manageable change—without becoming prohibitively expensive for patients.

Their results are encouraging. They found that while both groups were able to reduce their blood sugar levels, the participants who met with a coach saw quicker results after just three months. Patients who went through the coaching program also showed significant weight loss and major decreases in waist circumference. Both groups reported:

Better moods

More satisfaction with their lives

Higher quality of life

Improving Your Heart Health with the Help of a Health Coach

Researchers in one study decided to test whether dietitians and nurses could coach patients with coronary heart disease to lower their total cholesterol and reduce other cardiovascular risk factors. (12) The dietitians and nurses in the programs were not allowed to prescribe medication. Instead, they coached patients on:

Their specific cardiovascular risks

What their health targets should be

How to pursue their personal targets and reduce their risks

After six months, researchers found that the change in total cholesterol levels for participants of the coaching program was significantly greater than the study’s other patients. Coaching program participants saw a change in total cholesterol of 21 mg/dL; for the study’s other participants, that number dropped to just 7 mg/dL.

As I’ve talked about on my blog, statins aren't always effective. Prescribing drugs first instead of encouraging diet and lifestyle changes is a particularly insidious effect of the diet–heart myth that I see conventional medical practitioners turn to frequently. It’s encouraging to see data support a statin-free approach to improving heart health and lowering cardiovascular risks.

They Can Boost Your Overall Quality of Life

Aside from treating specific health problems, coaching can help you improve your general well-being. In one study, researchers implemented a self-management program for nursing home residents. (13) After an eight-week program consisting of group and individual coaching sessions, residents showed:

Less health distress

Less depression

Better quality of life

Improved self-efficacy, or the belief that they were able to achieve their goals

Regardless of whether you have a chronic disease, or you just know it’s time to make some hard adjustments to your day-to-day life, the hands-on, patient-focused approach a coach will take can help you make changes that stick.

Coaches Are Your Key to Making Long-Term Changes

As I mentioned in several of the studies above, the changes that patients make when they’re working with a health coach tend to last. In one study, researchers found that patients who underwent health coaching were better able to control their diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia up to one year after the fact. (14) During the course of the study, coaches:

Answered questions and went over medication information prior to doctor appointments

Brought patients to their clinic visits and stayed with them during exams

Reviewed care plans after appointments

Answered questions over the phone between doctor appointments

It’s precisely that hands-on approach that makes coaching so effective.

They’re Going Mainstream

As more studies reveal that health coaches are effective at delivering treatment, more big-name medical facilities are taking notice. Patients at Iora Health and the Cleveland Clinic can work directly with coaches as part of their treatment. Prestigious medical institutions like Duke Integrative Medicine and the Mayo Clinic now have training programs for health coaches.

My own program, the ADAPT Health Coach Training Program, is in the process of training over 300 people into new, fulfilling careers. We’re training and certifying coaches, so they can start helping patients like you commit to big changes.

What Health Coaches Do

Coaches are highly trained experts on human behavior, motivation, and health, and they embrace a variety of theoretical models to help guide their clients through change. In the ADAPT Health Coach Training Program, for example, students learn about the Transtheoretical Model, which includes the Stages of Change. This model recognizes that people move through a series of stages when modifying behavior, and that coaching them successfully requires a different approach at each stage.

Our coaches also embrace positive psychology and character strengths. That means they focus their attention on what each client does well and build on those strengths. A coach who has been trained in positive psychology can help you imagine what success would look like—and then help you set the goals you need to get there. In most cases, this is a far more effective approach than trying to fix what is broken or not working well, which is the goal of many traditional methods of behavior change.

Health coaches are also skilled at supporting their clients when change is difficult. They use methods like Motivational Interviewing, which helps people to discover their own motivation and strategies for change and overcome ambivalence.

Coaches don’t follow the typical “expert” model that’s so common in healthcare. Instead of issuing a diagnosis, your coach will work closely with you to:

Understand your current condition

Help flesh out exactly what you want to get out of the coaching interaction

Ask powerful questions to help you gain insights into how you can achieve change

Assist in the creation of goals that are doable

Hold you accountable

Finally, our health coaches are trained extensively in habit formation and reversal. This is crucial, since research shows that most of the actions we take each day are not conscious—they’re habitual. Using strategies like “shrinking the change” and mapping out the “habit loop,” coaches give you the tools you need to break bad habits and build healthy behaviors.

Together with Functional Medicine practitioners, nutritionists, and other allied health providers, coaches are an essential part of the collaborative medicine model.

The Role a Coach Can Play in Your Life

The top focus for any coach is you, the client. They’re equipped to answer your specific needs when asked, help you through your personal rough spots, and provide whatever encouragement will help you reach the next step in your wellness journey. Many coaches offer individual and group sessions, so you can choose a format that best works for you and your budget.

Above all else, your coach is your advocate and your ally. Their goal will always be offering you the personal support you need to improve your health.

They Help You Take the Steps Your Clinician Orders

Coaches are an essential part of implementing the treatment plan your doctor or healthcare practitioner gives you. While practitioners excel at ordering testing, diagnosing, and prescribing treatment, they often don’t have enough time to fully explain every detail to each patient. And, as doctor appointments get shorter and shorter—the average time you spend in front of a practitioner is between 10 and 12 minutes—it becomes even less likely that you’ll get anything more than general instructions after an exam. (15)

A health coach can take the time to explain your test results to you, or they can come up with concrete, actionable steps you can take to implement your doctor’s directions. If your doctor tells you it’s time to lose weight, your health coach can support you in creating a diet plan and exercise regime to help you succeed.

They’re Accessible to You

Coaches are also available for regular check-ins. If you’re having trouble sticking to a change or you’re experiencing some unexpected side effects, you don’t have to wait another two or three months to see your doctor. You can speak to your coach or follow up during your regular appointment.

You can also expect your coaching appointment to last longer than 10 to 12 minutes and, in most cases, each visit costs a fraction of what a trip to the doctor’s office would cost—especially if you factor in the astronomical cost of treating chronic illness over a lifetime.

They’re Necessary for All of Us

Coaches need to be a part of the national healthcare landscape, but not just because of the specialized services they’re able to offer. By 2025, we’ll be facing a projected shortage of 52,000 primary care physicians. (16) Problems like long wait times, infrequent appointments, and short office exams will all get worse as our population ages. I predict that coaches will play an even larger role in the years to come.

Do You Need a Coach?

If you currently have a chronic disease and you need help implementing the lifestyle changes your doctor prescribed, you should consider working with a health coach. As I mentioned, coaches can have a huge impact on patients looking to reverse obesity, diabetes, or heart disease. Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and other gastrointestinal problems could also find success by working with a coach.

Coaches are also a great resource for people who want to prevent an illness before it becomes a major problem. This could apply to people who:

Are overweight and/or have metabolic issues like pre-diabetes and mild hypertension

Have early signs of cognitive decline

Are having trouble sleeping or managing stress

You don’t need to wait until a chronic illness develops to seek the help of a coach. If you’re contemplating any change and you’re unsure of where to start, a coach can help. Whether you’re beginning an exercise program, trying to leave behind the Standard American Diet, or thinking of taking up meditation, a health coach can help you reach your goals.

What to Expect When You Start Working with a Health Coach

When it’s time for your first appointment, I recommend you show up ready to share. Coaches work by building relationships with their clients. You’ll sit down one-on-one and engage in a frank discussion about your health, and your coach will ask some personal questions. The more honest your answers are, the better they’ll be able to help you, so don’t hold back.

Remember to take the opportunity to get to know the person across from you. It’s important that you feel comfortable talking about anything, and you should feel a rapport develop during your conversation. Keep an eye out for someone who knows when to listen, and when—and how—to step in with guidance.

And, of course, I recommend finding someone with a background in Functional Medicine and ancestral health. Someone who’s focused on these ideas will give you the best chance of reversing your chronic disease and improving your health.

Are you considering working with a health coach? What issue are you trying to solve, and what steps are you going to take next? Let me know below in the comments.

The post How Working with a Health Coach Can Help You Fight Chronic Disease appeared first on Chris Kresser.

Source: http://chriskresser.com October 02, 2018 at 10:32PM

#paleo #recipe #food #delicious #healthy #yum #diet

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filagrafxtplus · 3 years ago

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Get Past Your Sexual Troubles

Battle Your Inner Demons And Welcome Intimacy Back

The fundamental of any relationship is the extent to which you both understand each other. Good communication is the key here, which helps you two to establish a positive emotional connection wherein you feel safe and comfortable. When it comes to sex, it is an extension of any relationship that requires input from time to time from both partners. Intimacy is all about giving and receiving mutual support and providing a safe space for each other.

But most men suffering due to erectile dysfunction might avoid getting intimate and even hide their condition from their partner. Remember, when people stop communicating well, they stop relating well, and being reluctant to address this issue due to shame or embarrassment can exacerbate your situation even more. It in turn results in sexually distressed relationships. You must learn to overcome your inner demons by refraining from derogatory opinions about sexual dysfunction. Know that it is a common problem among men of all ages that is treatable to a great extent. You may consider using ED medications such as Generic Cialis 2.5mg which works on mild degrees of erectile disorders. Have a discussion with your partner and make them aware of such treatment methods that you can employ for enhancing your sexual experience. Generic Cialis 2.5mg exhibits desired outcomes only in the presence of sexual arousal thus sexual stimulation is a necessity for the medicine to show its effects.

How Often You Should Get Intimate?

The frequency of sexual activity relies on what the couple in the relationship decides works best for them. Everyone has their own baseline of what is the normal number of times, and it gets intimately suitable to them because it varies from one individual to another. This can range from no sexual activity at all to a few times a day, week, or year according to their sexual needs. The point here is, that when it comes to good sex life, quality is far more important than quantity and Generic Cialis 2.5mg can help you big time in improving your sexual function. A problem like erectile dysfunction is a result of insufficient flow of blood to the penile which degrades the quality of erections. However, the medicine instigates a proper blood flow to the penile for triggering a stronger erection and it can be taken as and when you decide to get intimate. Make sure you maintain a gap of 24 hours between two consecutive doses.

Some Alternative Methods

You might as well consider several other options such as constriction rings (cock rings), vacuum devices, herbal methods, and surgical implants. You can also opt for aromatherapy techniques using essential oils to relieve symptoms of erectile dysfunction due to psychological factors. External stimulants like herbal supplements or vitamins can also show some effects but the treatment effectiveness using ED medications remains unmatched.

Look After Yourself

Treatment methods yield temporary outcomes. For lasting benefits, it is necessary to engage yourself in some sort of physical activity regularly. Routine exercising boosts the oxygen content in your blood and prevents you from multitudes of physiological disorders like obesity, diabetes, etc. Hence, adopting some healthy lifestyle habits like healthy eating or drinking, regular exercising, spending quality time with your partner, and managing work-life balance is extremely beneficial for healthy sexual function and ultimately your overall well-being.

#Generic Cialis 2.5mg

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jaime-leeunsw-blog · 6 years ago

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Mental Health and Mindfulness Activity Research

With us deciding which activities we will be holding in our festival, I decided to do some research on how the activities we brainstormed are used to help with relieving and reducing anxiety and stress (which is very common amongst our target group: students) as well as general mental health.

Meditation:

Standard medical treatments for anxiety are anti-anxiety medications, cognitive behavioral therapy, or a combination of both.

Anxiety disorders affect about 40 million Americans.

Therapy is time-consuming and expensive.

Anti-anxiety medications work fast, but are some of the most addictive substances around and are not intended for long-term use.

Latest research shows that meditation works as well as commonly prescribed anti-anxiety medications!

A regular meditation practice not only can reduce anxiety symptoms, it also can reverse the damage caused by anxiety.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University sifted through over 18,000 mindfulness meditation studies to determine its most effective uses. They concluded that the number one use for meditation was anxiety relief.

Other studies support that meditation benefits mental disorders of all kinds including generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, binge eating disorder, bipolar disorder and addictions.

Meditation can reduce rumination, even in those with lifelong mood disorders

Meditation Balances Brain Chemicals

Meditation increases the level of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter essential for feeling happy and relaxed.

Feeling anxious, easily overstimulated, and overwhelmed are common signs that you might be low in GABA.

Meditation can lift your mood by increasing levels of serotonin, another neurotransmitter vital to happiness.

Meditation also reduces cortisol, a stress hormone that, in excess, significantly contributes to anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and memory loss.

The brains of people who regularly meditate show measurable increases in the amount of gray matter, the volume of the hippocampus, and the thickness of the cortex.

Conversely, the size of the amygdala, the area of the brain region associated with fear, anxiety and stress, decreases and becomes less reactive.

Meditation increases blood flow to the brain, improves neural connections between various areas of the brain, and enhances neuroplasticity.

Painting and Drawing:

Shawn McNiff writes in Art Heals: How Creativity Cures the Soul "healing through art is one of the oldest cultural practices in every region of the world," and "Art adapts to every conceivable problem and lends its transformative, insightful, and experience-heightening powers to people in need."

Art therapy is a distinct field and art therapists are trained and educated in both art and psychology

Making art enables you to feel and express gratitude by helping you to observe and see beauty where others may not. It also gives you an outlet for expressing some of your anger and frustration, as well as your personal political and world views.

Art can help you discern feelings and express thoughts that are difficult to articulate. Engaging with the arts and creating something is a way of engaging with and being in relationship with yourself, helping you to know yourself better. The process of creating art opens channels of communication beyond those of the purely verbal, dissolving barriers caused by words or our own internal censors, helping us to see ourselves, and others, more fully and clearly. In so doing it connects us more deeply to ourselves and to each other. If you are working in class with other people the atmosphere becomes one in which there is a mutual give and take of ideas, and a spirit of generosity. The creative process helps to create new relationships and foster existing ones in a positive productive environment.

Therapeutic Photography:

Therapeutic photography involves taking, analyzing and using photos for the purpose of personal healing, growth, or understanding, whether done consciously or unconsciously. By actively constructing, exploring and reflecting on photographs by pairing it with creative writing, you are able to learn more about yourself and how you see the world.

Photography can be a form of mindfulness (or present state awareness), similar to meditation, which is proven to help people suffering from depression and anxiety. Often when you’re taking photos, you can find yourself in “flow”, which brings many health benefits similar to meditation like calming the mind and providing relief from stress.

By creating photos that you are proud of, you can start to build self-esteem. Similarly, sharing your photographs and getting positive feedback from others can help you continue to build confidence and become empowered, which can help you become more comfortable expressing your opinion, thoughts, and story with others. A 2014 study found that those who took part in creating visual art had a significant increase in psychological resiliency. The neurotransmitter dopamine can be increased through this process, which can be lacking in those suffering from depression and has been found to immediately start to help prevent depressive-like behaviours.

A person’s perspective on themselves and the world can be gradually explored and changed through the process of taking photographs, analyzing them and discussing with others. Neuroplasticity tells us that our brain has the ability to change constantly throughout our lives and grow new connections.

People are using therapeutic photography techniques to help themselves and others overcome depression, anxiety, chronic pain and much more.

Zentangle Art:

Zentangle is known to many artists and craftivistas as a way to create structured designs through drawing various patterns. Basically, it’s a specific way to draw images, most often in black pen on white paper.

Zentangle has become an international phenomenon that now has applications in stress reduction, education, therapy and even motivational training.

Zentangle itself may be relatively new, but the basic principles involved are as old as the history of art.

It includes ritual [a core practice in ancient and contemporary arts] and mirrors the symbols, designs and patterns of numerous cultures [Mayan, Maori, Celtic, and American Indian, for example] from ancient through present times. And like “doodling” it is based on a human behavior in which one refrains from planning and allows lines and shapes to unintentionally emerge.

It Teaches How to Own Mistakes: Using a pen on paper requires that you risk making mistakes; in fact, most tangle art has at least some misplaced lines which cannot be erased. Tangling teaches you how to incorporate what seem like “mistakes” into the overall pattern of the design. It’s a great metaphor for everyday life—nothing is ever perfect, but how you adjust to imperfections [mistakes or the unexpected] in life is what really matters.

It Reinforces “Aimlessness.”: Many Zentangle enthusiasts highlight the tangle doodle process as a form of mindfulness. I like to think of tangling as a form of "creative aimlessness." Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh observes that we need to cultivate aimlessness in life rather than continually striving to be “number one.” Zentangle teaches us not to rush and to take good care of ourselves in the present moment—after all, the present moment is all there is.

It’s Self-Soothing: Repetitive creative work, in and of itself, can be calming and self-soothing. In fact, some of the preliminary research on the Zentangle process indicates that engagement in the process has measurable relaxation benefits. This is particularly true if you accept this process as one with no expected outcome other than the enjoyment of putting the pen to paper and staying open to whatever emerges.

It’s Simple: Zentangle art only requires a black pen and paper; you can do it just about anywhere.

Henna Hand Tattoo:

Henna, or Mehndi, is an evergreen plant. A member of the Loosestrife family, henna originally comes from Egypt, a country that is still one of the main suppliers of the plant. The henna plant typically grows in the drier climates of India, Northern Africa, and the Middle East.

The red-ish brown dye is made by crushing the dried leaves and then mixing the fine powder with other natural and acidic ingredients such as eucalyptus oil, lemon juice, or black tea.

Perhaps Henna's most well observed quality is it's natural cooling effect, which offers a delightful tingling sensation to the skin (similar to chewing spearmint gum and drinking cold water). Once this property was discovered, people of the desert, used henna to cool down their bodies. By making a henna paste and smearing it on themselves, they achieved an air conditioning effect.

Weaving Therapy:

Experts refer to the Relaxation Response: The rhythmic repetitive movements seem to put us in the present moment, quietening our minds that are so often full of busyness and distractions, and research shows that these repetitive movements have a powerful calming effect – both from our hands moving as well as the motion of moving our eyes from side to side.

Knitting involves a complex, bilateral and co-ordinated pattern of movements and it uses up a lot of brain capacity, which means the brain has less capacity to pay attention to other issues, so it’s a good distracting technique for people with chronic pain. And the repetitive movement involved in knitting enhances the release of serotonin, which can help people to feel calmer and happier. The rhythmic nature of the movements is calming and leads to a meditative-like state.

Besides the many physical health benefits, such as being a pain and stress reliever, knitting also connects you to a social circle and community of fellow knitters, and this is especially important in those who feel isolated, depressed, and lonely.

“Knitters produce objects that people enjoy. And knitters will tell you that just stroking their yarn cheers them up,” says a knitting devotee.

Knitting and crocheting is the one daily therapy and relaxation tool you can take anywhere with you – you get peace of mind…and a fabulous scarf!

#adad1002 #assessment3

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matildainmotion · 5 years ago

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Labels: Liability or Liberation? Or, into what would you change in a metamorphosis machine?

As a child, at grown up parties, I used to resent being paired up with another child, purely on the basis of sharing their age and gender: “Oh, my little girl is 7 too! How lovely. Off you go and play. I’m sure you’ll get on.” My best friend at 7 was a 2 year old boy who lived opposite us, so even back then I felt the absurdity of this logic and wanted to retort: “My mother has just turned 40. I hope you are in your forties too, otherwise I don’t suspect you’ll have much in common.” I was reminded of this problem when I first became a mother. I dutifully went along to the mother and baby groups where I was meant to find friendship and support. I didn’t. We were meant to connect because we all had newborns. Sometimes it works – I have heard others tell of lifelong friendships formed at an NCT groups – but as often as this I have heard women describe coming away from such groups feeling isolated and depressed. The very thing that is meant to join us can divide, because our experiences of motherhood are so different and so diverse.

Motherhood is huge. Being a mother is as immense a category as being a girl or being aged 7. One of the Mothers Who Make principles is that ‘every kind of mother is welcome’ – breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, adoptive, surrogate, step, new, grand, bereaved. Right from conception onwards the range of experiences that live under the label of ‘mother’ is mind-boggling and heart-wrenching, everything from the suicidal to the ecstatic to the mundane. However, this momentous range of different stories is not just down to the mothers. There is also the question of who turns up - who happens to land in your lap under the category of ‘child.’

Up on the walls of both the rooms in which our children were born, my husband and I put up a set of principles from Open Space, a format we use to hold creative, self-organising conferences. They are useful principles not only for holding a meeting, but for life. The first of these is: Whoever comes are the right people. In the context of my labour this meant that whoever made it into the room – my husband, midwives, doulas, granny- were the right people to be there. It also meant that whoever came out of me would be the right baby. Why? Because that is who turned up. I have been thinking of this recently in relation to my son. I am holding fiercely on to the belief that he was the right person to show up in the world 7 years ago because I have been confronted with the idea that there is something wrong with him.

To label or not to label? That is the question. Do labels limit or liberate? My son has been referred, via his school, to a child development centre. I had to give my permission for this to happen. I said yes, and then worried about what I had done, because I imagine we will come out of the process with a label for him, a new name for who or how he is. Most of the labels involved are awkward mouthfuls and so they are reduced to acronyms that take on a kind of magical power of their own: ADHD, ADD, HFA, ASD, SCD (For the uninitiated into this particular magical cult, these stand for things like Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity Disorder, High Functioning Autism, Social Communication Disorder). At the start of the summer I played a silent game of trying the labels out as I watched him, sprawled on the floor amidst hundreds of comics, or hopping up and down, biting his fingers, narrating another epic tale from his latest fictional world, or snarling at me if I interrupted him to try to get him to eat. Ever since he was 2 he has gone from one ‘world’ to another. Each world is inspired by a comic, book or film, but he is not a passive consumer. Instead he takes each set of characters and makes up his own stories with them, tales that usually involve social misfits and tricksters, sickness and sadness, best laid plans and terrible defeats. Whilst the themes recur, the worlds themselves are impressively eclectic: The Octonauts; Thomas the Tank Engine; Lightning McQueen; The Beatles; Star Wars; My Little Pony – to name but a few. Until this summer I have seen my son’s relentless story-telling, sudden aggression, wide-awake-till-midnight tension, as being ‘just who he is’ – the amazing boy that turned up in my lap. This summer, as I played my ‘labelling’ game, I remembered the process of naming him - we had to do it fast to get him his passport and it struck me as an extraordinary power to have, the power to name this raw, red little baby, to give him a word by which he would be known for the rest of his life. I remembered as I child how I used to repeat my own name over and over until it emptied of meaning, was only a sound and no longer me, and then I didn’t know who I was anymore, and it felt weird and dangerous.

But names can useful. Labels too. They can make it easier to balance, to connect and communicate, depending of course on what they are and within which societal context they exist. When I fill in a form I put down my name, that I am female, 45, married, British, a mother. These are, mostly, very privileged boxes to be able to tick. There is no correlation between the size of the box - big enough for a tick or a cross and no more - and the immensity of the categories each contain. I do not identify with all mothers, all 45 year olds, or all women, but the labels can be a handy, albeit crude shorthand. For sure we need a box for non-binary people too, and other marginalised groups, but that is a request for more boxes, not less. By the end of July I had decided that I should not dismiss all boxes as bad and that having a label for how my son is could make some of his interactions with the world easier.

I thought I would test out the label out loud. We have not yet received a diagnosis but I thought I’d pretend that we had. When my son next got upset in public, storming up to a woman behind a membership desk in Kew Gardens to complain that a section of the play area was shut and threatening to close down the whole gardens, I murmured to her, “He’s on the spectrum.” She pressed her top lip onto her bottom one to make a smile - “I had gathered that” she said. That was it. I wanted to hit her as my son had just hit me when I tried to prevent him from making a scene. Now I wanted to shut down the gardens. And under my rage, as is always true of my son’s rages, I felt incredibly vulnerable. Was this potential label, that felt so new and strange to me, his mother, blatantly obvious to the rest of the world? Had everyone else known for years?

It has become my practice, when anything is bothering me in my mothering, to align it with my making and see what it reveals. When I thought about my writing, I realised that there are different layers of labels in operation. There is the top layer, those labels that are to do with my primary, outward identity, the ones for the boxes, the ones I have to be brave enough to use to put my work out there: “I am writing a novel,” I tell people at the moment, the label of ‘novel’ still being difficult for me to own with ease. I have to decide too on the kind of novel I am writing – is it for grown ups or YA? (the acronyms start up again). But there is also a deeper labelling process in which I am engaging as I write the book itself. Language is a labelling game. My daughter, aged 3, knows this. She is interested in what objects begin with the first letter of her name - ‘T’. She feels she must have a deep affinity with anything that shares this letter. I bought her some letter stickers - “Where can I stick this?” she asks me, holding up an ‘F.’ In truth she can stick it anywhere she likes, but I know she wants to make the word and the world match, so I suggest she sticks it on the Floor or Fridge. When I write I too am on a quest for matching, for finding patterns, making meaning. When I think of it in this way a label seems much more creative– an attempt to find the words for our emergent patterns of experience. A label might be, not a fixed little box, but more like a room, a large space into which my son could be invited to enter, a space as wide as the word ‘spectrum’ implies. I like that word. It suggests breadth. Diversity. Colour. It makes me think of good art – not a room with one view but a structure generous enough to hold many different views and possibilities– and this in turn makes me think of my son’s longest held ambition: he wants to make a metamorphosis machine.

My son wants the ability to change into whoever he wants. Every now and then he will get sad because he fears that he won’t be able to do it. My husband and I tell him that as an artist he can be whoever he wants. He says that is not good enough – he wants to change for real. I try to explain to him as best I can that ‘real’ and ‘imaginary’ are not such fixed and separate categories as they seem – the one effects the other and even reality is porous. Language is a big part of this porousness, it being a made-up thing that we use every day to talk about real things, and all the while we slip back and forth, without even noticing, between metaphor and matter. When I went to the recycling centre recently my son grew excited by the skips full of old electrical equipment and broken strip lighting – “Can we take some of those away for my metamorphosis machine?” he asked. We couldn’t and I wanted to tell him that the way he remembers almost every story that he hears, word for word, the way he makes puns and crazy verbal jokes, is what, I believe, will provide him with the best materials for building his machine. And when he has done it, it will be his and, as he reminds me, he will be in charge of it. He will be able to become to whoever he likes, whenever he likes. I think this agency is key – he will be in charge of the labelling. He will name himself.

We are proceeding with finding a diagnosis for our son but if we get one – and we may not as I have been told that certain labels can be hard to come by - I want to give it to him as a present. I want it to be a name that he can use as he sees fit, for when it fits. I want him to do the fitting. I want it to be a name that has space inside it, not a closed box, but a great big generous word which can hold a myriad of experiences, as the words ‘mother’ and ‘child’ do. I want him, above all, to know that he is the right person to have showed up in the world 7 years ago and that it is okay if there are other 7 year old boys with whom he has little in common because difference is a good thing and now, more than ever, the world needs diversity. We certainly do not need more, and more, of the same.

I’ll let you know when my son’s metamorphosis machine has been made and patented, but in the meantime, here are my questions for you for the month:

What labels do you give yourself? And your child(ren)?

How do you experience them? Do they limit you? Or liberate you? Are there ones you want to change? Are there ones you are afraid to use? Who or what would you wish to become if you had a metamorphosis machine? How can you begin to be that now?

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ot3blog · 3 years ago

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Occupational Barriers Experienced in Mental Health

The term mental health refers to our emotional, psychological and social well being - it affects how we think, feel and act. Approximately 10.7% of the worlds population suffered from mental health illnesses in 2017 (Dattani et.al, 2021). I for one relate so much to this topic as I was once part of the 10.7%, I know first hand about some of the challenges and setbacks which poor mental health brings however, I am also aware that everyone’s experiences and struggles with mental health are different and the effects of them vary from person-to-person.

There are many different conditions which are recognized as mental illnesses, some of the most common ones are; anxiety, mood disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders, impulse control and addiction disorders and PTSD (Casarella, 2021). These illnesses can then further affect every aspect of your daily life such as your sleeping patterns, your education and career, relationships, health and concentration. You may then lose interest in things your once found interesting or you may feel so consumed by the illness that your other responsibilities and commitments get neglected.

Occupational Barriers experienced in mental health is a very broad topic. Each aspect of mental health can propose to be a barrier to different occupations of yours. For example, eating disorders will affect your eating and feeding and will then lead to you not having the proper amount of nutrients which your body needs to be health and this could then lead to decrease in your energy levels as well as deterioration towards your physical health. This will then prevent you from engaging in your other ADL’s and IADL’s.

There is also some stigma attached to mental health in certain communities, as a result of this, people may feel a sense of shame or insecurity when it comes to seeking help for mental illness. The stigma and discrimination can also make difficulties worse and make it harder to recover. This stigma comes from lack of understanding, fear ad misinformation. The effects of this stigma on people who do experience mental illness include; reduced hope, lower self esteem, increased psychiatric symptoms and difficulties with social and work relationships. To reduce the stigma associated with mental illness we as individuals can talk openly about mental health, educate ourselves and others encourage equality, show compassion and normalize mental health treatment.

The above paragraph has also motivated me to speak more openly on the effects which my past metal illness has had on my occupations. A while back, I suffered from depression. It filled me with feelings of sadness and worthlessness. As it progressed, my symptoms became worse and I reached a point where I was unsure of why I had to keep on living. At this point, I started to neglect my school work, my responsibilities and chores such as cleaning up and keeping the space around me tidy, the relationships which I had with my family and friends also suffered and I found myself inappropriately taking out my emotions on others, my sleep pattern was disrupted as well - I would stay awake for 2 days at a time and then sleep for an inappropriate time and then repeat the cycle. All of these factors led to a decrease in the quality of my life, this as well as the lack of my engagement in productive occupations further contributed to my feelings of depression. It took a long while for me to be able to seek the help which I needed, this was partly due to the stigma I felt attached to mental health illnesses as well as my already low self-esteem. Looking back at this time, I have a lot of regret as well as feelings of insecurity as to what my life had become and how I neglected my duties and education as well as the people around me.

I know that a lot of people have had similar experiences as to what I have and we are able to see the direct link and effects which poor mental health as opposed to good mental health has on your occupations and life in general. There is great importance and benefit in seeking help. Treatment involves psychiatric counselling or could include getting the necessary pharmaceutical option. The correct treatment can help can help a persons condition improve or help a person to live well and engage in occupation despite their illness.

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lovehealgrow · 3 years ago

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Associate Marriage & Family Therapist in Sacramento

Katie Woodson, AMFT

Therapist in Sacramento & Online

Marriage & Family Therapist Associate pronouns: she, her, hers

Specialties:

Relationship Therapy for Couples & Individuals Sex Therapy Teens & Adults: Eating Disorders, Body Image & Anxiety

I help people who are holding onto hope even though they are hurting and unsure of how to get to a better place.

You can experience more fulfillment in your life and relationships! I’m here to support you.

I’m the type of therapist who will listen deeply & compassionately while helping you make lasting change so you can have the life & relationships you crave.

Sometimes it just feels like there isn’t a way out of the pain.

I’m here to tell you that there is.

I’ve worked for years to support my clients in their healing from past experiences, creating healthier relationships, and growing their own self esteem and worth.

Therapy with me can help you improve communication, feel better about yourself, decrease anxiety and (most importantly) help you build the life & relationships you crave.

I have specialized training in evidence-based practices that are rooted in mindfulness, empathy and self-compassion, and a deep connection to what matters most (loved ones and our values).

I use person-focused therapy to create a safe space for my clients to explore all of the vulnerable parts both of themselves and within their relationships. I also often integrate mindfulness-based science-backed practices that help my clients feel supported and prepared to apply what they have learned in therapy to their own lives and relationships.

Culturally competent care- No one should feel that they have to dismiss parts of themselves in order to be in therapy.

I understand the important role one’s culture can play in their communication styles, values, and goals, all of which will have a large impact on the therapeutic process. I practice culturally competent therapy by taking the time to learn about all of the wonderful aspects of your culture that are important to you, so that we can engage in a therapy style that will truly work best for you.

You can have better relationships with others. You can have a better relationship to your body.

You can like–no–LOVE yourself.

It’s all possible.

Through this empowering experience, clients feel better about themselves and have true hope for their future.

My areas of expertise are:

Couples Therapy for Better Communication & Intimacy

I help couples go back to the basics of communication to ensure both people feel understood, safe, and comfortable in the vulnerability that is being a part of a romantic partnership. Together we can work on ensuring the inclusion of vital aspects of any relationship, including clear communication, healthy boundaries, and genuine intimacy.

Relationship Help for Millennials

The dating process looks so much different currently than it ever has. With the increase of dating apps and websites, and the increase of social media platforms in general, cultivating relationships in person can be quite intimidating for some and can even increase feelings of anxiety. While this is understandable, it does not have to be permanent! I support people in cultivating the confidence to go into the dating scene presenting their best and most authentic self.

Besides romantic relationships, I also support my clients in growing a network of all kinds of supportive relationships, including friendships and relationships with family members. Everyone needs people to lean on and do life with.

Body Image & Eating Disorders

The earliest years of my career as a therapist were spent working with clients with eating disorders of all types. I find that the collaborative and empowering aspects of person-centered therapy, combined with the pragmatic aspects of DBT, really work together to help clients struggling with eating disorders feel supported.

I have also found that body image and low self-esteem are problems that clients from all backgrounds and circumstances can struggle with, whether they have an eating disorder or not. While diving into areas of self-esteem and self-worth can seem like a daunting and very vulnerable task, I am here to work with you and provide you with support every step of the way.

I know from personal experience that recovery from ED is possible–let’s work together to help you get there.

On a Personal Note…

I love working on my spiritual fulfillment with meditation, prayer, music, and yoga. I also love connecting and spending quality time with my loved ones, especially my wonderful husband.

Formal Credentials

License Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, #120599: Registered to practice psychotherapy in California Supervised by Megan Negendank, LMFT #93259

Education

M.S., Marital and Family Therapy: California State University, Dominguez Hills B.A., Psychology: California State University, Long Beach

Advanced Trainings/Certifications Gottman Method Couples Therapy: Level I Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Center for Discovery Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Introduction, Richstone Family Center HAES (Healthy at Every Size) Trained, Center for Discovery Suicide Prevention Training

Gottman Couples Therapy: Level 2 (In progress) Gottman Couples Therapy: Trauma and Infidelity Modern Sex Therapy Institute: Addressing Common Sexual Concerns in Individuals and Couples Modern Sex Therapy Institute: LGBTQIA Affirmative Therapy Modern Sex Therapy Institute: Alternative Sexualities/Non-Traditional Relationships Anti-Racism & Culturally Affirmative Care, Diversity & Resiliency Institute of El Paso

Click here to schedule an appointment.

#Relationship Therapy #Communication #Intimacy #Eating Disorders #Sex Therapy

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