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This blog article is by Tina Arnoldi for Theravive. Theravive is a network of licensed therapists and psychologists committed to helping people receive the best mental health care available. Through building bridges with others, we continually strive to lower mental health stigma. To learn more, visit https://www.theravive.com/cities to view the original blog visit https://www.theravive.com/today/post/mindfulness-may-not-be-so-great-after-all-0004709.aspx
“Be mindful”. But does that guidance really help? It has become common advice and there are proponents of mindfulness. However, a recent study in PLOS Medicine found that while mindfulness programs may have specific effects on some common mental health symptoms, they are no better than other interventions.
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A blog article by Rethink Mental Health Advocate, Natasha Lettner, from her blog, Natashawrites [TW: SA, r*pe]  I began writing poetry in my teens. Writing is most comfortable for me when it comes to expressing my emotions. Up until very recently, this was how I show my love in relationships. Even still, here I am using my writing as a way to share this story with you!
I remember finding an old box of notebooks back before I moved out for college. The pages filled with emotions and feelings that were so dark that I scared myself. I couldn’t believe that I could write the words that I was reading. There was mention of wanting to disappear forever. I didn’t care about harm coming my way and in so many pretty words I welcomed it. This was a sign of depression and didn’t even know it. I lost my voice when… In business, like the rest of life we will often encounter people who are just that little more difficult to get along with. Some use the term "personality conflict" to describe the situation, yet this suggests that there is some sort of unbreakable barrier and that the problem is somewhat unfixable, since it is highly unlikely somebody is going to change their entire personality for the sake of better work relations!
 [TW: ED]
To be honest, it took me a while to think about whether I really want to write this article or not. Because, to be honest, it's hard for all of us to seem vulnerable. But it is so normal and beneficial to "look vulnerable." It is so normal and beneficial to be human. It is so normal and beneficial to want people who are going through what you have been through to be inspired by you. My story with eating disorders began around the age of 14. Then I wanted terribly to respect the beauty pattern imposed by society: I wanted to be thin, like the rest of my close friends. I was asking myself all kinds of questions, I didn't understand what was wrong with me, why I couldn't have their flat abdomen, or their thin legs, or their lives. I wanted to have their lives. I gradually started to limit myself to one meal a day. Then to none. After a certain number of days of eating only half a tomato, my craving for sweets killed me and I nibbled on everything I caught. That's what the first episodes of bulimia looked like.
 [TW: SA, r*pe]
I’ve tried many ways to cover the pain I felt inside after my rape. The first was love. I wouldn’t be alone with my thoughts at night if I wasn’t alone at night. It can be common for sexual assault survivors to act out sexually in attempt to erase what had been done, to prove that it didn’t matter, to reclaim the experience of sex. I also found comfort in the codependence of these early relationships. I figured if they could take on some of my problems, maybe the burden wouldn’t be so much to bear. Of course it doesn’t work that way. Companionship can bring comfort but it doesn’t heal the pain within. I wasn’t left feeling whole. Submitting myself further to men was not going to heal the pain that a man had caused. Diving quickly into new relationships created chaos in my personal life that did not contribute to healing. The second was drugs. I wouldn’t have to remember how I felt if I couldn’t remember and couldn’t feel. |
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