my mental health is taking over my decisions
HELP YOURSELF:
- Thank you so much for reaching out to TeenCentral! It can be very scary to feel like our mental health is taking over your decisions and it is hard to ask for help. You are very brave.
- Have you spoken to anyone about this? How about a trusted adult such as a parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle? Do you have any older siblings or cousins that you may feel comfortable with talking to and trust that you could turn to? As much as we all may not want to admit to it, wisdom does come with age, and these adults in our lives are often great resources that we are unsure of or fearful to reach out to. Give it a thought. They might surprise you.
- Do you speak to or see a professional therapist regularly? Remember that a professional therapist is there for you. They are a safe adult that is there to listen, advise, and help teach you and guide you through your journey. They will be able to introduce new coping skills/strategies to you, techniques to help ground you when you may be upset, angry, or overwhelmed, and they do this without judgment or resentment.
- If you do have a trust adult that you could or do speak to, consider reaching out to your school guidance counselor. They will have plenty of advice and resources for you to find someone. Other options would be talking to a school teacher, coach, member from your religious community (if you belong to one), or even your doctor. Your primary care doctor will be able to direct you to professional therapists and have information for local support groups and activities you can get involved in. If you are interested in public support groups or activities you could also visit your local community center or library for information.
CONSIDER THESE OPTIONS:
- Do you currently have and utilize any coping skills/strategies? How about any problem-solving strategies/skills? At times we may feel like we are unsure of what to do or that we may be making the wrong decision or maybe making a decision for the wrong reasons. There are strategies out there to help guide you with this.
- Take some time to check out the Tools tab on our website. Here you will find all kids of activities to help you on your journey. One of these tools is called, “Making Hard Decisions”. This is a worksheet that you can use to really simplify the situation and help you to make the decision best fit for it and for you.
- In the Tools tab you can also find more resources such as Support Plan, Daily Positive Reminder, and Daily Schedule that can help you work through each any every day as needed.
- Do not forget to check out MPE Toolkit. This simply shows some key elements to help you find the help you may need as well as things you can do to help yourself. Some of these elements have already been highlighted in this response, others are things such as exercise and journaling. Exercise is a fantastic way to get up and get the body moving and get those happy juices producing and flowing from your brain. Exercise promotes happiness and helps to keep you healthy. Some other options are limiting over exposure to social media, getting outside and enjoying nature. Even during this winter season there are beautiful views in the outdoors just waiting to be photographed and explored. As always art is a great coping skill. You can draw, draft stories, paint, build, mold, make music, or even just simply color if you are not very artistic. Just feeling the pen or pencil or crayon or marker gliding across the canvas is soothing and comforting and may help to clear your mind so you could better navigate to your decisions.
- If you are interested in exercise, please go to the Learn tab on our website and scroll to Wellness. Here is information pertaining to Being Active, Nutrition, and Relaxation. Back in the Tools tab you will also find Yoga, Aerobic Running Guide, and Strength Training.
Life at time may feel very overwhelming making it difficult to know what to do. But using coping and grounding strategies along with some self-care will make it much easier to navigate through to happy healthy success.
