It’s plastered everywhere now. Thanks to the power of social media and improving tolerance, you’d have to be living underneath a rock to not know that having good mental health is equally as important (if not more) than having good physical health. The two are synonymous when we talk about having a well balanced lifestyle. Continue reading Improving Mental Health through Mental Fitness
Basketball has given my son an outlet for his depression and anxiety. It’s given him a focal point to practice something he truly enjoys and provides him with entertainment that pulls him away from his negative thought patterns. I’ll always love the sport because of what it has given my son. Continue reading How Basketball Rescued My Son from Depression
Is it even possible? How does one regain their self-esteem lost from childhood abuse and trauma?
What I’ve learned over the years is that low self-esteem in social situations can be common for childhood abuse and trauma survivors.
I feel judged and begin analyzing what others might be thinking of me. I feel a discomfort in my breathing and suddenly my mind no longer pays attention to the social interactions going on, but rather on what my exit strategy is going to be. Perhaps it’s a mild case of agoraphobia, the fear of feeling unsafe and trapped. Or maybe it’s a trigger from my past. Continue reading Forgiving Your Past
If anyone is struggling in their relationships, family or work life, assess your history growing up and ask yourself how the environment may have shaped your present belief system. Did you grow up with a lot family violence, arguments and shaming? Were you violated as a child and put down often? Were there major transitions such as divorce of your parents, moving to a different region or the sudden loss of a loved one? Dig deep and learn more about how childhood events such as trauma and abuse impacted you. Continue reading 30 minutes of Parenting with PTSD
Aren’t you afraid of what people might think of you?
Every now and then I get asked that question since I published Living with the Dragon, launched my online courses on mental health management and publicly opened up about my struggles in the past with depression, anxiety and anger.
The initial fear of going public has long since passed. I overcame that fear of judgement because I also knew that very same fear is preventing me from making a significant difference to the mental health community, and it is the very same fear that kept my shame alive after all the years. And as everyone knows, when there’s shame, we get stuck at a place of resentment, bitterness and external blaming. Continue reading Why I’m Speaking about my Mental Health
We get thoughts that pop up in our head based on a memory. If your childhood was plagued by bad experiences of abuse, trauma, arguments and family violence, your brain became programmed to those negative experiences. The repetition and patterns of negative behaviors in a negative environment hard wired your brain to have recurring thoughts even as you get older. And since you get thousands of thoughts every day based on your experiences, you’ll sometimes get these negative memories creep into your headspace, reminding you of those bad times. These reminders can make way for unhealthy behaviors. This is partly the reason behind depression and anxiety because we create these unhealthy thoughts from our past which creates the depression, and we respond with fear and anxiety. Continue reading What Are You Thinking About? Understanding how your thoughts can lead to depression.
Those who experienced childhood abuse will go through a different journey than those who didn’t. It can be sometimes difficult to explain this journey to someone who’s never experienced it before. At the end of the day, it’s your journey and your life to own. And finding peace with your journey opens doors to so many great things that you didn’t even realize before. Continue reading Undoing the Effects of Childhood Abuse
Choices are made based on the thoughts and feelings we have. These thoughts can sometimes be created by past woes, experiences and triggers. Tuning them out isn’t as simple as saying you have a choice. People who experienced childhood abuse and trauma need to regain a sense of themselves before they can learn to make healthier choices consistently. Continue reading Please stop telling me that I have a choice
When people live with the pain of depression, anxiety and anger, it’s even more critical to become more self-aware of the ups and downs of the powerful emotions and re-channel them through expressive words. This is especially true for men who struggle at home communicating their wounds to their wives and kids. Men who are unable to recognize the reasons behind their struggles, need to take a deeper dive and explore what could be triggering some of their unwanted feelings. And for men who don’t, may fall into a deep abyss of their depression and anxiety. If improperly managed, it can lead to anger and in many cases emotional, verbal and physical abuse. Continue reading Let’s Talk about Your Mental Health
Today is World Mental Health Day and I had the opportunity to reflect on some of the things I take for granted. Something miraculous happened to me along the way when I had a relieving conversation with my friend Joon who lives with schizophrenia. This post is dedicated to her and all the courageous and wonderful people in the World who live with a mental illness.
Continue reading Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk Because Today is World Mental Health Day!
