Floating Through Emotional Storms

 *This is based on my own experience of adult psychiatric wards in the UK and will vary depending on different areas and different wards. Make sure you know what is and isn't allowed in specific wards. I have had many emergency admissions and some planned admissions to psychiatric wards and I eventually created this packing list during a more stable period in the community because when I was acutely unwell I would forget to pack or ask someone to bring even some of the most basic things like toothpaste, particularly the basic things. I hope it is useful for someone. Please leave a comment if there's anything I have missed or if you have any questions. T-shirts - long and short Zippers/jumpers PJs Underwear Books Kindle Diary Phone charger Kindle charger Headphones Headphones charger Headphones wire Toothpaste Toothbrush Hairbrush Shampoo Body wash Colouring stuff Money Fidgets Pen Wordsearch book Anagrams book Wired earphones Jacket Lip balm Deodorant ...

  I absolutely hate New Year's resolutions. To me they feel like a huge challenge that can be failed and if I don't manage them it makes the end of the year more difficult than usual. I know it's February now but it's never too late to start on this idea. I think I stopped making resolutions at around 2017 and instead have been keeping a positives jar. You just need a jar that you can decorate if you like and some sticky notes. Throughout the year when you feel something has uplifted you or you have achieved something or you have even just had some tasty food you can write it on a sticky note and add it to your positives jar. At the end of the year it is a lovely thing to look back on the things that are in your positives jar and remember the good things because it's so easy to focus on the bad. One year I did have nothing in my jar but as the years have gone on I have learned how to use it. I don't try and write something every day, to me it is important to wri...

This is only my experience but I would love to hear if anyone can relate or would like to share their own experience. I remember being in my early twenties and my psychologist telling me that I'd probably start to feel better and not struggle so much with EUPD in my thirties or early forties. At the time I was really upset that I'd have to continue struggling for so long and the way things were described to me it was as if I would somehow be cured and have no symptoms of EUPD when that time arrived. I can see why some professionals think this is the case but, for me at least, it has only been a surface change. At some point maybe a few years ago my behaviour changed a lot. I had a big reduction in self harm, overdosing, and suicide attempts. This was not because I wasn't feeling intense emotions any more or because I didn't want to harm myself or die, I very much still felt these things, but I found as I got older I wasn't able to deal with the pain of more serious ...

  I find affirmations very cringey and I'm not very good at being nice to myself so when I try them I get into an argument with myself. The research says that you don't have to believe the affirmations you are telling yourself, that the more you repeat them the stronger they become in your mind and this can positively improve wellbeing. A while ago I found the best small business and supportive community ever - Sugar and Sloth (link) . They are so amazing and provide things like fun worksheets based on therapy techniques, cute pins and colouring books, motivational and understanding emails, and so much more, and have an amazing group on Facebook Sugar and Sloth Besties (link) . Through Sugar and Sloth I found a way to use affirmations but I still get to be a little horrible to myself. I love their colouring books and they are full of sweary affirmations. So I can be a mindful by doing the colouring and also try and process the messages without getting into an argument with myse...

  This post came up on my Facebook memories today (annoyingly I can't figure out how to remove the background colour): So many people are dying because of mental illness. The quote I've attached, 'you cannot save people you can only love them' is mostly true but I do think that kindness and love can go a long way to saving someone. I have experienced too many cruel and judgemental people, MH professionals a lot of the time, who just add to peoples pain. By the way I know the majority of MH professionals are really great people. I overheard a nurse say that she used to only work with people with EUPD - who pretended to be suicidal, and then she encountered other people with real illnesses. This is a damn painful fake illness then! I can only talk for myself but the way I would describe EUPD is like a magnifying glass/microscope for situations and emotions. So if a person in general was scared of bugs and saw an ant they might not react too much to it, someone with EUPD w...

  I love getting things in the post that are not scary DWP letters and often find myself buying lots of things online that I really don't need. On arrival they give me a quick burst of contentment but then I just go back to feeling like I need something more. I was introduced to a positive pen pals group on Facebook (link) a number of years ago. This group is open to people who have mental health problems and/or physical health problems with the goal of communication, sharing, and spreading positivity. I had a few pen pals, you can write a post asking for pen pals and have however many you are comfortable with and write to people who are in the same country as you or further afield, and really enjoyed receiving their letters and sending replies back. A really nice thing about the group is that people usually include extras in letters such as motivational quotes and handmade crafts. I have a couple of scrapbooks where I have saved the extras people have sent me. Getting colourful a...