I understand, I can see the authenticity behind your comment. I guess our best bet for the time being is to manage our well being on a day to day basis. ... View more

I completely understand @Saltwaterdreamtime... Last lockdown was really destructive. It must have taken a lot of strength on your part to survive this year, which i think is something that needs to be commended. And you're right, these services wont necessarily prevent a lockdown. That being said, i think that reaching out will definitely help us with how we respond to such a difficult experience.- not to take away from the extremity of another lockdown...Im glad that nothing has been announced as of yet. I hope that you will let us know how youre travelling in the upcoming weeks 🧡💛💚 ! ... View more

That concerns me @Saltwaterdreamtime ! ... Do you have supports that you reach out to when you are experiencing suicidal ideation? And just to check in on your immediate safety, are you going to be safe today? ... I hope you know that we are all here if you need to reach out and connect in this forum. I know there is also support out there beyond this forum if you feel the need for it! ❤🧡💛 ... View more

Yeah another lockdown would be really tough! The good news is nothing has been announced just yet regarding any new lockdowns... If there were to be another lockdown, what would you this time to make sure you get through it alright? ... 🎨🧵 ... View more

Hi there @Bento  I think that's a really valid way to feel and I think a lot of people would be able to relate to this. Change is something we naturally have trouble with as a species, it can make us feel unsafe and uncomfortable for a while until we adapt. Don't underestimate your ability to adapt to changes that might arise in the new year  It sounds like you are very self aware about what you struggle with which puts you ahead of a lot of us. I wish you the best for the new year  ... View more

Hi @musicfan_xo  Thank you for posting this and sharing your thoughts about this year and the new year, I love this trend    Its totally fine to not be celebrating NYE, for a lot of us we just want to recover from the year we have had, hopefully you can spend tonight in a nice relaxing way that is meaningful to you. It sounds like you had a difficult Christmas with your family so you should be really proud of yourself for getting through it. It also sounds like you may not be giving yourself enough credit for all the amazing progress you have made with your mental health this year. Well done for staying engaged in therapy with your psychiatrist, it takes a lot of effort and dedication to your mental health to stay consistent and on top of appointments, it's clear you have been prioritizing the right things :) You also mentioned that you have been standing up for yourself by not wasting your time or energy on people who put you down. This is awesome I am so glad to hear that you have grown in this way, keep up this good work in 2021    ... View more

Hey @Tiny_leaf  Thank you for letting us know that you are safe! It sounds like you went through a difficult night so well done. I hope your feeling okay this morning!  ... View more

Hey @Saltwaterdreamtime  How did you go last night? Did you manage to find something to help distract yourself?    ... View more

@Saltwaterdreamtime I'm one of the after-hours moderators, and like @Maddy-RO and the others, I do my best to help and support the users on here.    It sucks that right now you don't feel right. Different things work for different people in terms of what helps them feel like they're back on track, and I hope that you'll be able to find something like that for yourself this afternoon ... View more

hey @Saltwaterdreamtime,   I can hear that right now you're feeling really upset and that your body is reacting quite a lot to everything going on, as well.    It sounds like that the most important thing you can do for yourself right now focus on slowing things down for you. For example, maybe practicing deep breathing by following this gif for five minutes? Or slowly drinking a glass of cold water?   Hang in there and just take it step by step ... View more

hey @Gbear, I'm so sorry to hear about your dad, and it seems like that you've had a lot of other stuff on your plate as well this year with uni and work.    For what it's worth, I think that you are doing a great job of handling everything, both in setting out these priorities and also recognising the need to care for your own mental health and wellbeing; I hope that your first session with the psych goes well!   I also think you could consider being more gentle with yourself in terms of what you should or shouldn't be doing with your dad; our relationships with our parents can be really messy and complicated. It makes sense that you want to have a good relationship with your dad and to connect with him, but it also makes sense that you would be having a lot of other difficult emotions about this, and I think it's okay to take your time to process and give yourself space to feel them, as well. ... View more

hey @ashhhhhh, I agree with @Macaria that I think trying to speak with your friend is the best you can do in trying to address the situation - it makes sense that you would be feeling hurt and excluded because of not being invited, and branching out and hanging out with some other people sounds like a good idea, too.   I hope that you can take care of yourself and remember that no matter what happens, I'm sure anyone would be really lucky to be friends with you  ... View more

hey @MB95, it's good to know that you're feeling a bit more settled right now, though things still must be feeling quite shaky. I hope that you can really enjoy spending time with your family today and that you can keep checking in with us if you need  ... View more

@Lost_Space_Explorer5  It sounds like that right now you're feeling really present for everything, accepting a lot of what's happened and feeling ready to take it moment by moment.    Thanks for letting us know you're safe, and I hope you can keep checking in with us too as you get ready for your last exam ... View more

hey @Mars_Elliot, that's great to hear! I hope that you can take the time to feel proud of yourself tonight because that's actually such a huge accomplishment, so please enjoy that feeling tonight along with your pizza  ... View more

@Lost_Space_Explorer5 I think it's great that you are trying to be so mindful towards all of our members here, but I think it's also important to remember that this is a space for people to talk about when they are feeling down and to receive support, and you deserve to use the forums for support, as well  You're not being inconsiderate in talking about your struggles when things are feeling dark ... View more

@Saltwaterdreamtime Having that feeling of hope and then having it ripped away like that would feel really awful, in a way it must be like trying to come to terms with a loss and trying to process all those different emotions of sadness and anger   I'm glad that you were able to go out for a talk today and that you've been talking with us about what's been going on, I hope that you can keep finding some nice things to do     ... View more

@Eden1717 Yeah, it makes sense that the medium will be shaped by your vision of what you want to make   I hope that regardless you can feel a bit more settled tonight    ... View more

hey @MB95, thanks for making the effort to reach out and talk to us even though you feel really down right now. I know that you feel bad for relying on RO, but I hope you can please try to remember that it's what we're here for, and that you've also given some really amazing support and help to people here over the years.   I can hear that right now you're feeling really overwhelming and confused, which makes it even harder to try and make sense of things. Is there anything you can do right now to maybe try and take your mind off things, and just to be gentle with yourself?   Something I do want to check in with you right now is that do you feel like that you might act on any of these bad thoughts tonight? Because if you do, it is really important that we talk more about this and how to keep you safe. ... View more

I think that's really understandable given what you've found out today    What do you think we could do tonight to help support you, @Saltwaterdreamtime? Or is there anything that you can do for yourself offline? ... View more

@Eden1717 I think it's good that you've been able to find something you're able to do right now, and some art tonight might be nice, too.   What sort of art are you hoping to do? ... View more

hey @Lost_Space_Explorer5, it sounds like that you've generally had a VERY tiring past few days with both what's been going on with your psych and exams to boot   It's really exhausting to be having such intense emotions and trying to deal with them and I think that you've actually been doing an amazing job trying to take things one step at a time and in managing it all   I hope that you can please keep checking in with us about how you're doing, and that you can take a really well-deserved break for tonight  ... View more

hey @MB95, thanks for starting this thread, it's been great seeing all the yummy and lovely pictures that everyone has posted already!   I would say that some of my favourite aspects of Christmas is Christmas desserts...really putting that time into making fancy, tasty things you wouldn't put the effort in ordinarily    For some reason I've been really craving popcorn balls lately, and there have been some really nice ones floating around...       plus this popcorn Christmas tree!   ... View more

@MB95 I think that you handled the whole situation as well as you were able. You wanted to reach out and did so in a way that was polite and respectful; you also let your psych know that you were okay and you weren't expecting a reply until business hours. I know that it must be hard to try and let it go, but I think it's important for us to acknowledge that you did your best!   Also now I can't wait to check out the Christmas thread! I'm excited to see what everyone's posted there  ... View more

hey @Eden1717, I hope it's okay that I'm jumping in. I just want to say that I really appreciate you taking the time to check in with us and to reply, even though things are so hard at the moment. I hope that maybe you can unwind a little tonight with some rest or maybe just with doing some light stuff with us here.    We've also sent you an email to check in on how you've been doing, so please keep an eye out for that if you can, as well.  ... View more

@Saltwaterdreamtime That really is such awful news and such a huge shock to find out, your reactions completely make sense    I'm so sorry that you have to be going through this, and like @Bre-RO said please do keep checking in with us and doing whatever you need to try and take care a little tonight ... View more

haha It's so easy to get distracted while writing an essay! Taking some quick breaks are also helpful to refresh your mind when working away. Hope you've given yourself some well deserved breaks @Lost_Space_Explorer5  and keep up the great work! ... View more

Hi @Lost_Space_Explorer5    Introductions are the hardest part aren't they! but once you got that covered the rest can flow better haha good luck with it! You've got this!! ... View more

Welcome back @musicfan_xo !!   So great to hear you're engaged with good support!   Keep up with the great work!!   ... View more

hey @A_Friend, break ups can be so awful and it sounds like you went through a really tough one    @Tay100's raised a good point about giving things time to heal, and also finding other positive things and people in your life to brighten your mood. I just want to chime in and say that it's great you are trying to take more time for yourself, and what can be important when dealing with break ups is giving yourself that time and space to feel sad, as well.    A break is a loss of a relationship, and for many of us we go through a 'mourning' stage processing that loss. This article on our website talks about it a bit more, but a lot of the recovery process can be about finding a balance between being gentle and allowing yourself to feel any negative emotions instead of pressing them down, but also keeping busy and finding new ways of moving forward so we aren't getting stuck in memories and negative feelings.   Sometimes it can be helpful to ask yourself when you are feeling down: 'I know I am going through a really tough time right now, what can I do to brighten my day? What can I do to support myself? How would I treat a friend or loved one going through what I'm going through?' And in that way, you might find that although the pain from the break up is still there, you are able be your own friend and support through it  ... View more