catchaspark:

Rest = Lying Down, Eyes Closed
Because other parts of the program from England made sense, I decided to try resting every afternoon. After some experimentation, I determined that the most restorative rest resulted from lying down in a quiet place with my eyes closed.
I was surprised at the results from taking a 15-minute rest in mid-afternoon. Even that short break seemed to help, reducing my symptoms, increasing my stamina and making my life more stable. After a while I added a similar rest in late morning.
Over time, I came to believe that my scheduled rest was the most important strategy I used in my recovery. Resting everyday according to a fixed schedule, not just when I felt sick or tired, was part of a shift from living in response to symptoms to living a planned life. The experience showed me that rest could be used for more than recovering from doing too much; it could be employed as a preventive measure as well. In the terms suggested by someone in our self-help program, I learned the difference between recuperative rest and pre-emptive rest.
Surprisingly, taking pre-emptive rests greatly reduced the time I spent in recuperative rest, because I was experiencing much less Post-Exertional Malaise. The result was that my total rest time was reduced.

sometimes like an idiot i assume everyone has read bruce campbell on resting/pacing to handle post-exertional malaise affiliated with chronic fatigue. that is obviously not true! anyway here’s the hot guide, i linked straight to the “schedule in mandatory complete 15 min rest as part of your day and hopefully you will get to do less surprise many hours of rest to recover” section but the whole thing is laid out pretty clearly

I was surprised at the results from taking a 15-minute rest in mid-afternoon. Even that short break seemed to help, reducing my symptoms, increasing my stamina and making my life more stable. After a while I added a similar rest in late morning.

The experience showed me that rest could be used for more than recovering from doing too much; it could be employed as a preventive measure as well. In the terms suggested by someone in our self-help program, I learned the difference between recuperative rest and pre-emptive rest.

(via theunvanquishedzims)

kosmogrl:

No, seriously, do NOT.

Feeling dirty and grimy for extended periods of time is extremely draining on the mental well-being of humans. Psychological studies prove it is detrimental to our self-esteem and contentment. And no wonder; we are animals–homo sapiens, a kind of ape–that instinctively places high importance on personal grooming. Like monkeys and cats and birds in a zoo, one of the best ways to make us feel sad … is to make us feel gross to ourselves.

So here’s an easy saying from my therapist/zookeeper:

“If you feel like you hate the world, eat something.

If you feel like the world hates you, get some sleep.

If you feel like you hate yourself, take a shower.

You will probably feel much better.”

(via monzterzack)

spirulin4:

spirulin4:

a quick “why is my life so bad” checklist

• how’s your sleep schedule
• have you eaten or drank anything besides sugar and caffeine
• how long have you been sitting in one spot
• have you gone out in public recently
• have you taken a shower/brushed your teeth/groomed yourself properly
• have you spent time doing an activity that doesn’t involve a screen
• etc

i myself needed to be reminded of this today. the freedom of summer also means the risk of falling back into bad habits if i’m not mindful

Remember, you are basically a zoo animal and a zookeeper rolled into one. If you don’t give the animal that is you (specifically a kind of ape) the proper physical care and enrichment it needs, of course you won’t feel good.

(via spacey-png)

autistic-af:

Do One or More Then Reblog For Others:

Unclench your jaw.

Sit up straight…maybe stretch, too

Get something to drink (do it before hitting this button)

Get something to eat (anything. All food is good. Get it first.)

Take your meds (go take them before reblogging so you don’t forget!)

Clean up the area around you real quick. You’ll feel better.

Change the music to something you enjoy. You deserve to be happy.

Pause for a moment. You’ve been doing so much.

Just want to pass this on? That’s okay, too.

See Results

Doing more than one? Choose whichever you found the most helpful. ❤️

(via simcardiac-arrested)

uncanny-tranny:

I think so many people are so deeply alienated from themselves that they have no clue how to exercise their free will and autonomy. For some, this alienation runs so deep that they are afraid of their own autonomy and humanity. It is completely understandable why one would have those feelings, but it can be worrisome.

I want to help others who feel this way, so here are small things I have done to exercise my free will:

• Add “guilty pleasure” songs to playlists and actually listen to them (I have a ton of late 1990s-early 2000s music I listen to now proudly that I never listened to in the past out of shame)
• Getting the décor item, bath set, bed spread, ect. in the patterns you like, even if it’s “childish” (I got a dinosaur-themed wastebasket from the kids’ décor section and I adore it)
• Taking a new route to get to a place you go to often
• Eat dessert first
• Celebrate well, and often
• Collect things that are “odd” or don’t seem like an “acceptable” thing to collect (somebody on my “for you” page collects dandelion crayola crayons and it was so cool!!!!!!)
• Incorporate one new piece in an outfit you wear frequently (e.g., a new chain, a necklace, ribbons, bracelets, ect.). Challenge yourself to add onto the outfits if you feel up for it.
• Sing along to songs without worrying that you sound “good” or your intonation is completely accurate
• Read a book from a genre you weren’t allowed to read as a kid (comics, thrillers, mysteries, anything!)
• Walk without having a specific destination or goal
• Pick up a new craft without expecting yourself to master it or to ever be “good” enough. Get your hands messy.

I don’t want to shame anybody for not feeling as though they have free will or that they are exempt from exercising it. However, I wanted to give ideas so that you might read this list and find your own ways to express your intrinsic autonomy and will. You deserve to be a person, to feel alive, not just living. That is what our lives are for.

And cheer on others when they do, even if it’s only in your own head. That makes it easier to view such expressions of self (whether in others or yourself) not as shameful, but as permitted and even laudable.

(via monzterzack)

mr-squiggley-poufs:

Ok so I’ve found a way to describe what Neurodivergent Can’t Do Task Mode™ feels like to neurotypicals

So you know how you can’t make yourself put your hand down on a hot stovetop? There’s a part of your brain that stops you from doing that? That’s what Neurodivergent Can’t Do Task Mode™ feels like

Even if we want to do it, there’s a barrier stopping us from doing it, and it’s really hard to override

And why does our brain see the task as a hot stovetop? Because when neurotypicals finish a task, they get serotonin, but we don’t get that satisfaction after completing a task. A neurotypical wouldn’t get serotonin from putting their hand on a hot stovetop, it would just hurt. When we can’t do a task, it’s because our brain knows that the task will hurt (metaphorically) and wants to avoid that.

It’s not that we’re choosing not to do the task, it’s that our brain is physically preventing us from doing it.

Neurotypicals can and should reblog but please don’t add anything

(Sorry/not sorry about the random bolding, it makes it easier for us to read)

If the stove example isn’t connecting with some neurotypicals, the one that really clicked for me (as a person with Chronic Depression) is the mashed potatoes example.

Imagine if everything you cooked started tasting like unseasoned mashed potatoes. Meat, vegetables, grains, fruits, dairy … All of it. Doesn’t matter how fresh or ripe the ingredients are, doesn’t matter how you prepare it, doesn’t matter which herbs or spices or sauces you mix in, doesn’t matter how hard you try to make something that tastes good. It all tastes like unseasoned mashed potatoes. Eventually, you’d stop trying to cook anything fun or healthy, and maybe even stop bothering to cook at all. Because what’d be the point when *everything* comes out joyless, unexciting, bland, and blah?

Neurodivergent Can’t Do Task Mode™ feels like that for me sometimes. Pointless, because what do chores matter when I won’t really feel better for doing them, but I will feel bored while doing them and tired after doing them? It feels more worthwhile to try doing something else that might still spark some enjoyment–might still give me some serotonin.

HOWEVER! I don’t like leaving things on a downer, so I’m going to share some strategies for my fellow neurodivergents that I’ve found that help me whenever the NCDT Mode™ strikes.

1. Meds. Brainchemistry has to be cured with brainchemistry.
2. Outside help. If you don’t have any of your own motivation, borrow some from friends and family. If there’s a barrier you can’t get around on your own, have someone who can go around it do so to let you in (like a locked door) or give you a boost (like through a window).
3. Change the task somehow into something fun. Maybe your brain won’t let you sweep the floor, but it will let you dance to your favorite music while holding a broom. Your brain doesn’t need to know that’s the same thing.
4. Distance yourself from the task. Sometimes, you gotta imagine you’re Link running your own home or a robot or a pokemon or a pikmin or whatever. Make the task someone else’s problem, even if that soneone else is still you.
5. Enjoyable distractions while you work. Maybe a podcast will take you out of the task enough that it can fade away to just being something you do to keep your hands busy.
6. Rewards. Bribe the hell outta yourself. If completing the task won’t feel like a reward in and of itself, maybe some ice cream will.
7. Be grandiose in victory and gracious in defeat. When you win, pump yourself up. Tell yourself how proud you are for doing the task. And when you just can’t right now, be kind to yourself. It’s not your fault, and you’re trying your best. You wouldn’t be mean to someone else in your position, so remember not to be mean to yourself. You’ll come back to it in a bit.

(via plugnuts)

patronsaintofsacrifice:

Replacing “I dont want to live” with “i dont want to live like this” was v helpful for me because it helped me figure out what parts of my life i was trying to escape and reminded me there are absolutely versions of myself i want to work towards and ways of living i havent experienced yet that i want to see

Basically, we don’t want *to die*. We want our pain to stop. And realizing those are two radically different things can immensely help you keep living and find how to improve your life.

(via monzterzack)

zenosanalytic:

duckbunny:

wholeheartedsuggestions:

wholeheartedsuggestions:

eventually you realize you don’t want to die. you just don’t want to live the life you’re living. and slowly you try to create a life you want to live. just gotta start there.

no one needs to add “sounds fake but ok”, “no”, “well, not me”, “impossible”, etc. to this post. and i’d rather you not.

one day you think: I want to die.

and then you think, very quietly: actually. actually. I think I want a coffee. a nap. a sandwich. a book.

and I want to die turns day by day into I want to go home, I want to walk in the woods, I want to see my friend, I want to sit in the sun

I want a cleaner kitchen

I want a better job

I want to live somewhere else

I want to live

The thing to understand is that Depression

Even When It Is Trying to Kill You!

Is Defensive.

Your brain exists to preserve you; it’s just Dumb, and how it goes about “preserving” is determined by evolution’s ‘Good Enough’ meat-and-chemistry mechanisms rather than a firm grasp of biology.

You know how, stuck atop a burning building, ppl will sometimes throw themselves off in a vain hope of surviving? That’s what depression-driven suicide is. You are under THAT amount of stress, often sustained for a FAR longer time. Your brain only understands “Stress”: it doesn’t know causes, it doesn’t know Events, and it only has the one set of instinctive ‘extreme measures’ to fall back on. I made things SO hard on myself for SO Long conceiving of Depression as a Fight I had to Win, rather than a chronic illness in need of my understanding and careful management.

Help your brain. Nurse it. Ask yourself where it hurts and why. Recognize that the desire to die is a symptom, an injury, and not your ‘Truth’. Try to calm it, Try to endure: It WILL Pass. As perverse as it sounds, your desire to die is an expression of how PASSIONATELY you want to get away from the pain tormenting you; of how MUCH you want to LIVE. PLEASE Live!

(via theunvanquishedzims)

spaceshipsandpurpledrank:

Excellent points about the emotional purpose of anger and how it communicates something to us.

(But why did she switch seats all of a sudden?)

(via reynaruina)

the-moon-loves-the-sea:

When your living space is a mess, don’t ever look around and think you should have managed better. Don’t look at the chaos as all the things you should have done. Look around and think, “Look how exhausted I’ve been. I have been saving my energy to save myself and that is right.” And then ask yourself what is one thing you could do that would make you feel more at home in your space–one thing you can manage right now. If that’s fluffing up your pillows, if that’s putting the cups back in the kitchen, if that’s writing a list of fruit you haven’t had in a while and going out to buy it, if it’s picking up your laundry from the floor and putting it on the chair, if it’s wiping the dust off your crystals–that’s enough. Do what would help you now. It’s okay to be tired. It’s okay to be a mess. It’s enough to do what would help and leave the rest.

Not “I should’ve done this ages ago,” because the self-recrimination only makes it a harder, heavier task.

But instead “Screw it, I’m doing this now, and that’s good,” for the resolution and self-encouragement.

(via reynaruina)

ryuji-ism:

I can’t believe I found the tweet that is literally just Akechi

Akechi: Unfortunately for those people … I feel like spoiling the little guy.

(via ryuji-ism)