Tag: chronic pain

Online Mental Health Resources

~ Sephira ~ Leave a comment

depressionisalyingbastard:

Anger & Irritability 

CBT & Self help for anger
Anger problems workbook 
Anger management tips & techniques 
Anger & aggression management 
Anger & aggressive behaviour leaflet 
Controlling anger guide
Dealing with anger & impulsivity (PDF)

Anxiety  
Overcoming health anxiety (9 modules with workbooks) 
Improving self esteem (9 modules with workbooks) 
Overcoming perfectionism (9 modules with workbooks)  
Mastering general anxiety & worries (11 modules with workbooks) 
General self help strategies 
Self help home toolkit  
How to tolerate uncertainty 
Applied tension technique (for those who faint at sight of blood/needles) 
Self help for specific phobias 
Youth anxiety self help 
How to stop worrying 
Flying phobia self help 
General anxiety disorder self help (3 steps) 
Anxiety workbook 
CBT & Self help for general anxiety
CBT & Self help for phobias 
CBT & Self help for health anxiety 
CBT & Self help for low self esteem 
CBT & Self help for stress 
Anxiety & panic leaflet 
Phobias leaflet 
Anxiety self help guide 
Health anxiety self help guide
Stress workbook
Stress management course
Hints to avoid harmful stress

Bipolar Disorder 
Coping with Bipolar Disorder (8 modules with workbooks) 
CBT & Self help for bipolar
Bipolar support & self help
Wellbeing plan for Bipolar disorder (PDF)
Bipolar disorder mood chart (PDF)

Also see anger/irritability, depression, insomnia & impulsivity resources.

Borderline Personality Disorder 
Overcoming distress intolerance (4 modules with workbooks)
Ten coping skills for BPD 
Coping with BPD
BPD resource list

Also see CBT, DBT, self harm, anger/irritability, suicidal thoughts, impulsivity & depression resources.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) 
7 Step self help course 
CBT Based self help 
CBT Worksheets & Information sheets 
Free self help worksheets

Concentration & Time management 
Put off procrastinating (7 modules with workbooks) 
Guide for goal setting 
Concentration leaflet 
Sitting exams leaflet 
Procrastination leaflet

Depression & Low mood 
Coping with depression (9 modules with workbooks) 
The Journal depression help 
CBT & Self help for depression 
Depression leaflet 
Depression & low mood self help guide 
Depression workbook
Dealing with depression tips
Antidepressant skills workbook (PDF)
Undoing depression: A self help site
Worry & sadness course
Depression mood chart (PDF)
Exercise to beat depression Handout 1 | Handout 2 | Handout 3 | Handout 4
Thinking your way out of depression (CBT)

Dialectal Behaviour Therapy (DBT) 
DBT Self help (videos, worksheets, activities etc.)
DBT Worksheets 
Mindfulness
Skills Workbook
Coping & Relationship skills 
Ways to manage distress right now 
Letting go of emotional suffering 
Mindfulness leaflet
Appraising change (PDF)
Honest communication (PDF) 
Goal setting
Mindfulness in everyday life
Quick relaxation techniques

Eating disorders & Body image
Overcoming body dysmorphia (7 modules with workbooks)
Overcoming disordered eating Part A | Part B (9 modules each part) 
CBT & Self help for anorexia 
CBT & Self help for bulimia & binge eating 
Eating disorders leaflet 
Eating disorders self help guide
Eating disorder coping skills
Tips & strategies for overcoming eating disorders

Fatigue & Chronic pain 
CBT & Self help for chronic fatigue & pain
Chronic pain workbook
Restless legs syndrome self help
Treating chronic fatigue & Fibromyalgia
Chronic fatigue self help
Fatigue fighter self help
The pain toolkit (PDF)
Chronic pain patient’s guide to pain free hours (PDF)
Chronic pain survival handbook (PDF)

Impulsive thoughts & behaviours
ADHD in adults: Managing impulsivity
Managing impulsive behaviours
5 Tips for changing impulsive behaviours
Impulse control strategies

Insomnia & Sleep difficulties 
Getting to sleep 
Sleep hygiene 
CBT & Self help for sleep issues 
Insomnia leaflet 
Sleeping problems self help guide
Sleep problems workbook
How to sleep better
Can’t sleep?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 
How to manage obsessions 
Manage your OCD at home  
What to do while obsessing 
Stopping your compulsions 
CBT & Self help for OCD 
Obsessions & compulsions self help guide
Obsessions & compulsions workbook

Panic Attacks 
Coping with panic attacks (12 modules with workbooks) 
Self help strategies for Panic Disorder 
Panic attack self help programme 
CBT & Self help for Panic Disorder 
Panic self help guide
Panic workbook

Psychosis 
CBT & Self help for psychosis 
Hearing voices self help guide
Schizophrenia treatment & recovery
Self help measures for psychosis
Guided self help for psychosis (PDF)

Social Anxiety 
Coping with social anxiety (12 modules with workbooks) 
Improving your social skills 
Home management strategies for social anxiety 
Improve your assertiveness (10 modules with workbooks) 
CBT & Self help for social anxiety 
Shyness & social anxiety self help guide
Shyness & social anxiety workbook
Shyness/Social anxiety course

Self harm 
Self harm leaflet 
Self harm self help guide
Self harm alternatives & distractions
Cutting & self harm help
Self injury self help ideas
Self harm coping plan (Link at bottom of page)
Stopping self harm

Suicidal thoughts 
CBT & Self help for suicidal thoughts
Dealing with suicidal thoughts & feelings
Suicide: Read this first
Making a safety plan (Link at bottom of page)
Ways to help yourself when you’re feeling suicidal
What can I do if I’m feeling suicidal?
Self help for the suicidal workbook
Suicide hotlines by country

Trauma & Abuse 
Self help for PTSD 
CBT & Self help for PTSD 
Post traumatic stress leaflet 
Information for adults abused as children 
Dealing with abuse guide 
Post Traumatic stress self help guide
Post traumatic stress workbook
Safety & escaping domestic violence
Help for abused men
Coping with PTSD
How to recover from disasters & traumatic events

Note: I haven’t created or extensively reviewed any of these resources, they’re just things I’ve found online that look like they’d be useful and to my best knowledge do not cost anything.
These are self help resources intended to be used in addition to and not as a substitute for medical treatment- please contact a professional if you are feeling unsafe. 🙂

Online Mental Health Resources

Products for Chronic Pain

~ Sephira ~ Leave a comment

sapphic-pink-kryptonite:

I chose eBay because I’m Australian and I didn’t want to give recommendations for stores that are only here. These are the ones that genuinely help me every day. 

I encourage everybody to use The Mighty – basically Facebook for the chronically ill. You can tailor your feed to your diseases. I didn’t know who needed help with what so here are some pages on The Might about products chronic pain:

Please reblog, even if you’re not disabled, because it will help people who are. 

~ Sephira ~ Leave a comment

submissivefeminist:

Casual reminder that disabilities are often based on the day or the unique challenges of the situation. People who need a wheelchair on most days might not on one particular day. People who use an emotional support animal may not need it 24/7. People who rely on canes may only need it when they’re having bad days. It doesn’t mean they’re faking of their disability isn’t valid. Energy levels and pain fluctuate and that’s okay.

Normalize the unpredictability of disabilities.

~ Sephira ~ Leave a comment

thebibliosphere:

Spoonie and other chronic illness health reminder of the day: if all you can manage to make or eat today is “junk” food, then good job, you fed yourself. That’s the main thing. You need calories, your body needs them for energy, and you deserve to eat them, however you manage to get them. I know it’s not always ideal, but sometimes you just gotta eat.

So sick and tired of seeing “it’s really simple to eat your way healthy” posts, especially from other people with chronic health conditions who should know better. Yes, Susan, I know how simple and easy it is to make nourishing bone broth, but are you also going to stand in my kitchen for 8 hours while it simmers, do everything else I need to do today, then strain it out, clean up everything and feed it to me too? Oh you managed to make huge batches of it while you had energy and are now able to pull it out of the freezer? Well aren’t you profoundly lucky to be able to do that.

Stop shitting on people who can’t. 

And if I see anymore of y’all posting “honestly people who don’t even try to eat healthily deserve to stay sick” posts I’m going to climb out of your garbage disposal like Truth hauling ass out of her well and smack you with your own ladle, so help me gods.

Stop it. You should know better than this. It’s a fucking fucked up fact that “good” food is a luxury for a lot of sick and disabled people, who are often under employed or relying on welfare to survive. It is so absolutely fucked up that not everyone can afford fresh groceries every week or has the means to cook them. But don’t you dare try to imply it’s because they’re not trying hard enough and deserve to be sick. What the fuck is wrong with you. Go sit in the corner.

I’m done spoon feeding you human decency for the day.

~ Sephira ~ Leave a comment

hyperelasticzebra:

Hi friends, it’s Ali! I moved accounts yet again, so have reposted my spoonie masterpost. Hopefully this one will spread like wildfire like the original (: Love and spoons ❤ xx

WHAT IS A SPOONIE?

A spoonie is a person, living with one or more physical or mental chronic illness or disability, that identifies with Christine Miserandino’s Spoon Theory.

SPOONIE FOUNDATION WEBSITES
SPOONIE ILLNESS INFO
SPOONIE TIPS, HELP, & ADVICE
SYMPTOMS LISTS OF CHRONIC ILLNESSES
SPOONIE REMEDIES & TREATMENTS
SPOONIE SCHOOL-RELATED
SPOONIE MISCONCEPTIONS
  • “I have a chronic illness, therefore I am disabled.” not always true!
  • “I’m all alone.” false! see below. 
INTERACTING WITH SPOONIES
SPOONIE STRUGGLES
SPOONIE CLICHÉS
SPOONIE MEMES
SPOONIE VIDEOS
SPOONIE PETITIONS

none for the moment…

THINGS TO DO ON A LOW SPOON DAY
SPOONIE DISABILITY
SERVICE DOG RELATED
AVOID ABLEISM
SPOONIE ITEMS
INTERACT WITH FELLOW SPOONIES
MISCELLANEOUS
AWESOME SAUCE SPOONIES ♥
CREDITS & OTHER INFORMATION

Last updated 25th May 2015 @ 17:10 EST
Updated when possible (updated version here ♥)
Please reblog / like only — do not edit. Thank you.
Message hyperelasticzebra to add a blog, article, or post to the list.

I try my best to find as many spoonie blogs and posts to add to this as possible, but if I have missed you, your blog, or a helpful post, please let me know! I don’t always have the spoons or time to search for articles pertaining to specific illnesses.

Help Out the Creator with Medical Bills?
Click to Donate

~ Sephira ~ Leave a comment

Not sure if this is useful to anyone, but I had a big breakthroughs in my idea of self-care recently when I applied a phrase I use to combat negative self-talk – “Would you talk to a close friend that way?” – and reframed it as: “Would you care for a friend that way?”

Imagine my friend came to visit and she got hungry. Would I say, “Wait five hours until I’m done with this project and then you can eat a granola bar?” No, I would not. Would I say, “I’m don’t have time to go grocery shopping for you, so why don’t you spend three days straight eating this years-old Ramen I found in the basement that one of my old roommates left behind?” No, I would not. If her clothes got dirty, would I say, “I’m too lazy to scrounge up some quarters so why don’t you wear these ill-fitting clothes from Goodwill with holes in them?” No, I would not. If she had a day off, would I say, “I can’t be bothered to find something good for you to do; why don’t you just sit on the couch reading depressing internet articles all day?” No I would not. And if I were at a party, and she was tired and feeling uncomfortable and wanted to go home, would I say, “Stop being such an awkward loser, stay here and smile at people so they don’t think you’re rude?” No, I would not. A person I treated that way would be justified in wondering if she was my friend at all.

But, needless to say, I treat myself that way all the time. Once my friend has all her basic needs taken care of, sure, we can go for manicures and massages after. But that’s not the point. The point is making sure she’s fed and washed and clothed and comfortable; and I don’t think I’m the only one who has a whole lot of trouble even getting to that point.

pretentious illiterate (that’s their username, not an insult) on Metafilter (via gazztron)
~ Sephira ~ Leave a comment

edderkopper:

tinyeldritchmonster:

I’m having serious difficulties on how to be a polytheist with disabilities, how to make offerings and include the gods in my daily life with my disabilities and problems.
I don’t do much of anything lately after a relapse and even in my best moments I have a hard time with everything.
The only thing I do is e-shrines.
I don’t have many ideas or know what to do about it. It’s an important part of my life but I feel like I’m ignoring it because of lack of options.

A low-spoons activity for one person may be more difficult for another depending on their disability and circumstances, but here are some things that I’ve done and seen others suggest:

  • Offer water. As awesome as alcohol can be, water
    is still symbolic and necessary for life and all that.
  • Listen to
    devotional music, or just music you associate with your gods.
  • Research mythology or subjects associated with particular gods
  • Watch/read/play media featuring your gods, if it exists. Or just media with themes they’d appreciate.
  • Set an image related to your gods or faith as your phone or desktop background so you’re reminded whenever you look at it.
  • Consider
    dedicating a daily task you need to do anyway to a god, particularly something that you find
    difficult to accomplish or something that helps you change your life for
    the better: workouts, homework, cleaning, etc.Taking your medication could work too, if that applies.
  • Live by your gods’ values in everyday life.
  • Use apps like Stance, Resistbot, and 5calls to speak out about issues important to your beliefs with minimal effort and no human interaction required
  • Pray. It doesn’t have to
    be anything elaborate, or recited out loud. Even a quick prayer while
    doing something else will let the gods know they’re in your thoughts. If it helps, find or write prayers on a good day and just read them back on days that aren’t so good.