2 Key Habits of Mental Health Counselors that We All Need to Put into Practice

On the 10th September, we are reminded that a person dies of suicide every 40 seconds, commemorating World Suicide Prevention Day.

On the 10th October, we will be reminded that mental health issues are a part of reality and we need to be aware of them, not take them lightly. It will be World Mental Health Day.

On the 3rd September, my friends and I, as our school’s Mental Health Ambassadors, attended a Suicide Prevention workshop, organized by Befrienders, a Malaysian NGO and helpline that offers emotional support and promotes psychological well-being.

As a psychology undergrad student, the topics surrounding suicide, depression, anxiety and the likes were nothing new to me. As one trained in mental health first aid, immediate interventions regarding psychological distress were also not novelties. As a current mental health counselling student (taking it as an elective this very semester), the workshop was more of a refreshing aspect than anything else. Yet.

Yet, this workshop still made a significant difference in my perspectives regarding mental health awareness.

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On The Will To Get Out Of Bed

You’d be walking by the road and chatting with your friends, when suddenly an unstoppable force would pull you out in a blurred mixture of melting colours, as you hear a weirdly familiar melody becoming louder and louder…

And the next thing you know, you are in bed, with your morning alarm ringing next to your ears. You feel the brightness of your phone’s screen glaring back at you as you struggle to move your arms and fingers to swipe and shut that noise down. The realisation of the beginning of day dawns on you as you think of the first few things you have to do this morning.

Another fifteen minutes, you say. You’ve set up more than one alarm. It’ll be easier to wake you up the second time.

The Day She Died.

She died the day she turned 20.

It attacked her and destroyed who she was. It stole her heart and everything that mattered. She was left lying on the ground, with only a body of air and dirt. Nevertheless, she stood up again and faced the sun. In its haste, it left a piece of her soul. She took one step at a time back to life.

But it came back for it.

At that moment, she laughed. Her body shook uncontrollably. “Take it all, take it all,” she said. Because being 20 made her realise that Life was indeed merciless. And she was left with nothing.

She was only 20, and yet, she was dead, dead in an empty bottle; still she was living, living in death. She kept on taking one step at a time, into certain nothingness. She bumped into other bodies; she met with new experiences. Life was being thrown at her but she could not return the favour.

She might as well have been a porcelain doll. She was played with, but she could not play with.

This picture was taken during our annual Monash ball 2015 at the Majestic Hotel and features a real performer, posing as a kind of statue.

An Evil Nymph.

I Am Angry… And I Can’t Bear It Anymore

**Surely this is a continuation of my Psychology series where I write down whatever crazy observations I make about mental and personality… derangements (I don’t have a degree yet so ‘health’ or ‘disorders’ would be too professional, which I’m not. At all.). Actually just read for fun or if you like to overthink like me and crave for thought-provoking stuff.**

Read that title again. Now, what if I had written ‘I am depressed… and I can’t bear it anymore’? You’d have a different response to that, right? So being sad and letting that feeling eat you from your insides are alarming and should even be clinically considered, but being angry and letting that feeling eat you from your insides are not?

What I want to mainly point out in this post is that I’ve been surprised to discover that ‘anger’ is neglected by the exceptional APA (American Psycho Association, something like that :P) while ‘depression’ is well… it’s all over the place among the pages of the DSM (Bible of Psys)! Wtf?

Before you tell me, hey but there’s the Intermittent Explosive Disorder that’s all about being angry, you should reflect on the fact that it’s not called ‘Anger Disorder’ which only adds to the realisation that this disorder only focuses on only one type of anger (among manyyy)… which is poor compared to the amount of different types of depression that officially exist!

10 Ways To Get Over… Just Anything At All!

Are you having a bad day?

Did you just break up?

Did you just realise that your crush and you are never going to be?

Did you spend hours on the same piece of art or writing, painting or drawing or typing or scribbling over and over again without getting the result you wanted?

Are you frustrated with life right now?

I know exactly how you feel, and that’s why I’ve been trying to find ways to cheer me up and one of the ways was to make this video for you! 🙂 Here:

Hope you liked my 10 ways to get over anything at all, and had a good laugh, because the real point of all these crazy things I dared to do in front of a camera is to make you have a good time for a few minutes, so that you’ll stop thinking or overthinking about your problems.

But eventually you have to go back to them. Well doesn’t matter, you’ve been entertained, and hopefully now you are more relaxed and alert to start working again and deliver good work or mainly start living again and deliver positive vibes all around you! 🙂 Believe me, people need these vibes as much as you.

Any more tips you’d like to share on how to get over it? It like anything at all? Comment below!

An Evil Nymph.

Masterpiece from Hate. Use your negative emotions for writing. [Guest Post]

Creating By Channeling Your Negative Emotions

 

This article serves the purpose of helping people take their negative emotions and channel them into something useful and positive. Dealing with stress and anxiety can affect one’s mental health, so dealing with it in a healthy manner can reduce the intensity of these emotions over time. Consider using creative methods to deal with these emotions so that you can get on with your life and stop wasting time wallowing in these pessimistic feelings.

 

With all the expectations placed on us each and every day, it’s no wonder that the average level of stress experienced by people is increasing each year. There are different ways of coping with stress, such as exercise or doing yoga. However, have you ever considered channeling all of the stress and negative emotions associated with it towards something productive?

You would never think that you could get results out of using your negative emotions for something. Usually, people are trying to get rid of or ignore their negative emotions so that they can get on with their work. However, if you’re creative, you could produce something interesting out of what’s causing you to worry, such as writing. Some of the best writings come out of the most intense emotions ever experienced, and worry is one of them.

Here are some tips to keep in mind if you’re ever considering venting your troubles in this way.

“I’m Not Good Enough.”

This is something that is heard on many occasions, and in my surroundings it is heard especially from students, including me. Why such a low self-esteem attitude?

 

Peer pressure, you’d say? What about parent pressure?