courage and kindness

 Groot is an apple core that I’d left outside for the birds. The birds didn’t want it, and it sprouted, so I nursed it back to health and it’s on it’s way to becoming an apple tree :)

Once I’d done that, I spent a while trying to reach my step goal and then had dinner. I didn’t eat much, just the leftover vegetables from yesterday’s roast, so I also had some oats for dessert.

I’m now watching From Up On Poppy Hill [what is it with me and Ghibli, lol?]and I’m going to work out in a bit :D

Overall, today was so successful and I just felt really at peace, which felt so wonderful.

I then did my daily meditation, and decided to keep a meditation journal so that I can note down my feelings and my progress regarding meditation. after that, I spent a while on YouTube and my phone, just chilling out. my dad decided to cook a Sunday roast today, which was really nice, and we had cheesecake for dessert.

once I'd eaten, I took a look and saw that one of my plants needs repotting, so I'm going to do that tomorrow. for almost the rest of the day, I played Minecraft lol, but I also watched the Cat Returns, which although was a little odd, was still wholesome.

Once I finished classes I took a minute to lie down and watch youtube on my phone. I was a little tired at this point, but I didn’t want to fall asleep because I was getting hungry and wanted dinner lol.

I ate some chips and had a serving of vegetables for dinner as well as some toast afterwards, although the toast didn’t quite hit the same today :(. 

After that, I watched a couple of old Chris Hansen videos and did my workout for the day. I think I might have pulled a muscle but it doesn’t matter, tomorrow is my rest day anyway.

Later on, I’m going to have a shower, shave my legs [even though we’re in quarantine lol] and try out a face cream that I’ve been meaning to use for a while, which I’m hoping won’t make me break out lol.

I managed to do all of my stretches and exercise today, although I haven’t reached my step-goal yet

I had a couple of problems with eating today, which has kind of bummed me out, but hopefully I’ll cheer up later. I’m watching Whisper of the Heart today (another Ghibli film, i KNOW), and after this, I’ll get into bed and have a long sleep because I think I need it.

Tomorrow I have a four hour study break between lessons, which is really inconvenient for me, but I guess I’ll have to deal with it lol.

Recently, I’ve become interested in spirituality a lot more. I don’t really have a specific religion or practice that I follow, but with meditating more, I think I believe in somewhat of an internal power that we can access.It’s kind of following the idea of opening your third eye or unlocking a new sense of consciousness if that makes sense. I just think that it’s a really peaceful idea, and it seems really fulfilling from what I can tell. Living my best life is kind of important for me, and I get a feeling that trying to meditate regularly as possible and living as positively as possible is going to be the way to go.

I’ve started exercising again recently, which I’m hoping will make me feel better. I’m mainly concerned about toning my glutes because my arms are already quite muscle-y, so I’m doing my squats and side squats etc. to help. I’ve been doing yoga as a part of my routine as well to improve my flexibility because I’ve realised I’m unable to touch my toes or do the splits, which are the most basic moves to do, so there’s that.

My gran is quite sick right now, so we also got shopping for her - as well as some tulips - and there was a load of reduced price easter chocolate, so of course we bought a load of that lol.

Because I’ve been lacking motivation recently, I made lists of the reasons why I chose to take the subjects that I study. It was really useful and actually worked really well. It’s easy to lose enjoyment in subjects you chose to take- it sometimes ends up feeling like a chore to study, which isn’t ideal, especially when you want good grades. A lot of study hacks online include things that just make studying more tiring, like “hiding your phone” or “turning off the wifi” or “chewing gum when you study”, and they all just seem a little trivial.

 If you don’t feel like studying, it’s unlikely that any information is going to stick.

Finding things you’re passionate about within your subjects is probably going to motivate you the most. While studying whatever I need to, I try to apply it to something within my life, or make the information useful in some way. For example, when learning about Christianity, I try to link whatever we are learning about to some kind of controversial topic that Christians love to talk about. Then I know by learning the info, I can use it in the future to argue against ignorant people who use their beliefs as excuses.

I don’t know whether this will apply to whatever you’re studying, but hopefully you found some kind of enjoyment from it lol.

1. Mindless self indulgence

Mindless is my favourite band ever and I really can’t tell you exactly why. I really like the chaotic and unapologetic music that they put out because it’s high-energy, and really boosts my confidence when I listen to it. When I listen to it, it feels like nothing can stop me and it invokes that feeling where you think you could do anything and get away with it. My favourite song by them is either Molly or Animal

2. PVRIS

You can listen to PVRIS no matter what mood you’re in- they literally have music for any mood. A lot of the music they do is kind of lowkey, but when they go all out, they REALLY go all out. A good example of this is Eyelids vs White Noise - you cannot get any different than that lol. My favourite song by them is either Anyone Else [because it reminds me that I belong to myself, and no one else can control me] or No Mercy [because it’s so empowering and has that message of “I dare you”, which I really love]

3. Kendrick Lamar

This is a little different from the rest of my music lol. I just really enjoy Kendrick’s music because there’s such a wide variation of feeling in it, especially in DAMN. Even though I can’t really relate to a lot of issues that he talks about in his music, I still connect to it on a really deep level. My favourite song is probably Love because the contrast between the rap and Zacari’s vocals just works so well. It’s so unexpected but both parts emphasise and enhance one another and it’s just really beautiful

4. My Chem

My Chemical Romance is one of the bands that shaped me as a person. I found them during my peak emo phase, but went off them when I came out of it. Recently, however, I’ve been listening to their music again, and no matter how hard I try to cringe at the memories, I just can’t. Their music has always had such a strong message that really speaks to me about being myself and not giving in to my demons. I absolutely LOVE Danger Days because the concept of this album is so interesting to me and the vibe of the songs is so much more upbeat and more punk than emo, which I really like. I think my favourite song would either be Early Sunsets Over Monrover or Na Na Na.

5. Melanie Martinez

I’ve only recently become a fan of Melanie Martinez after the release of K-12. I thought that the concept of K-12 was really interesting, especially thinking about how it links in to Crybaby, however, the scripting was a little questionable lol. I know I’ve said this before, but you can listen to any one of her songs in any mood. For example, Recess has that vibe where you can listen to it while crying, but you could also listen to it when you’re perfectly fine. I really really love Tag, You’re It and Wheels On The Bus.

6. Post Malone

Posty is so precious and we should protect him at all costs. His music is just so kind of chill. It’s the kind of music that I picture myself listening to in the height of summer, sunbathing on the beach, you know? It’s kind of upbeat, even though some of the topics of his music are kind of the opposite lol. I think my favourite song is Sunflower [from the Spiderman into the Spiderverse movie, I know] or Rich and Sad

7. Asking Alexandria

Oh my god, you would not expect that I listen to this if you saw me. It’s just the best kind of music to listen to when you feel angry or want to work out. Even though a lot of their older stuff involves screaming, it’s still just the perfect music to listen to- when I listen to it I feel like I could get away with murder. I think my favourite song that they’ve done is either Under Denver or Don’t Pray For Me

8. Panic! at the disco [not the most recent album]

Okay, so I love a good bit of Panic [excluding the most recent album], but my favourite album is probably either Pretty. Odd or Too Weird To Live Too Young To Die. I just love how different each album sounds, so you really don’t know what to expect when they release a new album. I’m really not a fan of their recent album because I feel like it just sounds very childish [?] in parts, especially in Dancing’s Not A Crime, and there’s just something missing from what made Panic! At The Disco different from other bands. It just seems like they’ve started to blend in with the rest of the top 40. But Pretty. Odd. SLAPS so much, it’s their own kind of genre, mixed with 50s-60s-esque music. I think my favourite song is either Nicotine or These Tables Are Numbered...

9. Wet

This is kind of a lowkey band that is SO chill. This music is the kind of music that can move you immensely but also send you to sleep. I can’t really describe this music other than beautiful. It’s so different from anything I’ve ever heard, and I’ve tried on multiple occasions to find similar artists, but nothing is the same. My favourite song that they’ve done is Weak. It’s one of those songs that I would love to listen to for the first time again. It’s just so moving and always gives me goosebumps whenever I listen to it

Thank you for reading lol. I hope you enjoyed it! 

Today felt like just any other day, which I was trying to avoid this Easter, after the last couple of years being unmemorable. So I managed to get up at around 8:30 and was finally able to eat my strawberries for breakfast lol. I did a LOAD of work for college, which made me feel really good and my mum cooked a roast for dinner, which tasted SO good. I obviously ate some of my Easter egg, and hopefully on Tuesday when we go shopping, we’ll manage to pick some up for cheaper lol. 

Today is my friend’s birthday, so in a bit, I’m going to face-time her and after that I’m going to face-time another one of my friends, so this evening is going to be packed lol.

I hope you guys have a wonderful day/night and are staying safe

Anyway, the rest of the day was as usual, but today my family had to go shopping. We went early on in the day, but when we drove into the car park, there was a queue going all the way through the car park. So we went back later, which was a little less crowded, but nerve-wracking nonetheless. People were zooming past one another with their trolleys and definitely weren’t conforming to the guidelines set by the shop, which was really worrying. 

I didn’t really do much else for the rest of the day other than catch up on RuPaul’s Drag Race (I’m still only on season 10, oops) because I still wasn’t able to go outside :(.

Sorry that today’s blog was a little down- I’m sure that it’s just a blip and I should be back to normal soon.

Have a great day/night and I hope you guys are staying healthy

So, big words with big meanings. Stigmatisation, for those who don’t know, is thinking that something is “worthy of disgrace or disapproval”. For example, you can disgrace or disapprove of something without it being stigmatising, but when looking at mental health in this light, it is extraordinarily damaging. Stigmatisation is so dangerous in the MH community because people are “disapproving” of something that the person is often unable to control. Today, we’re going to be looking at stigmatisation in the past and modern day, to see how it has changed.

Firstly, stigmatisation in the past. Before a lot of psychological research, mental health was seen as extraordinarily taboo. Women experiencing mild mental health problems were wrongly labelled “hysteric” (this is no longer a recognised mental illness) and “asylum tourism” was huge (for more, American Psychological has a great article). A popular belief was that those suffering from mental illness were possessed by evil spirits, which was largely spread by the Catholic Church (big surprise). Another very significant belief was that MH was the same as physical health, and was treated in that way. For example, electroshock therapy was mis/overused in patients.

Obviously this has changed immensely with developing science and technology, so fortunately, we have much better provision for those suffering with mental illness. However, there is still a social stigma surrounding mental health, which can be detrimental. A lot of people feel like they don’t want to get help because they are ashamed of their illness or are scared about how family and friends will react. This means that people who need help don’t get it.

Now, where does social media fit into this mess? A lot of movies and television portray those with mental illness as dangerous, such as “Split”, while others trivialise those suffering with mental illness by labelling them as “weird”, “crazy” and “freak”. I do need to give social media some kind of praise, though, because without it, people would be unable to send the vital messages about mental health. 

One very recent example of how mental health has been trivialised and stigmatised is the Trisha Paytas situation. If you don’t know, she made a video about her “multiple personality disorder” that she has self diagnosed with, while labelling another youtuber as “crazy”. There is a lot of misinformation spread within this video, for starters, using “multiple personality disorder” to describe herself, even though this term was removed in the DSM-V. If you want a deeper dive into the misinformation, I’ll link a couple of videos below, because I’m not too qualified to elaborate. By self-diagnosing with this, Trisha is really downplaying the experiences of those suffering from mental illnesses- the struggle of coming to terms with a diagnosis, and even reaching out to get a diagnosis is so difficult for many people. Secondly, labelling someone as “crazy” is one of the most damaging things you can do to someone suffering with mental health problems. Many people can internalise the labels that others give them, which can cause a self-fulfilling prophecy, where they believe and then act like the label that they’ve been given. All-in-all, Trisha’s video was really damaging for a lot of people within the mental health community. 

Another example of mental health stigmatisation in social media is the number of ads targeted at those with mental health problems. These adverts use lines like “This game cured my OCD!!” or “This game is perfect for my anxiety”. Not only are these adverts false advertising, but they’re stigmatising and misinforming people about mental illness. The terms OCD and Anxiety should not be thrown around lightly- they are real issues that many people struggle with. OCD is not just being cleanly or a perfectionist- it can involve many different compulsions [actions that they feel that they have to do to avoid irrational negative consequences] and anxiety is more than just seeking satisfaction or getting occasionally nervous. Again, I’ll link a couple articles about the topic.

Finally, what can we do to help the problem? We need to make sure that any information we give out surrounding mental illness is reliable and that the language we use when talking about mental health is appropriate. Another good tactic that we can use is educating and supporting others in their mental health. 

Thank you so much for reading my post and I hope you enjoyed :D This is the first time I’ve written something like this for an audience so constructive criticism is welcomed but please don’t be mean :) Below, I’ve linked a few articles and videos about the topic that are a little bit more in depth if you’re interested

MIND charity 

Stigma and it’s impact

Mental Health in Cinema

Sarah Hawkinson - Mental health and mobile games

Media and Stigma

Addressing stigma - CAMH

DissociaDID - reacting to Trisha Paytas

Information about DID (Trisha)

Another video about Trisha lol

Mental Health Stigma

Mental Health Foundation

Samaritans

So this evening I think I’m going to settle down a little earlier than usual, stick on a Studio Ghibli movie (there’s nothing better than a little bit of Ghibli to cheer someone up) and have a mug of chamomile tea. 

Hopefully, tomorrow, I will start to feel a little better than today :)

So today I woke up about an hour later than usual, which made me feel a lil defeated. but I got up and put on some music to get ready to, which made me feel a lot better :) I spent some time studying, which I haven't done in aggess, so that made me feel really good. at lunch I went outside n got really sunburnt lmao, but then I took a shower and put some after-sun on to help. I played Minecraft for aggess, where I decided to adapt a pre-existing village and add a couple more houses like farms and churches.

when I was outside, I was reading my "understanding psychology" book and read an interesting chapter about "Positive Psychology". The basic idea is that our society now focuses on too much negativity, which can be really bad for our mental and physical health. For example, those who find it difficult to find positives find it harder to overcome illnesses and die younger. The idea was coined by Seligman, who believed that we should focus on enhancing more positive virtues in those who may suffer from mental health problems in the future. In short, he thought that we should build positive strengths as a preventative measure. This technique is used in a lot of cognitive therapies, too!

I thought that this was a relevant message, considering the state of the world right now.

In the media, all we see is a constant bombardment of negativity about Covid-19, and it doesn't help that we're all consuming a lot more of it recently because we don't have much else to do. There are a few examples of positive corona-virus stories, especially on the Telegraph and Sky News, but personally, I don't think it's enough. What's more is that when people try to talk about the positive things that Covid-19 has brought about, they're instantly shut down and told that they're downplaying the negatives. I don't necessarily think that this is true. No one is denying that Covid-19 is causing mass trauma in all of the aspects of our lives, we just want to spread some positive news. I think that spreading optimistic news stories will be so impactful in our mental well-being.

On the radio earlier, I heard the presenter ask the audience to call in with their “quarantine failures”, and although this might give people a little bit of a laugh, it’s still a little bit mentally degrading. Instead, I want to ask all of you: What are some things that you've done that you’re proud of? And have you guys had any positives come out of Corona-virus?

1. dress-codes, uniform and feminism

2.13 reasons why and all of the problems with it

3. sexism, self-image and internalised misogyny

4. bisexual issues within the LGBTQ+ community

5. the stigmatisation of mental health within the media (e.g. youtube)

6. how to support people suffering from mental health problems

7. how racism has become “normalised” and what we can do to stop it

8. the differences between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation

9. the online community and eating disorder culture

10. why I’m pro-choice and how banning abortion could affect women

11. mental health provision of in schools - or, the lack of it

12. the “normalisation” of paedophilia and how social media has fuelled it 

13. my views on late-stage capitalism and how it’s affecting society

14. incels.

15. pros and cons of social media

16. gun control and why it should be implemented

17. the Vietnam war and my views on it

18. How greed and selfishness has become a key aspect of society - and how we can change that

19. animal testing - is it really moral?

20. self-diagnosing and how the media feeds into it

21. your responsibilities when it comes to the mental health of friends/families - what’s okay and not okay to do/feel?

I kind of went off, because she was also picking and choosing by wearing jewelry and eating meat (https://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/2l7qh2/41_things_the_bible_condemns_other_than/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share - this is what I used for reference). what's more than this is that not everyone believes in god or follows the Bible. The people who advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and pro-choice may not believe in the Bible or want to follow it's rules. Why should the Bible dictate the rules of a secularised society? And if the Torah or Qur'an was used in this way, it would be frowned upon by people who hold right wing, conservative views. It was just a little ridiculous to me, how the person managed to contradict herself in this video.

After a long road of self-discovery, I no longer identify as a Christian, but for the last 15 years of my life, I've become accustomed to the Bible and how the religion works. The girl in this video was another example of how many believe that their beliefs can decide on what other people decide to do, which immensely saddens me. One of the arguments within the philosophy of religion is that in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, we need to be able to execute our free will, and decide for ourselves whether we believe or not, so by pushing your views on others, it isn't allowing them to do that, and furthermore, it's probably deterring them from your religion.

So, yeah. I believe that if you have a religion or belief, you can use it to justify your own actions, as long as those actions don't affect others. I'd compare it to being a small child in a grocery store, where your mother would say "keep your hands to yourself"- do what you want with your hands, as long as they don't touch anything else.

anyway, this concludes today's rant lmao. I hope you enjoyed and I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts on the subject.

I hope you have a wonderful day/night and stay positive 💖

- Lily 🤠

Hi! My name’s Lily and I’m a 17 year old from the UK studying for my A-Levels. I really love my houseplants, incense and collecting dreamcatchers. I’m also really interested in psychology and philosophy, but I’m hoping to go into counselling in the future. 

I’m trying to focus on my mental well-being right now, because I haven’t really been easy on myself, and I know how quarantine can affect someone, especially if you aren’t well in the first place.

To try and cope with my mental health, one of the things I’ve been doing is journalling, so I thought maybe I could share online instead. I mean, what better place is there to rant on than Tumblr? 

A lot of what I’m posting about is probably going to be a rant of some sorts, so sorry about that lol. But I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things that are going on in the world, like sexism, racism and LGBTQ+ rights, so get ready to hear them lol.

Here are a couple random facts about me:

1. My favourite animated movie is Howl’s Moving Castle

2. My favourite music is either suuupper chill, or super chaotic, there’s no in-between

3. My favourite TV show is Bojack Horseman

4. I’m almost a vegetarian: I still eat chicken, but eventually, I plan to become a proper vegetarian

5. I’m bisexual 

6. My favourite food is a warm brownie with vanilla ice cream

7. I don’t like English Breakfast Tea, but I do like quite a few herbal teas

8. I speak a little bit of French

9. If I had a spirit animal, it would be a jaguar (bc they’re super pretty and elegant)

10. My favourite drink is either Pepsi max or pineapple smoothies