Talk to the Soldiers

I’ll take this one.

Going through something like this is something that I’m sure a lot of some of the soldiers have gone through. After all, we are facing some of the deadliest creatures that we know nothing about. For you, depression may feel the same way along with the suicide. Don’t try to say that it’s not a problem or that it will just go away. Talk to someone about this, or find something you enjoy doing that will help you get your mind off the suicidal thoughts whenever they appear. It doesn’t really matter what it is, as long as you’re happy doing it and you don’t hurt yourself in the process.

~ Sasha Braus

Hello! 

Go with whatever makes you feel safe and happy, your happiness and you feeling safe should be the most important thing to them! 

A lot of parents might not understand, even try to push you away from it, however, don’t be swayed because they don’t understand. Teach them to understand and persuade them that it’s what makes YOU happy! 

It might not be easy sailing but focus on yourself, not how others see you. Finding yourself can be hard and it may take time but don’t lose hope, I promise you’ll be happy in the end! 

Hello, anon. I’m sorry to say that Mikasa currently isn’t with us at the moment, so I hope you don’t mind if I take her place! Referring back to what I said to that anon who needed help with fears, I’m going to tell you something similar.

Fears are an okay thing to have - it’s the one thing that makes us human! For the people who ask, you just need to explain to them “I’m not okay with this; that’s why I don’t do it. Please don’t ask me again.”. Be nice, don’t be rude to the person who asked, and just keep a level head.

Don’t be afraid of your fears. Take the time and slowly conquer them. Maybe have a guardian or a trusted (adult) friend take you out onto the road (if you have your permit!) and have them stay there to calm you down and tell you everything was okay.

Just tell yourself “I will NOT let this conquer me!” and next thing you know, you’ll be driving like a pro! That is, if you want to. If not, then that’s acceptable. There are many adults who don’t drive nowadays!

From all of us here at Talk to the Soldiers, we wish you a very happy new year. We hope that this year is full of great surprises and as fulfilling as possible for you. 

For those of you who have had a rough past year, please keep your head up and keep striving for a better year. You are stronger than you think, and you will always be able to overcome anything that opposes you. Keep fighting, don't give up.

For those of you who have had a wonderful past year, keep up the good work. Keep growing as a person and keep pushing until you achieve your goals, you have a great thing going, make sure not to lose it.

If you are ever in need of support, please remember that we will be here for you throughout the next year. If things seem to grow dim or you are just in need of support do not hesitate to talk to your fellow squad members. Once again from all of us to you, have a happy new year.

Oh, hello, anon. I may not be the best to answer this question, but I do have a few friends who used to go through the same thoughts, so I will tell you the exact same thing I told them -

Be whatever makes you the happiest.

Whether that means you say “I’m a boy”, or “I’m a girl”, or “I’m neither and I don’t know what I am”, just do what makes you happiest. Being someone you’re not is a terrible feeling.

And if others start to ask, just saying that you’re finding yourself is an answer they should accept, and if they don’t, then they’re really not worth your time. If they don’t understand, and would like to play a part in helping you find yourself, explain to them the situation. If they were truly your friends, they would stay and help.

Just make yourself happy, okay?

I do apologize for this, but a friend my admin isn't currently feeling well, and I wish to do something special for her. You see, my admin's friend has gone through a really drastic change in her life that caused her to lose the majority of her friends today. Now only my admin and one (two?) others remain.

What would you say to her in order to cheer her up? This friend has just escaped self-harm and means a lot to my admin, and she really wishes to cheer her up.

Well I’m not the beat at fairytales but I’ll give it a shot!

There once was a beautiful princess who lived in a tall tower. She was happy there, the tower had everything the princess could ever want. Many knights and other men tried to save her, but she always pushed them away. She was happy in her tower, and was scared of the outside world. Everyday she would go to the window and watch the titans walk by. She learned about them and tried to befriend them. The princess loved the titans, and the titans loved her. They never tried to eat her, and she never tried to kill them.

One day an evil prince from a faraway learned about the princess. He thought that the princess was strange, and he thought “What human wants to be locked up in a tower?” and decided to rescue the princess. He snuck in the tower one night and grabbed the princess. She tried to fight back, but was exhausted from studying the titans all day. He managed to get her out of the tower as the sun rose, and started to climb down the tower. But his timing was unfortunate, because the second he reached the ground the titans started to show up. The titans did not know the evil prince, and decided to eat him up. Then the princess climbed back up the tower, and life continued normally. The End

Try not to stay up all night studying titans or scrolling tumblr. Getting enough sleep is essential, and without it you have no energy and are as cranky as Levi. Good night!

(Mun has had horrible insomnia since she was little. Good luck getting to sleep!)

(Aha, thank you!)Ah, school stress. The time of waking in which adults pressure you into doing homework, most of which you won’t even need for your school life. Some people think that school is a waste of time, and that it’s an unhealthy environment. Don’t worry, though. School is supposed to be a very safe learning habitat for people of all kinds.

First off, when you have a break (since Christmas is coming up), use it as a break. If you’re assigned homework, get it done at the beginning so you don’t have to worry about it. Use this time to pamper yourself and relax.

Second, do everything in moderation. If your Algebra teacher decides to do seventy problems for that night, get with some friends! Three or four minds goes faster than one under stress.

Next, don’t ever cram for a test. Get a planner or calendar and write down when tests are. Study gradually to that day, and be sure to get a good night’s sleep the night before.

Stay rested and full. A lot of sleep and a good breakfast is the generic school thing to say, but it’s true. Since your body is set to wake up after about eight hours of sleep, it releases harmful chemicals if you force yourself to wake up before that time. Be sure to eat a good breakfast of pancakes or cereal beforehand - especially if you have a big test coming up.

And breathe. School is not the end of the world, nor should it be anything to get worked up over. Just let out a sigh or maybe scream a little. Your education is important, but not as important as your mental-emotional well-being.

If you need any more help throughout the year, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Wow, thank you all for getting us here! We hoped that we helped every single one of you get better, no matter what the cause is. Please, don't be afraid to ask us things, even if you just want to talk to someone for no reason at all; just to hold a conversation.

In unrelated news, my admin is going to be off Dec 6-9 while she attends Yamacon. You can find more details about it on her blog, and she would love to personally hug you if you're going.

Getting motivated can be extremely difficult. Trust me, we all had our little unproductive slumps, even the brats have had trouble getting motivated. I do have a few techniques that work for me, perhaps those would help.

One of the main inspirations for me is setting a goal. I often find that meeting said goal inspires me to want to do more, no matter how small the goal. Seeing productivity is often a big help.

Another helpful motivator would be thinking more about the benefits rather than the difficulties. Recruits tend to procrastinate when thinking about doing their chores or training, I’ll admit it can be rather difficult, but thinking about the work will only slow you down further.

If all else fails, I normally just force myself to do the work. It is a pain in the ass, but knowing it needs to be done gets me moving. I can’t stand the thought of uncompleted tasks, then again that may just be me.

Its never easy to make yourself want to do something, but at least you are trying to get motivated. Keep trying until you are productive.

(Sorry for coming out of character for little bit while I answer this, but I wanted to let you know that this is my specialty, and I’m speaking from experience. I don’t know if that will help you reading this, or not, but it might - Admin)

Ah, the pains of heartbreak. I know this a little too well. I wanted to let you know beforehand that it’s okay to feel sad. However, please don’t dwell on it too much or it will begin to overtake your life, and that’s not healthy. 

Whatever happened between the two of you, whatever happened between you and whatever has “crushed you”, you need to look over it and ask yourself this -

- Was it an unhealthy relationship?

If so, do not feel bad. If you were the victim, then it’s a good thing you left and you shouldn’t feel bad about leaving him/her. It’s not your fault, nor should you feel bad for it.

- Did you discover your partner cheating on you with another, or multiple?

If so, I know this is the hardest to get over, but you must realize that any scum to break someone’s heart, whether your partner was male or female, older or younger than you, etc., is not worth your time nor your problem. I know I cannot tell you to just “get over it”, as your heart is broken and it does take time.

If you did not fall under either of these, then something else has happened. I don’t know what happened, nor is it my place to know. It is my place, however, to help you out and let you know some things to do to mend your heart.

• Don’t get back into the dating game too quickly.

This is very bad for your heart. Take some time for yourself - go to a spa, learn an instrument, take up knitting, practice voice acting, draw/write, etc. Personally, a young woman I know who experienced heartbreak listened to a lot of music and took up dancing to get her mind off of the young man who broke her heart.

• Empower yourself.

Think about the positives of being away from this person. You have more free time, you only have to worry about the emotional problems of one person, and you don’t have to buy presents for special occasions anymore!!

• Think to yourself, “What can I do to forget about the heartbreak?”

I know this is the hardest part, but after taking care of yourself for a little bit, you need to figure out how you’re going to let all of this go. This is the part where you exhale, take a step back, and breathe. 

You have to tell yourself that this heartbreak was a normal thing for humans to have, but now you have to let it go. You won’t be able to do anything for you if you don’t. Trust me.

• Let it go.

The most heartwrenching thing for anyone around you is to see you be sad. You can lose many friends and turn away potential partners if you look lonely and depressed. That one day - and it will come, I promise - when you wake up thinking to yourself, “Gee, it’s a good day!” is the day you’ll realize you’re ready to move on.