You Are Not Alone | If you or a loved one is struggling with mental illness, there is HOPE
I looked at the faces on my computer screen, the people in my support group with whom I’ve spent every Thursday night on Zoom for the past two years. As the facilitator, I try to stay positive, but one night I was really down. I had just gotten back from a girls’ weekend with two... Continue Reading →
I'm no scientist and I don't remember much about Physics, but I know all about inertia. It is easy for me to get stuck in a rut and I have to really push myself to get motivated. Some days are easier than others, but one thing's for sure: lying on my couch doesn't help. Once... Continue Reading →
One of the hardest things I've ever had to do is resign from my job as a high school English and Theatre Arts teacher. From the time I lined up my stuffed animals on the basement stairs and taught them their ABCs, I had always wanted to be a teacher. After many years of hard... Continue Reading →
People have compared mental health treatment plans to emergency kits, toolboxes, lunchboxes and so on. These action plans are known as WRAPs (Wellness Recovery Action Plan). It doesn’t matter what you call it, but it’s important to create your own toolkit of strategies to use to stay well. It takes time to learn which tools... Continue Reading →
I describe myself as a "pessimist from birth." Seriously, I can't remember a time when I didn't have worst case scenarios and "all or nothing" thinking. It's as natural to me as breathing. I berated myself if I missed a point on a test. If I got a 99%, I focused on the 1% I... Continue Reading →
I wasn’t going to go to my weekly DBSA meeting. I was tired, it was dark, and I had a long day. In fact, I've been stuck in a rut for the past two weeks--nothing severe, just low motivation and returning to old poor habits. But something pushed me, I got myself out the door,... Continue Reading →
At the last DBSA meeting, a peer shared the following advice given to him by a therapist when he was a young boy struggling with PTSD: We all have skeletons in our closets. When we leave home, those skeletons stay in the closet. You leave them behind. But when you come home, they are still... Continue Reading →
Depression feeds on negativity and grows stronger with each negative thought. When depressed, it is easy to fall into that vicious cycle of bad thoughts. Practicing gratitude stops that pattern and changes brain chemistry by releasing serotonin and dopamine. However, it can be difficult to find anything positive when depression sets in. Start with writing... Continue Reading →
Working My Recovery Every. Single. Day. Even though it’s been several years since I have had a depressive “episode” (that’s the term doctors have given it, though I associate “episodes” with sitcoms like The Office or Seinfeld—rather ironic, right?), that doesn’t mean I am out of the woods. There is no cure for mental illness and... Continue Reading →
C. L. Dunbar Health 
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