DIY Inspirational Stones

Hey everyone...today we are doing a DIY.  I love being creative and making things.  And this year is all about becoming the best YOU that you can possibly be, and leaving behind all the negative aspects of your life.  That can include friends, activities, jobs, anything that you felt was negative and didn't make you happy in your life.  So since I have been really into inspiration, yoga, meditation all of that, I thought that I would share with you what I did to sort of have around my house, to inspire me every day.

1) Get Rocks

            -I got these rocks at a dollar store, but you can go out and get them in your yard, or the street or wherever rocks can be found.

2) Paint Them

           -I painted mine brown/goldish color because I really liked them

3) Paint on your inspirational sayings or quotes

These are mine:

Love, pray, live in the now, laugh, you are beautiful, peace, trust God, rest, breathe, be silent, hope, know yourself, and be still.

I love these sayings because they really help me just to always keep myself in check and make sure that I'm happy and living the best life I can live for me.  Remember this is not about anyone else, but YOU!  

You are free to create these same rocks if you would like, and if you have other inspirational things that you do, please leave them down at the bottom in the comments.

Meditation and 5 Tips

As we talk about mental health, we need to also talk about some things that you can do to help you deal with everything that is going on...so today we will be discussing meditation.

Meditation is something that I have been really into recently.  It's been helping me sort out my feelings and just be aware of whatever I'm feeling.  To me, meditation is quieting my mind, and being in the present moment.  Drown out all of the distractions, all of the thoughts that you may have, everything, and bring your mind to the center.  I am a Christian, but I  love meditation, ...because it's a way for me to quiet my mind and get my focus back on God and who I am as a person. however even if you are not a Christian, you can still meditate.  Often times we have so much on our minds, that we forget that if we just stop focusing on all the things that are making us go crazy, and we just sit still and breathe, then we can calm our body, our soul and mind and regain our focus and our peace.  One thing I truly believe and that I read was that:  "we don't get answers when our mind is busy, we get our answers when our mind is silent."  As humans, we need to have a balance and start to see that being still and quiet is a great thing.  It's great to just be by yourself and relax.  Meditation is great if you are dealing with anxiety or depression, because it shifts your focus from what is making you anxious or depressed, and calms your mind, soothes your soul and focuses your attention on your breathing and your inner self. So then you ask, ok Marvina, how do I meditate when I don't have time or when I don't know how?  Well here are some tips that I've just taken to help me explore this new experience and embrace it.

5 Tips:

1) Find a place, or create a place
            -Creating or finding a place in your home or room that you can kind of make your quiet area, is a great place to start.  Get a corner, and put a pillow or a chair, add some blankets, have some candles and quiet music and inspirational quotes, and use that as your meditation area.  That is what I've done, and I've added some really great inspirational DIY rocks and quotes, and I just sit, listen to the music, take myself out of the hectic life or world, and put myself in a calming, peaceful state of mind.  My focus is on myself and not on what others may think or are doing.

2) Get out in nature
             -Nature is great for meditation.  When we are out in nature, we are like one with  nature.  We see God's beauty around us, with the birds chirping or the waves crashing in the ocean, if you live in that type of area, or we see the beautiful yet cold snow.  Getting out in nature can really just make you feel at peace and make you feel grateful for living in a world with so many changing seasons, because that is what our lives are; changing seasons.

3) Pray
          -You can pray as your meditation.  "Praying is when you are talking to God, and meditation is when God is talking to you and you Listen" You have to be silent in order to hear what he wants you to hear.  He does not speak to you when you are bombarding him with noise and business.  In the bible, it says "be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10  The key phrase "BE STILL."

4) Stop and Be Silent
          -Just stop and be silent.  Easier said than done, right...but when we are silent, we are focusing on our inner being, and not thinking about all the things that are going on in life.  We are in the present moment...which is where we want to be.

5) Guided Meditation
           -Guided meditation is great if you are a beginner.  With guided meditation you can hear and focus on what the person is telling you to do, that way you don't feel like you are by yourself and overwhelmed.

Ok that is all for today's post.  Hope you all got something out of it :)


Question:
    -What are ways that you meditate?  Do you go for a walk, do yoga or exercise, listen to music, etc.  Share your tips and ways down below in the comments :)


sources:
    - pictures from pinterest

Anxiety and Depression are Real, & Scary But You Can Overcome It!

Today's topic is very close to me and so it's going to be a serious and probably long blog post. Also on my blog is mental health awareness month, so this is part of mental health. So grab your snack and tea or coffee and lets get started.

BREATHE

RELAX

THIS TOO SHALL PASS!!

Anxiety and depression are a mental state of mind type thinking that is all in your head, and they can be dealt with if you don't let it run your life.

 When did I begin feeling like this?

Most people don't know this but I have suffered or dealt with anxiety and depression.  I've suffered from depression and anxiety for a few years. But I don't tell people because it doesn't run my life.  It didn't really start until I believe my freshman year of college.  I had joined a sorority, I was taking classes at the time to be a social worker, which I'm not majoring in that anymore, but anyway...and I was just overwhelmed.  I was involved in a lot of activities with my friends, and youth group and bible study, that I just couldn't take anymore craziness in my life.  But in my freshman year, I believe, my cousin died...he took his own life, and it was really scary for me that someone could do that.  After a few weeks, it really hit me that I could not deal with this.  For some reason I felt really sad, I started to withdraw from my friends and my grades just went down hill. So I talked to my academic advisors and they suggested I see the school therapist, which was awesome, because she really helped me sort my emotions out.  Fast forward to a year later, I was still involved in a lot of activities, but I took more risks and did everything on my own terms.  But then I had a boyfriend, which didn't last long because well we didn't...and then I had a serous boyfriend.  It was going ok, but this guy also had anxiety and it really made me nervous.  We ended up getting engaged but because of some personal things, we didn't get married.

What it feels like and why people don't understand:

 Something happened, and I really just went into my first anxiety attack.  Now an anxiety attack is horrible.  You feel like you can't breathe, you cry, you are scared, you feel like the world is just going to end and you don't want to be in it anymore.  The only thing that helped was to call my mom so that I could realize that it's all ok.  Now you might think, how could a girl who seemed to have everything together in her life, have anxiety and depression?  I'm telling you, no matter who you are, you can have a disorder or mental issue that people don't know about but you or you and your doctor. And you should never let others look down upon you or think different of you because you have this.  Depression and anxiety, along with postpartum depression and other illnesses, I feel are looked down upon and are not being spoken about.  People are afraid to admit that they have it because others think they are crazy.  Something you have to understand and it's something that I heard, is that no one is going to know you have it unless they see valuable information from a doctor or a prescription saying you have it.  Like no one is going to know you have a broken leg unless you are wearing a cast.  So depression has been a part of my life for a few years, and anxiety is just as bad.  One thing about me,  as I have gotten older is,  I wear my emotions on my sleeve, meaning that I take everything to heart.  I care so much about the people in my life, that once they betray that trust and hurt me, it just sends my emotions out of whack. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think people are perfect, and I'm definitely not perfect, but I do put a lot of trust in the people in my life. So when my emotions get out of whack,  I cry, I get really sad, I feel like I can't eat or breathe or think, and I just feel powerless and that is not fun nor is it healthy.  I was afraid to tell people for a long time because they don't understand...even telling my husband is like useless because he doesn't get it.  I act like things are ok, I'm happy and all of that, but inside, if something is bothering me, it's bothering me until I figure out how to piece it together and make sense of it and move on.

How I cope with anxiety and depression:

 The way that I get through this, is I take it day by day.  I write, I sing, I read, I spend time with family and the people that mean the most to me...and I tell myself...it's ok.  That saying up top, is what I say every time I'm having an anxiety attack or I feel depressed: "Breathe, Relax, this too shall pass."  It's true.  This will not last forever.  Whatever you are feeling at this present moment will not last forever...it will pass...you just need to breathe and relax.  Something that I did was I changed all of my backgrounds on my computer, my ipod and Ipad and phone  to this:

This just reminds me to breathe and relax and it will pass.

What you can do to help you get through each day:

 I'm going to end the post here because I could talk on and on about it.  But if you need help don't be afraid to get it, whether medical help or just talking to a friend to clear your mind.  It's ok...you are not alone and don't let people make you feel less of a person because you deal with this. I also suggest to write out how you are feeling.  Grab a pen and a piece of paper, and just write your feelings.  Don't worry about grammar, just write.  Writing helps clear your mind and sort out your feelings.  It's also great for if you see a therapist, they can get an idea of when you started to feel this way, so that they can come up with a way to help you deal with it and hopefully overcome it. Hope you all have a great week and if you need to talk, I'm here..I'm your friend and things will be ok. 

PostPartum Depression

Hey guys and welcome to March.  I can't believe that March is here already, but that means that for us people who live in the north that the spring weather is just around the corner and hopefully we will get some warmer weather soon.  This month I'm going to be talking about mental health issues, that people face all the time, and my ways that I deal with them.  I am not a doctor, so don't take it like I have all the answers, but I'm just here to share my experiences and to make this blog an inviting place to share your stories and become friends.  Today we are going to talk about postpartum depression, which is a silent topic or a taboo topic, but should be brought to the surface because a lot of mothers face this issue and it can be a lonely place.


What is postpartum depression?
     -Postpartum depression is usually triggered by what people call "baby blues."  After you have a baby, sometimes you can just feel overwhelmed and just down and not yourself.  You feel like crying, you feel sad, you feel like you can't get out of bed, even though that now since your a mom, you really need to.  It can last for a long time.

My Story
    -When I had my son, I was fine for a few months, but then we started to get told that he had some medical issues, and not just a little but a lot.  We were always taking him to the doctor, and I felt really sad.  I got to one point where I didn't want to hold him, or be around him, because I just was sad.  I was overwhelmed with everything I had to do.  Now, you might think, ok that sounds like depression, but the main difference is...depression is usually triggered from every day life, where as postpartum is triggered from becoming a parent and realizing that you now have another human being that you are responsible for, on top of everything else you have going on in your life.  I'm not completely over it, but I can say that I can  live my life better.  I love my son, I love playing with him and watching him learn new things, and just being around him, because he is such a happy child.

Ways that helped me cope

      1) Recognize that I had it. 
                 - I went to see my doctor, who talked to me about this, and said that a lot of mothers deal with this.  It's completely normal and it's nothing to be ashamed of.
      2) Find enjoyment in your child or children.
                 -Everyday I find something that I love about my child. That might sound stupid because you are supposed to love your children all the time, but as moms, sometimes we have to take a step back and find what it is about that child that makes us get out of bed everyday and be the best parent we can be.  The one thing about my child is his smile.  He is so happy and just makes everyone around him happy and smile, and I love that about him.  I hope that he never loses that happiness inside of him because it's so precious.
      3) Take care of yourself.
                 -Taking care of yourself as a mother is very important.  You want to make sure you are the healthiest, happiest, best mother you can be to your child because they depend on you.  Alot of the times, we mothers, put ourselves last and we forget about our own happiness, but we need our time.  I've started to take time for myself everyday.  I ask my husband or my parents to take Liam for a few hours or 10 minutes, so that I can be by myself, whether that is to write, or read, or sing or play my piano or do yoga, or watch a movie or a tv show or just to sit and breathe and listen to music.  Whatever it is, it's my time for me.  It's my way of taking care of myself so I can be happy and take care of my child.
       4) Talk to  friends or family members about it.
                   -Talking can really help.  If you know any other mothers who have gone through this, they can really help you seek help or atleast find your happiness again.  Even if all they do is text you for an hour or so and talk to you, that can really help and lift your spirits.  Don't be afraid to tell them what has been going on with you, so they can be there to help out if you need it.
      5) Get medical help.
                 -Medical help is not always a bad thing.  There are some people out there that need that in order for them to deal with it and that is ok.  Personally I don't like taking medications, so I try natural ways to deal, but if you really can't find those natural ways or if they are not helping, seek professional medical help and be there for your child or children.
     6) Enjoy life.
                 -Find something in life that you enjoy and embrace it.  Life is precious and it's short and it should be enjoyed with your family and friends.  Don't be afraid to do spontaneous things with your kids....they will appreciate it when they get older.  But be happy and live life.


That's all for this one.  I hope you all got something out of it, and if there are any moms out there, who have suffered from this and you feel ok with sharing your stories, please do....It's something that is so silent and we want to help those out there and let you know that you are not alone in this.



Reference:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/postpartum-depression/basics/definition/con-20029130