I'm so sorry this is happening to you! When my thoughts are in a downward spiral grounding exercises work amazing, like playing catch against a wall, listing 5 things I can see, four things I can touch etc. Or trying to think of a plant/famous person/animal for every letter of the alphabet. This helps get me through the short-term when the long-term feels overwhelming.
this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2023
50 points (94.6% liked)
Mental Health
4224 readers
19 users here now
Welcome!
This is a safe place to discuss, vent, support, and share information about mental health, illness, and wellness.
Thank you for being here. We appreciate who you are today. Please show respect and empathy when making or replying to posts.
The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:
Rules
1-Posts promoting paid products and services of any kind are not allowed here.
2-All posts and comments must be helpful and supportive. Do not put vulnerable people at risk.
3-Do not DM or ask to speak privately to any of our members unless they specifically request it.
If a person from this community disturbs you in a comment, please report the comment. If you receive a DM you did not request, send a screenshot of the DM in a message to a moderator. This is a bannable offense.
4-Suicide, Self-Harm, Death-- Extended discussions are STRONGLY DISCOURAGED here. First, mods and community members are caring people, but not experts in crisis situations. Second, we want to avoid Lemmy becoming like many commercial social media platforms, where comments can snowball into counterproductive talk.
If you or someone you know needs more help than can be found here, please refer to the pinned resources.
If BRIEF mention of these topics is an important part of your post, please flag your post as NSFW and include a (trigger warning: suicide, self-harm, death, etc.)in the title so that other readers who may feel triggered can avoid it. Please also include a trigger warning on all comments mentioning these topics in a post that was not already tagged as such.
Partner Communities
- Therapy
Neurodegenerative Disease Support
Friends and Family of People with Addiction
To partner with our community and be included here, you are free to message the current moderators or comment on our pinned post.
Community Moderation
Some moderators are mental health professionals and some are not. All are carefully selected by the moderation team and will be actively monitoring posts and comments. If you are interested in joining the team, you can send a message to ZenGrammy for more information.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Oh man, thanks so much.
I completely forgot about all of my usual strategies like this, I really needed the reminder.
I know this isn't always possible, but if you can, type out a list and keep it somewhere you'll see it/be able to quickly access it. It's a trick my counselor told me, and it's been a huge help. Even just going through the motion of getting it can help kick your brain out of the cycle.
Dude, I have been there with stalkers twice. One was a customer at a previous job (she had a history of violent offenses) and the other was an ex gf (she was a county sheriff). It's scary af and exhausting. What I learned from abuse therapy is that stalkers are the people that don't give a shit about boundaries. They only understand consequences. I highly recommend getting an injunction/restraining order. If it's not granted, they'll tell you what you need for it to be granted next time, so you can set that in motion. It also helps cops investigate and helps you file charges should "something odd" happen.
Stay safe, stay sane, and remember that it's not your fault, no matter what her deranged mouth says.
You have gotten through the dark before & you will again. Life will continue to jab at your anxiety. Work on your tools while you're in a good place so they're sharp & ready when you need them. You are fighting the good fight & you can make it
Thanks everyone for the kind words and advice. I'm doing alright now, and with the help of some friends I've taken steps to keep myself safe.
It's going to be a bit harder for a little bit, but I'm confident I can get through this!
Hey, if it's any consolation, life is tough and no one is really ever safe.