Resources for Mental Health

Available on the Blog

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

In the last newsletter, I asked everyone what you all wanted me to focus on in the new year - if you haven’t voted, the poll is still open - and the response so far is 100% in favor of mental health content.

If you haven’t voted yet, the poll is still open until tomorrow. And if it happens to be closed when you are reading this, just leave me a note in the comments!

You can find my currently available blog posts on Mental Health related content on my blog, Millenial Mom, under the “health and wellness” tab. I write general mental health content such as how to find a therapist, support group or life coach, as well as more specific content around PTSD, anxiety, depression and recovering from a relationship with a narcissist since I have personal experience with these.

I have also briefly covered ADHD and Autism as well, however I have less experience with those conditions so I haven’t delved into the same degree of detail.

If you have Bipolar, Scott Nineman’s newsletter Speaking Bipolar is a great resource you can check out here on Substack.

I have summarized a bulk of my writings about PTSD and Depression for your convenience:

Coping Strategies Library for PTSD

Coping Strategies Library for Depression

I will also be working on a Coping Strategies Library for Anxiety to be updated soon as well.

For additional resources, you can check out this list, which includes:

• International List of Suicide Hotline Numbers

• International List of Domestic Violence Hotlines

• International List of Child Abuse Hotlines

• Other helpful Mental Health blogs

• Resources to get into online therapy

For more in-depth advice, you can also check out my ebooks:

• Trauma Survivor’s Guide to Coping With Panic Attacks

• A Narcissist Destroyed my Life: How do I Rebuild?

Available on Amazon. If you are low-income or otherwise unable to pay the cover price, I also do provide my Trauma Survivor’s Guide to Coping With Panic Attacks free of charge in a PDF format. Just send me an email to claim your copy.

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As we are going into the holiday season and the New Year, I understand that there are a lot of family gatherings which have the potential to be triggering. If this season is difficult for you, make sure you are taking time for added self-care, and setting boundaries with difficult people in your life.

Remember, your mental health always comes first! You don’t owe it to other people to do things that violate your boundaries, or push you too far outside your comfort zone.

When you say “No.” that is a complete sentence. Don’t feel like you have to explain your reasoning to anyone. If you have friends or family laying on the guilt trips, you can set a firm boundary with them and end the call or visit at any time. It may seem rude, but they shouldn’t be putting you in an uncomfortable situation in the first place!

If you need to reach out to someone and things are getting difficult, you can always call a crisis line to speak to a professional.

Everyone needs help sometimes, and reaching out for support is the first step to getting the help that you need. Life has ups and downs, and the more we learn to cope with the down times, the more we can experience the good day by day.

Sometimes, it feels like the darkness will never lift, or like you can’t live a fulfilling life with a mental illness. However, if you get the proper therapy, medication and support, you can still live a full and vibrant life.

Be well my friends,

Nicole Dake