The Bouncing Spoon

“I pledge my commitment to the Blog for Mental Health 2014 Project. I will blog about mental health topics not only for myself, but for others. By displaying this badge, I show my pride, dedication, and acceptance for mental health. I use this to promote mental health education in the struggle to erase stigma.”

This is basically what I do anyway so Hell yeah I’m signing up for this!!

If you want to join in the revolution then just click on the pick [BFMH badge] or go here [to BFMH launch post] and Blog for Mental Health 2014 too!! 😀

Read the post in its entirety! Visit Breaking down the stigma | The Bouncing Spoon.

Note from Ruby:  Sometimes the energy and enthusiasm really grab you.  😉

You Are Not Alone – Not ashamed of the diagnosis : Personality disorder with histrionic tendency

One of diagnosis by a clinical psychologist I received from a psychiatrist is personality disorder with histrionic tendency. It immediately made me feel bad to be diagnosed with personality disorder. But I told myself that healing would start beginning with self-acceptance of the problems and how much I wanted to get better and happier. I have already refused to see a psychiatrist voluntarily or with force because of such bad stigma on mental illness among Koreans based on Korean culture and perception. I thought I was already victimized enough and didn’t put myself into a position to have myself labeled as a mental illness patient because it would be shameful with unwanted criticism and judgment from those who had zero understanding and empathy for people suffering from mental illness. Because I knew that would bring even more pain. I was scared of getting criticized and judged even further more than motivated to seek for help. . .

I no longer carry shame and bad stigma for having mental issues for myself to educate not only myself but others with the goal of getting better and happier to healing. I want to be wholesome and free from all kinds of emotional and psychological hang-ups and burdens that have been weighing me down causing a lot of suffering and pain which made it difficult for me to function in work place and to build secure and healthy relationships. This is a big step to my healing journey which will bring amazing experiences with big shifts in my life. I no longer cry silently. I can cry out. What a progress. Now I slowly start learning my emotions that have been repressed for over 30 years and enjoy exploring them.  There are no such bad feelings. Feelings are not good or bad. I learn to experience my feelings for what they are without repressing them no matter how scary and difficult they may hit me. I pray for courage and strength. I believe in the power within myself even though I don’t have full understanding of it.

Read the rest of the story!  Visit Not ashamed of the diagnosis : Personality disorder with histrionic tendency | You Are Not Alone.

The Rules for Peace/The Search for Peace from Under a Butterfly’s Wings

“I pledge my commitment to the Blog for Mental Health 2014 Project. I will blog about mental health topics not only for myself, but for others. By displaying this badge, I show my pride, dedication, and acceptance for mental health. I use this to promote mental health education in the struggle to erase stigma.”  

I have joined to share my journey until today and this moment forward.  

Find out more!  Visit Blog for Mental Health 2014 | The Search for Peace from Under a Butterfly’s Wings.

Positively Depressed – Prayers for Ft. Hood

Dammit Society!
Educate Yourselves

The stigma placed on Mental Illness has got to end NOW!
Violence and Suicide is never the answer.
I just feel that this definitely could have been avoided.
My heart goes out to everyone affected by this senseless
tragedy, including the shooter’s family.

Lastly, since this is the second tragedy that
Ft. Hood has had to endure in just a few years,
Please United States Military, you have got to do more
for the very people that live, die,  and
fight for everyone’s freedom.

Read the rest of the piece!  Visit Positively Depressed: Prayers for Ft. Hood.

You Are Not Alone – Mental Health and Dissociative Amnesia : My healing journey has just begun!

I did some research online to learn about Dissociative Amnesia today. It made me feel uncomfortable to accept that I have mental health issues but also realized without self-acceptance, I would not get better. I think it’s NOT shameful to have experience mental health issues and to seek for help and solutions for healing. I do want to get better and happier overcoming this long and heavy shadow and clouds of pain that my body and mind have been carrying for over 30 years of my life. How hard it must have been? It’s time for me to cut off this vicious cycle and move forward. . .

After three visits with a Korean female psychiatrist and 2 hour-psychological tests with a clinical psychologist, Dr. Soh told me that she would like to try clinical hypnosis for my next appointment regarding dissociative amnesia. She told me that dissociative amnesia was the way how I have dealt with traumatic events and emotional distress since I was young. EMDR wouldn’t work well with me because I couldn’t remember the past events well and how they made me feel. I have had a very difficult time to recognize my feelings and to understand what they are and mean to me throughout my life because my parents were emotionally, psychologically and verbally extremely abusive to me without any emotional coaching and I learned not to express my emotions by repressing them because of even more abuses coming from them when I expressed my thoughts and feelings as a child. I became very withdrawn keeping my thoughts and feelings to myself as a loner throughout all school years and was very lonely and isolated lost in my thoughts and feelings that I eventually was unable to recognize and forget later years.

I keep a positive mind listening to positive affirmations on audio book when I am home alone. There is just so much negativity out here in Seoul. When I was in San Francisco Bay area, I felt and experienced so much better and healthier psychic environment for me to get healed both mentally and physically. Most physical symptoms were relieved and I could not feel any better when I was visiting there for extended periods of time. That’s why I made three trips to San Francisco Bay area one after another. I had amazing support from old and new friends who were so kind and generous to me with compassion and empathy allowing me to stay with them and taking care of me. I started finding myself slowly and gradually let go of all kinds of emotional and psychological hang-ups and issues that are associated with social, cultural and familiar backgrounds and history of mine.

Read the rest of the story!  Visit Mental Health and Dissociative Amnesia : My healing journey has just begun! | You Are Not Alone

Trigger Warning: Sexual assault/rape/domestic violence