paleotrees:

marjchaos:

Even in long term depression, distraction can prevent what used to be called major depressive episodes. Dwelling on negative feelings and memories does in fact make it harder to think of anything else. Oddly, I’m absolutely not advocating positive thinking as a cure, or even distraction as a cure. Distraction is like yoga, or medication, or therapy…it’s coping/treatment. I have what used to be called dysthymia and a friend with a degree in psychology calls chronic depression. I have found distraction techniques helpful, sometimes, in preventing downward spiral into more severe depression. Possibly noteworthy, distraction does not work as well during major depressive episodes, for me at least.

(I use “used to” because it’s been awhile since I looked this stuff up, but I have been dealing with minor to major depression for 25 years or so, and have used coping techniques, drugs, and herbal remedies to live with it over the years. Am currently not on the drugs, although they are a valid choice, if they help, for me, the side effects were too big a problem.)

(All of what I’ve said above refers to depression or other mental illness, not to be confused with legitimate reaction to real life circumstance, like ongoing abuse, poverty, or grief.)

How do you distinguish between depression/mental illness and legitimate reaction to real life circumstances? The psychiatric industry definitely does not. 

It depends on who in the psychiatric industry you speak to, but I understand what you mean. However, to some extent I rely on myself to figure that out for me. I try to be a critical thinker. Wandering around feeling so depressed I can barely breathe, but upon reflection can think of no reason for me to feel this way, I generally attribute the feeling to my long history (and family history) of depression. Here, it is important to really reflect on tracing where these emotions have originated. I find that given time and lack of introspection, the mind will manufacture reasons for the feelings. So, I try to think back…was I feeling low before or after particular thing occurred to me? Is that thing genuinely that distressing, or am I dwelling, and inflating it’s consequence? I’m not dismissing emotions, I’m just saying that mental illness exists, both purely of the mind, and some more physiological, and it is important even in the depths of it to recognize that, and treat oneself kindly and compassionately. Kindness and compassion to oneself does not mean taking every fleeting thought or emotion as set in stone, or even based on reality. Once again, I am not suggesting that this kind of depression is the same as feelings of sadness and distress that naturally arise for anyone experiencing genuinely upsetting life events and situations. That said, I’ve seen many therapists over the years, and only met a couple I liked. I am between therapists now, because I asked my last one to refer me to someone else, as I did not like her shaming attitude, and her office gave me the runaround. I am considering looking for a new one though, as apparently grieving for over a year is considered “complicated grieving” and I do not want my apparently excessive grief over the sudden death of my best friend to negatively impact my family, y’know, any more than it has to. I am skeptical of the idea that being sad on and off for over a year is terribly abnormal given the circumstance, however, I am not averse a little help. Apparently, people with a history of depression are more prose to complicated grieving, although whether this is because they don’t deal with tragedy well, they have chemical imbalance or are just more inclined to dwell on sadness, I have no idea.

…[Eccleston] also has Clark Gable’s ears. A producer once suggested he have them pinned back, to which Eccleston replied: “But I love them. Helps me recognize myself in the morning.”

The Chronicle, 1996

(Source: norhythmthatsme, via maddiesaur)

fuckyeahdementia:

romantic and sincere at the same time

I love him so much.

Also, finding the bare feet & eyeliner kinda hot.

(via eldritch-abomination)

(Source: halogenite, via put-away-your-harpoon)

ugitsisgv:

I mean, I don’t get why it’s so hard to understand.

Identifying as Native American = blood.
Identifying with a tribe = blood + culture.

If you aren’t connected to the culture, you shouldn’t claim the tribe, because that’s blood + culture.

Can you try to reconnect and learn?  Absolutely! 
But that actually takes a LOT of work, and most people aren’t willing to do the work.  And not only that, but it’s not going to be an overnight process.  And you’re going to have to accept that there will be boundaries.  If you’re not enrolled/can’t prove you’re actually Native by blood, it’s going to be a lot harder for you to reconnect.  I’m not saying that to be mean, I’m just saying that because that’s kind of how it is.  We’re very private about a lot of things, and we don’t just go around telling everyone everything they want to know; which is why I say you’ll have to be prepared to be told “no” and to respect boundaries.

I don’t think that means you should give up if it’s something that really matters to you.

Enrollment isn’t everything to me, but knowing where you come from and making sure that what you’ve been told is actually true… that IS important.

Because most people who are told they’re Cherokee *aren’t* Cherokee.  They either have an ancestor from a completely different tribe, or they’re not Native at all.

You need to find out.  You need to know FOR SURE before you start making claims and trying to reconnect.  You might find out that you’re attempting to reconnect to something that was never connected to you to begin with.

And then you’re just part of the problem.

reblogging, even though I have barely any native american blood (choctaw & chickasaw), because yeah, it’s there, but I know little of the culture and know no native americans personally. don’t appropriate other people’s cultures. it’s grotesque. although they both sound pretty interesting, if you want to learn more. learning is not the same as laying claim to, and that’s a good thing.

http://www.choctawnation.com/

http://www.chickasaw.net/

(sorry for the lack of capital letters, blazing headache, no disrespect intended)

(for the record, being a white girl, most people don’t ask what my ethnicity is, but if they do, i usually say american mutt)

Giles needs to calm down.

(Source: kabuttano, via steverogerssexual)

paleotrees:

lilacturtl:

Distraction is a legitimate coping skill, though. A lot of the problems you see for instance with internet kids who fester in their illness comes from not distracting themselves, but dwelling on symptoms, obsessing over them, identifying with them. One of the greatest life skills ever is learning that often when you feel like you MUST do something NOW NOW NOW NOW, the best thing to do is just wait and do nothing, and see if you still feel that way tomorrow. Observe the feeling, don’t judge it or take action on it, then distract yourself with something positive. That’s a legit skill set (mostly taken from Martha Linehan’s DBT handbooks) and while not helpful to everyone, it’s helpful to many.

Depression is for the vast majority of people something that will be gone in 6 weeks. Since most of the medications are questionably effective at best (and that’s if you get one that doesn’t actually give you side effects that are WORSE) and no form of therapy, even CBT, has been shown to prevent future episodes, perhaps the best thing is to learn how to just muddle through when it hits, and keep from doing anything too awful or reckless or self-defeating in the mean time.

True, but I think she was talking about the kind of depression that is longer-lasting: the kind that comes about because of living under shitty, stressful conditions for a really long time. The kind of depression that you can’t distract yourself from or positive-think your way out of.

Even in long term depression, distraction can prevent what used to be called major depressive episodes. Dwelling on negative feelings and memories does in fact make it harder to think of anything else. Oddly, I’m absolutely not advocating positive thinking as a cure, or even distraction as a cure. Distraction is like yoga, or medication, or therapy…it’s coping/treatment. I have what used to be called dysthymia and a friend with a degree in psychology calls chronic depression. I have found distraction techniques helpful, sometimes, in preventing downward spiral into more severe depression. Possibly noteworthy, distraction does not work as well during major depressive episodes, for me at least.

(I use “used to” because it’s been awhile since I looked this stuff up, but I have been dealing with minor to major depression for 25 years or so, and have used coping techniques, drugs, and herbal remedies to live with it over the years. Am currently not on the drugs, although they are a valid choice, if they help, for me, the side effects were too big a problem.)

(All of what I’ve said above refers to depression or other mental illness, not to be confused with legitimate reaction to real life circumstance, like ongoing abuse, poverty, or grief.)

My god, he’s pretty.

(Source: j-freckles, via youatemytailor)

brandos:

Elvin: Sorry, Mrs. Huxtable, I didn’t know you did that kind of thing.
Clair: What kind of thing?
Elvin: Serve.
Clair: Serve? Serve whom?
Elvin: Serve him. [referring to Cliff]
Clair: Ohhh, serve him? As in serve my man?

I love her.

(via braindr0ppings)

arashikami:

Too powerful not to reblog… For all those people who have faught, or are still fighting. Who got through it, or who didn’t. Reblog it for them.

{via fuckyeahelvislives}