From the blog of Staci, check it out.

. Depression is for a lifetime, usually, if it a chemical imbalance of sorts, as mine is. I have been on and off of medication since I was 16..that's coming up on 8 years now. I can say I have made progress. Not without many setbacks when I was still younger (not even 20 yet), but I got through those. I can happily say I am on the least amount of medication I ever was, so that's progress to me. I am a recovering and former self injurer as well. Most who know me well understand and may have dealt with similar issues. I have anxiety which manifests itself in the form of certain OCD behaviors. I've learned to deal with it. I'm still young. I still struggle with bi polar type depression to this day, but I know how to handle it better. I learned when I got out of school that life is only going to get harder and that I need to focus on bettering myself to strengthen up for that. I believe we all have a time in our lives where we wonder if we can go on. I have had them, I have gotten through them, fortunately, but not always smoothly. I have had my share of depression induced behaviors and moments I am not proud of. I came to the conclusion that it would never be worth it to end my life, no matter what. I bare scars that I am not proud of, but at the same time, I am not ashamed. It shaped me into the person I am today. 6 years later, I can say I have made enough progress to actually start to enjoy life with minimal extra help. I don't want it to seem like I am glorifying mental illness, but there are a lot of people in this world who I honestly believe, to their dying day, that they have nothing wrong with them. The truth is, so many people experience depression, anxiety, suicidal thought, etc etc, and are ashamed. So many people are bullied in high school and as children, and that can bring anyone down. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Then, there are times that people truly feel that it's the only way out. It isn't I don't feel anyone should be ashamed to want to ask for help if they are feeling depressed. It happens to the best of us, and it doesn't make you or I or anyone else a lesser person for having to experience and cope with such disorders.

You realize that the one person you have to deal with for the  rest of your life is none other than...YOURSELF. Boyfriends, friends they come and go...unless you're one of the lucky ones. But keeping the people around that you cherish isn't only luck. treat them with kindness and let them know how much care. The good ones will stick around. Even 6 years later

I love her entry, it is so true. Don't look down on those who are suffering from mental illness, would you look down on someone who was suffering from a physical illness?

I hate the stigma put onto people who are depressed, have anxiety and so on...do you think that makes them feel better? Nope, just more and more alone.


Check out Staci's blog:www.sscatteredthoughtss.blogspot.com

Daily affirmations

Now, as we get older why can't we manage to do this? Tell ourselves that nothing is
holding us back but ourselves?
I say try it, even if you aren't into it...tell yourself three good things about yourself daily. 
Write it down or scream it into the mirror like this cute girl.


(Search the amazon scroll near this entry to find books about positive affirmations).


What are three things you like about yourself today?




Here are some to start you off:

Positive Affirmations

- I am healthy and happy.


- Wealth is pouring into my life.


- I am sailing on the river of wealth.


- I am getting wealthier each day.


- My body is healthy and functioning in a very good way.


- I have a lot of energy.


- I study and comprehend fast.


- My mind is calm.




I really like this website, you can join for free and add your 
daily affirmations and see others.

 
http://bmindful.com/









Sources:
http://www.successconsciousness.com/index_00000a.htm
http://bmindful.com
http://www.self-improvement-woman.com/positive-affirmations.html

Don't give up!

100 ideas by Keri Smith

                                                             100 Ideas

1. Go for a walk. Draw or list things you find on the the sidewalk. 2. Write a letter to yourself in the future. 3. Buy something inexpensive as a symbol for your need to create, (new pen, a tea cup, journal). Use it everyday. 4. Draw your dinner. 5. Find a piece of poetry you respond to. Rewrite it and glue it into your journal. 6. Glue an envelope into your journal. For one week collect items you find on the street. 7. Expose yourself to a new artist, (go to a gallery, or in a book.) Write about what moves you about it. 8. Find a photo of a person you do not know. Write a brief bio about them. 9. Spend a day drawing only red things. 10. Draw your bike. 11. Make a list of everything you buy in the next week. 12. Make a map of everywhere you went in one day. 13. Draw a map of the creases on your hand, (knuckles, palm) 14. Trace your footsteps with chalk. 15. Record an overheard conversation. 16. Trace the path of the moon in relation to where you live. 17. Go to a paint store. Collect ‘chips’ of all your favorite colors. 18. Draw your favorite tree. 19. Take 15 minutes to eat an orange. 20. Write a haiku. 21. Hang upside down for five minutes. 22. Hang found objects from tree branches. 23. Make a puppet. 24. Create an outdoor room from things you find in nature. 25. Read a book in one day. 26. Illustrate your grocery list. 27. Read a story out loud to a friend. 28. Write a letter to someone you admire. 29. Study the face of someone you do not like. 30. Make a meal based on a color theme. (i.e. all white). 31. Creat a museum of very small things. 32. List the smells in your neighborhood. 33. List 100 uses for a tin can. 34. Fill an entire page in your journal with small circles. Color them in. 35. Give away something you love. 36. Choose an object, draw the side you can’t see. 37. List all of the places you’ve ever lived. 38. Describe your favourite room in detail. 39. Write about your relationship with your washing machine. 40. Draw all of the things in your purse/bag. 41. Make a mini book based on the theme, “my grocery list”. 42. Create a character based on someone you know. Write a list of personality traits. 43. Recall your favorite childhood game. 44. Put postcards of art pieces/painting on the inside of your kitchen cupboard doors, so you can see them everyday (but not become deaf to them.) 45. Draw the same object every day for a week. 46. Write in your journal using a different medium (brush & ink, charcoal, old typewriter, crayons, fat markers. 47. Draw the individual items of your favorite outfit. 48. Make a useful item using only paper & tape. 49. Research a celebration or ritual from another culture. 50. Do a temporary art installation using a pad of post it notes & a pen. 51. Draw a map of your favorite sitting spots in your town/city. (photocopy it and give it to someone you like.) 52. Record all of the sounds you hear in the course of one hours. 53. Using a grid, collect various textures from magazine and play them off of each other. 54. Cut out all media for one day. Write about the effects. 55. Make pencil rubbings of six different surfaces. 56. Draw your garbage. 57. Do a morning collage. 58. List your ten most important things, (not including animals or people.) 59. List ten things you would like to do every day. 60. Glue a photo of yourself as a child into your journal. 61. Trasform some garbage. 62. Write an entry in your journal in really LARGE letters. 63. Collect some ‘flat’ things in nature (leaves, flowers). Glue or tape them into your journal. 64. Physically alter a page. (i.e. cut a hole, pour tea on it, burn it, fold it, etc.) 65. Find several color combinations you respond to in public. Document them using swatches, write where you found them. 66. Write a journal entry describing something “secret”. Cut it up into several pieces and glue them back in scrambled. 67. Record descriptions or definitions of subjects or words you are interested in, found in encyclopedias or dictionaries. 68. Draw the outline of an object without looking at the page. (contour drawing). 69. What were you thinking just now? write it down. 70. Do nothing. 71. Write a list of ten things you could to do. Do the last thing on the list. 72. Create an image using dots. 73. Do 3 drawings at different speeds. 74. Put a small object in your left pocket (or in a bag), Put your left hand in the pocket. Draw it by feel. 75. Create a graph documenting or measuring something in your life. 76. Draw the sun. 77. Create instructions for a simple everyday task. 78. Make prints using food. (fruit and vegetables cut in half, fish, etc.) 79. Find a photo. Alter it by drawing over it. 80. Write a letter using an unconventional medium. 81. Draw one object for twenty minutes. 82. Combine two activities that have not been combined before. 83. Write about your day in an encyclopedic fashion. (i.e. organize by subject.) 84. Write a list of all the things you do to escape. 85. Cut a random shape out of several layers of a magazine. Make a collage out of the results. 86. Write an entry in code. 87. Make a painting using tools from the bathroom. 88. Work with a medium that is subtractive. 89. Write about or draw some of the doors in your life. 90. Make a postcard that has some kind of activity on it. 91. Divise a journal entry using “layers”. 92. Divise an entry using “layers”. 93. Write your own definition of one of the following concepts, sitting, waiting, sleeping (without using the actual word.) 94. List 10 of your habits. 95. Illustrate the concept of “simplicity”.
100 ideas (pdf)
By Keri Smith


Click on the pdf link and you can easily print out the "100 Ideas" link and paste it in your journal,
tack it to your wall or throw it in your bag.
I am going to do so and post my creations!! I would LOVE to see yours.

Insecurity doesn't pay the bills

Great article for those who feel they are "the only on" feeling a certain way..


http://www.thelaunchcoach.com/insecurity-doesnt-pay-the-bills

By Dave Navarro.

Photos to inspire

Photos to inspire the strength we have in each and every one of us.






I sincerely hope these images bring upon calm feelings.

xoxo
Jessica

Create yourself

Create who YOU want to be:


Make a list of what you want to be and what
you do not want to be.

If you want some inspiration, check out
http://www.kerismith.com/

Keri Smith is all about becoming the person
you want to be, she has tons of journals
and books and free online documents
that are a huge inspiration.




Also Galadarling.com has an article on "100 Ways to Start Loving Yourself RIGHT Now"
Check it out: http://galadarling.com/article/100-ways-you-can-start-loving-yourself-right-now

Read it, post it on your wall! Anything that helps you become the person you want to be.
I just came to this realization that we are not stuck being that anxious girl/boy who is too
afraid to do certain things, worries all the time and so on and so forth. If we put in dedication
we CAN create a new self. A person that we have always wanted to become but were too
afraid of becoming.

I just started a list of my own with two columns; 1. Want to be 2. Don't want to be

Let it formulate on paper first.

I will share some of mine...

Want:
Jazz up my clothing
Care a lot less about what others "think" of me
Wear a signature "Jessica" piece
Create, create
Jump on a train and get off at the last stop
Get in my car and get lost

Don't want:
NERVES
Boring clothing
holding myself back
I am who I am and I do not want to waste time thinking of what others think
Abolish fear

It all begins on paper...