Affirmations For Streamers: to ease Imposter Syndrome, Depression, Jealousy and more

Affirmations For Streamers: to ease Imposter Syndrome, Depression, Jealousy and more

Research shows that repeating positive self-affirmations over time, along with other treatments, can help with developing a more positive attitude towards yourself and the world around you.

Here are the ones that I use daily for the conditions I live with: ADHD, Anxiety and Depression

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4 Distractions to Get Through Social Isolation During COVID-19

4 Distractions to Get Through Social Isolation During COVID-19

I wanted to create a list of things that can be easily done for those of us who are looking to make this quarantine period productive, especially for those who struggle with depression and anxiety when motivation is fleeting. It’s so hard not to focus on the bad stuff!

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Gifts I Would Love to Receive As Someone Living With Anxiety and Depression

Gifts I Would Love to Receive As Someone Living With Anxiety and Depression

Although I am extremely fortunate in my life right now with how my family understands my mental health challenges, my prior family would shame me for being “needy” or “too sensitive" making it important that I made my self-care inconspicuous. That’s why I wanted to offer a list of gifts that are incredible on their own, but great discrete mental health helpers too.

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Tips to Reduce Airplane and Travel Anxiety

Tips to Reduce Airplane and Travel Anxiety

“You just need to get out more,” is not a solution to mental illness. That is not how our minds work. Unbalanced chemicals and similar issues will remain with you, no matter where you are. Yes, getting out there helps your mind reach new spaces, and for some, might even be the long-needed jolt, but that is by far, not the case for all.

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List of Warning Signs that You Might Be Falling Back Into Depression

List of Warning Signs that You Might Be Falling Back Into Depression

During an episode after another celebrity passing from suicide, the community of Mxiety On Twitch wanted to put together their symptoms (or red flags) that let them know something might be wrong. Here is that list, it is by no means conclusive but might be a good start for those who want to know what to look for in their loved ones who live with depression.

At the end of the day, please confer with your doctor and do not diagnose yourself based on this list alone.

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List of Things to Do When You're In a Depression Low

During a recent episode of Mxiety on Twitch, the community decided to come together and create a list of ideas of things that have helped them through tough depressive episode.

Please comment below with your additional suggestions!

Physical 

  • Taking a walk 

  • Finding a job to do 

  • Yoga

  • Roller-skating

  • Fishing 

  • Playing with pets 

  • Cold Shower 

  • Going to a bookstore/library 

  • Gardening 

  • Baking 

  • Cleaning House 

  • Reorganizing/Moving Furniture (Marie Kondo Method) 

  • Hiking 

  • Volunteer 

  • Going for a swim (going to beach, snorkeling, surfing) 

Seated- Action 

  • Meditating 

  • Writing out feelings 

  • Listening to ASMR 

  • Consume something 

  • Find a place to volunteer 

  • Read Mental Health book or write in Mental Health work book 

Seated– Distraction 

  • Listening to music 

  • Playing Video Games 

  • Write fan fiction 

  • Watching cute animal videos 

  • Contacting a friend to talk about something else 

  • Twitch Streams/Youtube Videos 

  • Chatting with someone on Twitch or Discord 

  • Online Shopping 

  • Coloring 

  • Learn new things (language, etc) 

  • Watching funny videos 

  • Watching movie/TV show you have seen before and like 

Soothing 

  • Take a bath 

  • Put on comfy clothes 

  • Drink favorite coffee 

  • Chocolate 

  • Talking about how you feel with someone you trust 

 

Things to avoid when depressed 

  • Social Media 

  • Overeating 

  • Looking at Exs on Social Media 

  • Alcohol 

  • Large purchases 

  • Junk Food 

  • Politics/News 

 

6 Ways I Get Through Depression Low Points

6 Ways I Get Through Depression Low Points

Depression: the exact symptoms vary from person to person, but the isolation comes standard. There are plenty of good articles out there about finding solutions for the excessive lows that accompany this mental illness, but this one will be a bit different. I will not tell you what you’re doing wrong, and I will not tell you that you HAVE to do XYZ to feel better.

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How To Talk About Mental Health Safely: A Guide for Streamers

How To Talk About Mental Health Safely: A Guide for Streamers

Online, you are not just a content creator but also a community leader. After over a year, 50+ interviews, and countless hours of preparation, combined with my training as a mental health first aid provider, a NoStigmas ally, and an Ambassador for Takethis.org, I’m at a place where people solicit my advice and help on how to advocate for mental health.

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How To Travel To Tokyo When You Have Panic Disorder

How To Travel To Tokyo When You Have Panic Disorder

Eventually, we realized the only place that two nerds like us would spend a long time traveling to would be Japan. We always assumed it was an impossible trip due to our chronic illnesses. Between the two of us we share a basket full, and Panic Disorder is included in my husband’s portion.  

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4 Tips to Help You Fall Asleep

4 Tips to Help You Fall Asleep

Having chronic, diagnosed depression and anxiety means sleep is often an elusive concept. It also means that’s it’s incredibly crucial I get my full rest, otherwise the exhaustion makes it a lot harder to tackle the following day’s intrusive thoughts.Here’s the list of best practices I have collected over the past ten years that have helped me cope. I hope something in the following list resonates and perhaps even helps.

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How to Finally 'Take The Leap' In Three Steps

How to Finally 'Take The Leap' In Three Steps

Before I broke up my goals, I was facing a roaring river, attempting to run across without drowning or getting hurt. With each goal, it was as if I set a stone. Once I jumped onto that stone, I placed another one before stepping forward. And so on, until I was on a path, with so much determination, that there was no way I was returning to the same shore. Even if I am not sure what is on the other shore, I knew I wanted to start moving towards it.

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Anxiety Relief Kit Part IV

Anxiety Relief Kit Part IV

We've reached the end of 2017 the Anxiety Relief series (for now). Anxiety sucks when I am trying to walk outside and enjoy a nice, summer day. Or when I am in the checkout lane trying to leave a store. But it’s more frustrating when I’m in a crowded subway or about to enter a job interview. On days when my brain chemistry is all out of whack, anxiety doesn’t care what I’m doing. It just sucks.

Image by: VIKTOR HANACEK for picjumbo

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Anxiety Relief Kit Part III

Anxiety Relief Kit Part III

Alright, I’ve made a few posts (See Part One and Two ) about my Anti-Anxiety Kit at this point. It’s a summarized list of things (physical and emotional) I have used over the years to help cope with my symptoms as they happened. When I started running, I would lose breath after a 100 yards and fall to my knees, dizzy without oxygen. I got upset and cried because I just wanted to jog. Running was supposed to help me learn how to breathe and make my anxiety better, but instead, it felt like it broke me.

Cover Photo by Emma Simpson on Unsplash

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Anxiety Relief Kit Part II

Anxiety Relief Kit Part II

All it takes is being around too many people and, in the words of the wise Jack Sparrow, “we have our heading.” And it’s direction is down.

To cope, I have subconsciously been collecting an Anti-Anxiety Kit: a combination of things and ideas that help soothe the bad moments and distract my mind from itself. In case it helps someone else, I wanted to share it here. Considering we have Christmas just around the corner, it seems timely!

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Anxiety Relief Kit Part I

Anxiety Relief Kit Part I

To manage, somewhere in the back of brain, I have been putting together an Anxiety Kit.  It’s a combination of things that I have used to help soothe the bad moments, to distract my mind from itself and avoid the grand finale—a panic attack. It’s a combination of coping mechanisms I have found in workbooks, heard from my therapist, or brought to me by friends. In hopes that it will help you too, I wrote them all down.

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