What messages do you get from the media about mental health? What do you see on TV, hear on the news, listen to on the radio, see on posters, billboards, and read in magazines that tell you to think, act or look a certain way?
I’ve thought a lot about this in my own life.
My hope is that, through my own presence in the media, I’m empowering others to know that we all have the inner strength to overcome obstacles and navigate various “detours” in our lives, by transforming adversity into creative growth.
SOAKING UP MESSAGES: ARE YOU A SPONGE?
Every day, whether we like it or not, we are walking, breathing, talking, living sponges, soaking up messages from everywhere.
However, this is not a post about the negative messages we get from the media.
This is not a post about how society makes us feel like we’re not good enough, smart enough, successful enough, pretty enough.
Unfortunately, those messages will always be there whether we like it or not. We’ll always be blasted with perceptions of how we should act, there will always be some message that threatens to perpetuate stigma, and there will always be individuals who make assumptions, no matter how much awareness we spread.
SO THEN WHY SHOULD WE ADVOCATE FOR MENTAL HEALTH?
I fight in the open for mental health to speak my truth and hope that with my story, I might be able to affect one person and cause a chain reaction.
fight stigma amy
.As advocates, that’s all we can do, right? Help spread mental health awareness to others?
Wrong. There is one more thing we can do. The MOST important thing, actually:
No matter what message we hear, we must take care of ourselves.
I struggle with symptoms of PTSD. (You can read more about that here.)
When we struggle with signs of depression, or PTSD, fiery red anxiety, or a relentless addiction, any kind of physical or mental health obstacle…
…or just life in general, we need to find ways to become…
anchored in the moment.
HOW DO WE GET IN THE MOMENT?
If we’re truly in the moment, nothing can break us. We have ourselves – the most powerful tool of all.
I would like to share 25 thoughts that help me love myself enough to stay in the moment.
25 AFFIRMATIONS TO REMIND YOU HOW POWERFUL YOU ARE
Heroism is hanging on one-minute longer.
I can do this.
I can handle whatever today brings me – being outside, spontaneous, following my heart, keeping track of when my mind takes over and learning to let go, release, trust.
Each day passes.
What I don’t get done today, I can still get done tomorrow.
Changing the routine is good.
Interacting with people leaves a spark in my chest.
It is beautiful outside today – follow my heart.
Treat today like it’s endless and there is no conception of time.
Feel free to express any feelings – they are my way out of this.
Evaluate any feelings of “fear.”
Adversity makes us stronger if we push through it.
This is the only way through it – it’s either one discomfort or the other – progressive pain or habitual pain which will keep you stuck.
My heart never wants to stay numb.
Focus on being inside of moments rather than doing – hang on to the moment, commit to it full-force and full body.
Don’t already have one foot out the door… sit into it.
It’s not dangerous to relax into each moment – you won’t drown.
Where will you go, what’s the worst that can happen?
The only thing to fear is staying the same.
Everyday is a new beginning.
Live life for me, not for production or for anyone else
If I find myself jumping off the path because my mind scares me, just gently escort myself back to my heart’s path – don’t freak out.
Process matters more than goals right now.
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to understand ourselves. (Carl Jung)
Remember, IN THE MOMENT, we’re invincible.
Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, survivor, award-winning actress, and playwright, sharing the lessons learned from trauma through her writing, mixed media art, performance and inspirational speaking.
As the creator of the Gutless & Grateful, her one-woman autobiographical musical, she's toured theatres nationwide, along with a program combining mental health advocacy, sexual assault awareness and Broadway Theatre for college campuses and international conferences. Her original, full-length drama, Imprints, premiered at the NYC Producer's Club in May 2016, exploring how trauma affects the family as well as the individual.
To celebrate her own “beautiful detour”, Amy created the #LoveMyDetour campaign, to help others cope in the face of unexpected events. "Detourism" is also the subject of her TEDx and upcoming book, My Beautiful Detour, available December 2017.
As Eastern Regional Recipient of Convatec’s Great Comebacks Award, she's contributed to over 70 notable online and print publications, and her story has appeared on NBC's TODAY, CBS, Cosmopolitan, among others.
She has devised workshops for conferences nationwide, and is this year's keynote speaker for the Hawaii Pacific Rim International Conference on Diversity and Disability. Learn the art of navigating beautiful detours and sign up for updates at amyoes.com.