Inspired by work people have done on madness maps and mental health first aid kits, I decided to make a checklist/flowchart to use when I am having a particularly hard time or am in crisis. It was a good process for me to make because it helped me to really think about what has helped me or caused me trouble in the past. I really like that we can make these sorts of tools for ourselves instead of relying on more general (often judgmental) dos and don’ts or advice from people who never know us as well as we know ourselves.

Tags: anxiety, art, BDSM, beauty, body, checklists, comfort, counseling, crisis, crisis checklist, depression, eating, emotions, enjoyment, exercise, fear, flowcharts, friends, games, hormones, hunger, hypnotic, illness, injury, insomnia, isolation, journaling, laundry, loneliness, madness map, madness maps, manageability, massage, medication, meditation, mental health, mental health first aid kits, messy apartments, misanthropy, museums, music, pain, painkillers, panic, parks, pets, projects, psych meds, psychiatrists, QueerMentalHealth.org, responsibility, rest, restlessness, self-fear, self-harm, self-help, self-help books, sex, showering, sleep, sleeping environment, snacks, social activities, stair climbing, stress, supplements, support groups, symptoms, task management, tea, The Icarus Project, therapists, therapy, tools, vulnerability, withdrawal, yoga

Zopiclone is a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic typically used to treat insomnia. It is a controlled substance.

Tags: addiction, age, agitation, alcoholism, anxiety, anxiolytics, benzodiazepines, depression, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, fatigue, hallucinations, headaches, hypnotic, impaired driving, insomnia, memory, memory loss, metallic taste, mood, psychosis, REM sleep, restlessness, seizures, sleep apnea, sleep quality, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, thyroid, thyroid dysfunction, Valium, withdrawal, zopiclone

Ambien is a powerful prescription sleep medication, in addition to being classified as a controlled substance in the United States. It is used to treat insomnia and poor sleep quality, usually prescribed by a psychiatrist as opposed to a primary care or family physician. It falls under the drug category of sedative-hypnotics and functions as a CNS depressant, working by slowing activity in the brain.

Tags: alcohol, ambien, appetite, CNS Depressant, confusion, dependance, dizziness, dreams, drowsiness, dry mouth, hallucinations, hypnotic, insomnia, itchiness, medication, memory loss, nausea, opiates, psych med, respiratory function, sedative, sleep, sleep disorders, sleep quality, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, tolerance, withdrawal, zolpidem