Some might say that religion is just a manifestation of mental illness (I’m looking at you, Richard Dawkins), or literally call your religious beliefs “crazy.” When you think about it, it is actually pretty crazy to literally believe that a man can walk on water, or that G-d speaks through a burning bush, or that [...]

Tags: alcoholism, atheism, beliefs, breakups, Christianity, emptiness, faith, hormones, Judaism, marijuana, mental illness, prayer, psychosis, rationality, relationships, religion, Richard Dawkins, Scientology, sense of dread, singing, stability, stigma, therapists, transition

It is my pleasure to introduce the newest series, “My Partner With…” to QueerMentalHealth.org. Relationships can be a challenge for anyone, though they can be especially difficult when they are impacted by mental health issues. It is my hope that we can help others understand how to approach a partner’s mental health concerns. I’m starting this series off by talking about the issues that come up for myself and my partner, who has Borderline Personality Disorder.

If you were to get all your information about Borderline Personality Disorder by going to online support groups for partners of people with this condition, you would learn the following:

• Borderlines are always abusive
• Borderlines are always in denial
• Borderlines never take responsibility for their actions
• Borderlines will love you one minute, and hate you the next
• Relationships with borderlines are notoriously unstable

Tags: abuse, acceptance, anger, anxiety, bipolar disorder, BPD, CBT, change, coping skills, DBT, denial, depression, diagnosis, distractions, doubt, encouragement, expectations, fear, fear of abandonment, feeling overwhelmed, hate, insecurity, isolation, love, mindfulness, mood swings, moving in together, mutual support, needs, online support, partners, patience, personal space, providing support, recovery, relationship security, relationships, responsibility, self-care, self-motivation, splitting, stability, support groups, support roles, trust, understanding

I am a 33 year old woman. I received a diagnosis about a year and a half ago of Borderline Personality Disorder. At first I didn’t really understand what it was. I thought, Isn’t what I have more serious than that? I was pretty sure I had something else, something more recognizable. Something I’d actually heard of, for instance. Turns out it’s serious enough. On top of the shitstorm of feelings and thoughts I have on a daily basis, professionals are reluctant to treat people with BPD. We’re notorious for being ‘hard to deal with’.

Tags: abandonment, anger, awareness, BPD, break-ups, comfort zones, comparisons, conflict, DBT, desire, diagnosis, emotional expression, emotional hangover, emotions, envy, expression, fear, fear of abandonment, friends, friendships, frustration, good memories, hyperventilating, impatience, insecurity, internalization, jealousy, judgement, loneliness, memory, non-judgement, openness, partners, perception, processing emotions, professional stigma, rage, reassurance, recovery, relationships, self-awareness, self-doubt, self-esteem, self-harm, self-hatred, self-injury, self-judgement, self-perception, self-trust, social services, stability, stereotypes, stigma, triggers, trust, vulnerability, weakness, withdrawal

Previously in time, codependent relationships were typically described as a relationship involving one person with a substance abuse problem with a sober (or generally non-addicted) partner. The idea of a codependent relationship regarding substance abuse is that the sober one continuously tries to help the person with the addiction. Seeing as how an addicted person struggles with their own issues and their focus is primarily on feeding the addiction, often all the work in the relationship to keep it functioning lands on the non-addicted partner. The substance abuse becomes the main focus of the relationship and the non-addicted person allows everything to revolve around their partner’s problem, often ignoring their own needs in the process.

Tags: addiction, apathy, attention, balance, caregiving, codependency, communication, control, coping, counselling, couples, desire, emotional distress, emotions, enabling, encouragement, healthy relationships, identity, loneliness, love, mental illness, mental stability, monogamy, needs, personal needs, polyamory, relationships, self-absorption, self-care, self-desctructive behaviors, self-esteem, self-identity, stability, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, unbalanced relationships, understanding, unhealthy relationships

I would like to welcome the newest member of our writing team, Jasper Moriarty. In xyr first post with us, xe discusses xyr struggle with balancing self-care with activist work. Thanks for sharing with us, Jasper!

Trigger Warnings: mention of death and rape threats

Alternatively titled: A Struggle For Balance

My activism is a crucial part of my life, despite my strange relationship with it. It’s not quite splitting (something that happens in Borderline Personality Disorder, where a person is unable to integrate the good and bad qualities of something/someone and therefore keeps them distinctly separate), but I would call it somewhat comparable.

Tags: activism, activism fatigue, activist culture, advocation, aggression, anger, anxiety, balance, BPD, burnout, choosing battles, comfort, community, dedication, depression, emotional resources, emotional strain, empowerment, expectations, habits, making mistakes, motivation, self-care, self-esteem, self-hatred, self-worth, splitting, stability, stress, survival activism, trigger warnings, Tumblr, value

I have been vegan for over 6 years. Being vegan definitely evened out a lot of things for me including mood swings and a lot of health problems. All of those extra animal hormones, and if you believe in that sort of thing, all of that suffering from their treatment, was no longer entering my body.

Tags: attention span, autism, B vitamins, bipolar disorder, brain fog, celiac disease, dairy, dairy-free, depression, diet, food addiction, gluten, gluten-free, learning disability, mood swings, psychosis, recovery, schizophrenia, stability, veganism, whole foods

Trigger warnings for description of psychotic episodes and a suicide attempt, in detail, and violent imagery.

I have Schizophrenia. I find certain words can lose their sting when we just come out and say them. So I’m saying it. I live with Schizophrenia. This is my story.

Tags: abandonment, BPD, Christianity, concentration, cutting, delusions, grief, hallucinations, hearing voices, high school, hospitalization, loss of friends, paranoia, psychosis, recovery, religion, schizophrenia, self-harm, self-injury, stability, suicide, suicide attempt, voices, Wicca, withdrawal