I’m having a shit start to my week already. It feels like no one cares and whenever I try to reach out I’m just put off. Tried to talk to my teacher but he just reccommended me to my counselor, who is out of office. Tried to talk to a hotline but my text wouldn’t go through because my signal was shit. Tried to make a forum on reddit but post gets taken down.
Whenever I feel like this I just hole myself up in the bathroom. In 6th grade I would go to the bathroom in Spanish class to just cry, but it got to the point where the girls would make fun of me for using it often so I stopped going in that class.
Sorry for venting. The question is do you guys have a safe spot you hide in when you feel down? And if so where? Because bathrooms aren’t good for me
Anywhere my pets are. Without my dog I wouldnt have made it through college. The off leash dog park was our stress free zone.
Sorry things feel overwhelming right now. Especially when you’re doing the right thing, reaching out. You got this.
I think that the closest that I had at school was the library. Even decades later I am still happy when surrounded by books.
Otherwise, somewhere green: walking in woodland or sitting by a stream always improves things.
I have a closet in my home office. On the floor of it is a sleeping mat and soft blanket as the base, and I have a weighted blanket on top. When I start getting overwhelmed (or just need a quick mid-day nap) I’ll go in there, close the door, and lie down for a bit. It’s isolated and quiet.
When my cat hears that door open she will rush to be included, and will cuddle with me.
I’d give a separate extra upvote for the cat participating, if I could!
You should see a therapist if you can! They’ll provide better advice than we can
Or pandering and drugs. Help is the exception.
You can tell your therapist that you’d prefer to leave medication to a last resort whenever possible. Even in cases where medication is very helpful, there are other options.
That’s fairly expensive for just pandering.
Where are you that therapists can prescribe? I thought only doctors of medicine/some pharmacists could.
The US. Psychiatrists can Rx. Psychologists cannot. But, they’ve always a psychiatrist in their back pocket who’ll do whatever for a quick buck. If they label themselves “therapist” they’re idiots who couldn’t even hack a MA.
My experiences have clearly demonstrated that anyone accepting money will inhibit progress or have one forever dependent upon pharmaceuticals. Those that provide the best help never asked me for anything in return.
Same goes for education.
That’s fair tbh.
I could never find 1 spot in school that was consistantly safe for me to retreat to for any period of time. Instead I had multiple spots all over where I’d retreat to for short time frames. If one wasn’t available, I could move on to the next one without getting too upset.
Friend, I’m sending you hugs, and if you’re open to it I’d strongly recommend building meditation skills. Therapy is a must if you want to understand why you feel this way, but meditation can help a lot in the meantime. I wish you the best, and hope you find somewhere safe to breathe today ❤️
🫂
The forest … preferably as far away from any other human as possible.
I have a wilderness cottage, it’s not extravagant, just simple and small. I go there alone sometimes just to get away from people and technology.
If you can’t afford the cottage can just go camping. Spending time in nature is very restorative.
I have a couple pear trees in my back yard that I planted for my son when we was a baby. When my wife and I had a miscarriage on our 2nd and 3rd try we burried what we could with the pear trees, when out best cat died we burried him there, when my lizard that I’ve had for 12 years and went through hell with me died we burried her there, when my grandma died I burried some of her trinkets there.
I don’t mow much back there and let the grass grow, just keeping the base of the trees clean. Sometimes I like to go sit in that overgrown grass under the trees. It feels safe and comforting, the bugs keep me company, one time I had a garden snake sliver over my shoes and just sit there for a while.
I go sit in my car. Can you ask your teacher for a pass to the library? If the library doesn’t work, go to the school nurse. Tell them you’re struggling and you need a quiet place to be alone for s few minutes and regroup.
Have you tried a physical outlet for these emotions? Hit the gym, or put on some headphones and go for a long run. Running can be very meditative and you can do it pretty much anywhere.
Honestly, I still use the restroom.
Hey there, my personal sanctuary is long decadent bubble baths as a way to just focus on myself. But if bathrooms aren’t safe for you, then maybe head to your local library? Most tend to have study rooms you can reserve if you just want some solitude.
Sending you warm helping vibes my friend! ♥ 💕
Blanket+dog+floor of small closet.
No. Once I went in the forest near my home when I was on the brick of failing my year of study in college (a big deal where I’m from it would set me back a year of life basically and in my circle would have been very hard especially to my parents).
As I grew older, for light stuff I’d gravitate toward videogames and for heavier stuff I’d just be stuck in bed doomscrolling.
You can learn to meditate anywhere.
It’s like any other skill, you have to put some effort in at the start, but the results are worth it.
You don’t need meditation tapes, candles, or anything else.
Find a quiet place, sit down, close your eyes and try to find a quiet spot in your mind. A beach or a mountain top or grandma’s kitchen; wherever you feel most serene.
You can just count “one, two one, two” as you breath in and out.
Just try to keep your thoughts quiet for ten seconds to start. Then work up to 30 seconds, and then a minute.
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Anyone can meditate.
You don’t have to imagine the beach or the mountains. Just find a quiet spot in your mind. Some folks just look at the inside of their eyelids.
It took me a long time to get the racing thoughts to settle down. One thing I would do is close my eyes and start the meditation by thinking about fireworks going off. After a few explosions it was easy to tell myself it was time to relax.
Inhale on ‘one,’ hold a beat and then exhale on ‘two.’ Repeat.
Even if it’s five seconds to start it’s a beginning.
You can also do it while walking or riding a bike. Obviously you don’t close your eyes, but you try to think about nothing but the next step or push on the pedal.
I put on music, preferably with full coverage noise canceling headphones to block as much outside stimulus as I can. Depending on the mood, I might put on something soothing (listening to Sean Townsend on YouTube right now) or I might go with metal.
If you are in US K-12 education and have a diagnosed condition (depression, anxiety, autism, etc.), you can have your parents request a 504 plan with the school. This requires the school to make reasonable accommodations for someone with a disability or illness that makes it difficult to be successful otherwise. When my daughter was suffering with anxiety and panic attacks, we worked with the administrators to setup safe places where she could go to calm down. The teachers were required to let her go any time she needed a break from the classroom.
