Lived Experience Forum

[Margot]

Those thoughts would feel really unbareable at times @BlueBay 

It's great that there is a part of you (no matter how small) that can recognise them as lies. I know last time you posted on this thread, you weren't sure of ways to cope. I wonder whether anything has come to mind for you since then? Or whether any of the strategies mentioned by the other member's resonate with you?

[Margot]

That sounds incredibly trying @Former-Member You have a lot of wisdom about the habits of your mind in those moments. Recognising "my brain does not work when I'm upset" can be enough, to cue an awarenes that the thoughts are simply a product of your brain not working well in those moments; not facts or truths about yourself or the world. And that trying, and waiting, and persising, is exactly what you need for now 🌻 

[Teej]

How do i discern what is illness and what is me? I still struggle to see personality disorders as illness often which complicates things. 🤔

*note to self - I’m not overthinking this today, I’m not overthinking this today, I’m trying to be present 😳:face_with_rolling_eyes:

[Margot]

I like your 'note to self" @Teej

Sometimes we have to be like a broken record with ourselves. I know I certianly do. 

I'm picking up on a a theme of identity and mental illness here. It's really hard to separate the two and that difficulty with separation, makes it tricky to ntoice the difference between 'illness' thoughts and 'health self' kind of thoughts.  Maybe this theme of identity and mental illness is a good topic for a new disucssion 🤔

[Teej]

Oops @Margot. There was a connection with the lies I tell myself and my last post it’s just that readers were meant to read my mind to work it out as I forgot to write it.......squirrel 😳.

ive been discussing my inner critic a bit in therapy and I’m still a very long way from getting it but I guess I’m questioning does everyone have lies they tell themselves? If so where/how is it connected to mental illness. Are my lies part of mi or part of me? 

I think I’m struggling with the whole identity thing too. It is hard to know what is what, I think especially with personality disorders. Sorry I think I failed my overthinking goal 🤨 but I am going to get back into my day and try to start again..... no more squirrels 😜

[BlueBay]

@Margot
What if there not lies ?
What if it's all real and true ?

[Snowie]

@Teej I agree with you. Are my lies part of my MI or part of me.
So many thoughts run through my head and I don't know what ones to believe and what not to. Are all bad thoughts lies or are some true. Some thoughts I can distinguish after I have calmed down, other times nothing matters, they are all true.
Today all my self loathing and low self worth are true 😔

[Margot]

I totally saw that connection @Teej Identity, illness, and thoughts are so interrelated that it's hard to separate them. I imagine that continued exporation in therapy will help with finding an answer to those bigger questions. I wish you all the best with take two at avoiding "overthinking" 🐰

That's an interesting question @BlueBay Figuring out whether thoughts 'truth' or 'lies' can be a tricky process and something well worth exploring in counselling 🐼 I tend to think that when our minds go over and over negative stuff in an unhelpful way, it's worth tuning out where we can, and tuning into something more helpful - be it distraction, talking with others, going for a walk, or doing whatever it might be that gives us a bit of respite from thinking. 

Sorry to hear that today is a particuarly challenging day @Snowie Some days it's easier to gain more distance from the thoughts than it is on others. Look after yourself tonight  🦊

[Former-Member]

My mental illness tells me many lies.  It tells me that no one loves me, even though I have oodles of evidence to the contrary of that vile lie.  It tells me that I am totally worthless and without value and that I deserve to die and in fact never should have been born.  It tells me that I am stupid and have lost the spark of genius that I had in my youth. It tells me that IT is in charge, that I am totally a subject of its whims and out of control and therefore a person who is less than a man.  It tells me that I am a slave to it, who must obey its disgusting ordinances of self-harm.  All these things are lies. I REJECT THEM NOW!  IT took a lot of time and courage to reject these things but doing so is liberating, and libration is the best feeling of all.