Feeling your Feelings.

🥴 If things are going great for you, you probably came to this page by accident. 

I have worked with people facing extremely difficult life-changing events for several years. I too have faced extreme and stressful life-changing events. 

Believe it or not, everything will be okay.  But you have to be part of getting there and getting help to get there.

You have to feel your feelings and work through this to move onto the next phase to be okay. 

I have links for advice and resources for you further down. 

Scroll past the next section (labelled "First") if it doesn't speak to you. 

Sick of platitudes, inspirational quotes, and cloying positive memes?

🧁  No sugar coating here.  Also, this is not a negative post. 

A 13-year-old girl gets bitten by a shark, rushed to the doctor's office, stitched up, and told she'll be totally fine. Crisis averted, right? Not so much. (21 minutes).

⬇️

Even if and when you have to save yourself, remember you are not alone. Seriously. 

Keep reading this but turn on some tunes. 🎧

• "For me, singing sad songs often has a way of healing a situation. It gets the hurt out in the open into the light, out of the darkness." ~ Reba McEntire
• "If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music." ~ Albert Einstein
• "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." ~ Aldous Huxley
• "Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness." ~ Maya Angelou
• "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain." ~ Bob Marley
• "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words." ~ Victor Hugo
• "I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music." ~ Billy Joel
• "What makes us feel drawn to music is that our whole being is music: our mind and body, the nature in which we live, the nature which has made us, all that is beneath and around us, it is all music." ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan
• "People haven't always been there for me, but music always has." ~ Taylor Swift
• "Music is the balm that heals the forlorn ache of a distant star." ~ Don Williams

         ☀️🎶🎶☀️🎶🎶☀️🎶🎶☀️☀️🎶🎶☀️🎶🎶☀️🎶🎶☀️🎶🎶☀️🎶🎶☀️🎶🎶☀️

Chat💬 with a friend or family. 

Tell your cat 🐈  or plant🪴 or your shadow🗣️ your thoughts. 

Volunteer to help others and get out of the house. 

Take someone lunch. 

🕰️Time with others is important. 

The Mingle Project explores the importance of social interaction and provides opportunities for connection.

Click 👇🏻 to find out more.

If you are here, you might have limited energy, time, or resources in general. I get it. 

Mental Health America has lists, guides, contacts for real steps you can take for free to help yourself.

⬇️⬇️click⬇️⬇️

Even if you are not a participant in Cigna's CLIMB program, the podcasts (available in English and Spanish) can teach you simple methods to calm the mind and body and strengthen awareness. 

⬇️ Click the button to take a listen.👂

Colorado resources include crisis services, alcohol and substance abuse assistance, referrals, self-assessment tools, six FREE therapy sessions for people 18 or under, and other free and low cost services. ⬇️Click the button.⬇️

HELPFUL NUMBERS

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255), national, toll-free, available 24/7
• Crisis Text Line: Need help? Text HOME to 741-741 to reach a crisis counselor.

HELPFUL Websites

• US Dept. of Health & Human Services, Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration: Anonymous resource for persons seeking treatment for mental and substance use disorders.
• 7Cups 7Cups provides free online therapy and emotional support to individuals who may be struggling with mental health issues and is available in 32 languages. The anonymous virtual chat is available 24/7 and puts you in touch with a trained volunteer listener. You can also access message boards and forums that discuss mental health issues, as well as a group support chat that allows you to connect with others. 7Cups has an advice page that provides mental health news and advice from experts in the field. Article topics include depression, grief, hopelessness, recovery, and more. 
• The Trevor Project The Trevor Project is catered towards LGBTQ youth. You can reach out by texting START to 678-678, calling 1-866-488-7386, or just chat with them online. If you’re not quite ready to talk, you can do a quick calming exercise that helps you relax and focus. TrevorSpace is an international community for queer youth ages 13-24 where you can connect with, and make new, LGBTQ friends. You can also read about a vast array of LGBTQ topics, such as gender identity and sexuality, on their resource center page. 

Helpful Apps

• Moodfit Moodfit is a free app that helps you track your mood and provides resources on managing negative emotions you may be experiencing. You can download it on the App Store and Google Play. This app aims to follow the structure of a fitness app, but instead of focusing on improving your physical health, it targets your mental health and wellbeing. There’s even a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) portion of the app that can teach you valuable skills such as gratitude and mindfulness. It provides insight into what impacts your mood, such as your diet and activity levels, and what you can do to improve it in the future. You can also get information about different forms of treatment and their effectiveness, such as medications or therapy. 
• Happify Happify is a free app available on the App Store and Google Play. It offers a variety of science-based activities that can help alleviate symptoms of mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. The activities can help with coping with stress and negative thoughts, practicing mindfulness through meditation, or setting career goals to track your progress and fulfillment. The app incorporates CBT techniques into the games and activities, and is rooted in psychological research and evidence about what works best for mental health and mood issues.

Online Support Groups

• LifeRing Secular Recovery: An abstinence-based, anonymous peer support group offering a non-judgmental space for individuals to engage in recovery conversations and share support with peers. Available in person and online.
• SMART Recovery: A secular peer support group providing an evidence-informed environment for individuals dealing with substance dependencies or problematic behaviors, promoting recovery through a structured program. Multilingual meetings are available in person and online.

༶༶༶༶༶ ༶༶༶༶༶ ༶༶༶༶༶ ༶༶༶༶༶ ༶༶༶༶༶

Explore the other categories. 

⬇️Click the button.⬇️