Posted in Confessions, Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Reflection, Self-Care, Self-Talk, What Just Happened: Personal Anecdotes

Free Write: The Perceptions of Mental Illness And My Fear of Abandonment

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

How’s everyone’s day been? For me I’ve been struggling.

I didn’t realize how hard this pandemic has affected me until I started to reconnect with others. Having perceptions of safety and holding to my boundaries made sense when I built a safe place alone, but it becomes real when something “triggers your inner untapped wound”, and for me its my fear of abandonment. The thought that no matter what, everyone will leave eventually or no matter how hard I try no one can reciprocate the love I feel for them especially when I love them…a lot. I tend to run away in embarrassment because “I love someone who can’t love me too”.

This in my nervous system manifest as PTSD, anxiety, and a slab of persistent depressive disorder.

I talk a lot about reflection and healing, but that’s because I know how it feels to experience a mental health condition. Healing my nervous system has been my biggest challenge so far in my life. If you know what it’s like to have a mental health condition, know that I see you, I feel you, and I love you. This journey doesn’t make you weak because it isn’t for the weak.

Just the idea that I can be perceived as “mentally ill” has kept me from exploring new relationships, but I don’t want that for myself. I deserve to be loved by others. I can be loved by others. I will be loved by others. I’ve healed a lot over the past two and half years, but THIS WOUND? It really HURTS.

In this new season of my life, I know I have to work on this pain specifically and I know it’s going to HURT A LOT. Pushing myself to open up fully, be transparent, and unapologetically love without fear will break me to build me back up.

I know I will make mistakes and some people won’t understand me, but that’s OK. I still want to spread unconditional love and kindness to others.

Thank you for reading. Continue to journey with me ❤️.

Posted in Love, Mental Health, Reflection, Self-Care

Holiday Reflection

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

A major lesson I’ve learned this year is that I have the capacity to unconditionally love; myself and others. The pain that comes with realizing that others don’t always feel the same love for me has been really painful yet transformative, however. I realized that everyone’s on a different journey and have different experiences that don’t always include me, but that’s OK,  I still want to continue to practice unconditional love even if that’s from a distance. Everyone deserves to be loved and receive love in return despite that discrepancy. 

Affirmation: I am love. No matter how others feel about me, it’s still OK for me to love myself and spread love to others. 

For those celebrating a holiday today or going to celebrate a holiday soon, stay safe and enjoy 💝.

Posted in Confessions, Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Reflection, The Mighty, The Pencil Case on The Mighty

Pencil Case Prompts: Write a comforting letter to yourself.

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Activity

Write a comforting letter to yourself.

My Reflection

I’ll go first 💌

Dear Nina,

I know it’s been a really rough couple of weeks and you feel alone, exhausted, burnt out, and the depression is feeling heavier than usual. I know your thoughts have been racing and you’re wondering if things will get better. I know you’ve been yearning for something you think is impossible to experience, but I want you to know that you’re doing the best you can and it’s OK not to feel OK right now. It’s OK to feel negative emotions sometimes. I want you to know that I’m proud of you. You’ve accomplished so much and you’re worthy of all the happiness and love in the world. You are not void of new experiences and opportunities and this is definitely not the end-all for you. You are so much more and have so much to offer this world. You are amazing, beautiful, and talented beyond measure. I love you so much. We’ll get through this together. You deserve to be celebrated.

Love,
SparklyWarTanks

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Reflection, The Mighty

Reflections and Childhood Misconceptions

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Activity

What is something you believed as a child that you learned was untrue as an adult?

Reflection

I’ll go first!

For some reason when I was kid, I thought that my parents didn’t sleep and watched over me while I slept instead. I also thought that everyone had similar lives and were like me. Since I was highly sensitive I thought everyone got overstimulated sometimes and needed extra alone time. I soon found out these things were indeed NOT true when I got older 😅.

What about you? What misconceptions did you have growing up?

You can also find this prompt in the Chat Space group on The Mighty here.

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Power, Reflection, Self-Care, The Mighty, The Pencil Case on The Mighty

Pencil Case Prompts: Goals, Lists, and Important Experiences

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Activity

What’s an important experience you’ve had this year?

As we head into the home stretch of 2022, let’s reflect on something important that we’ve experienced thus far. It can be an experience you’ve learned from or an event/moment that’s impacted you positively or negatively.

My Reflection

I’ll go first! An important experience I’ve had this year was getting closer to my mom and building a safe relationship with her.

Check out this prompt here in The Pencil Case on The Mighty.

Activity

Make a list of three words or phrases describing your goals for the end of the year.

My Reflection

My three phrases are:

1. Content with my progress.
2. Calm and at peace with myself.
3. Organized and ready to take on another year.

What words are on your list? 🙂🌟

Check out this prompt here in The Pencil Case on The Mighty.

Activity

Write a reminder list to guide you through the week ahead.

Let’s prepare for the week ✍️.

Either in your own journal or in the comments below, write a reminder list of important things you want to remember or accomplish this week.

My Reflection

Here is my list:

  1. Therapy
  2. ETS Presentation with NAMI-NYC
  3. Food Shopping
  4. Paying the bills.
  5. Mighty work
  6. Sparkly work and projects

Check out this prompt here in The Pencil Case on The Mighty.

Posted in Events, Mental Health, Self-Care

NAMI-NYC October Virtual Expressive Arts Event: Show and Tell

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

So very excited to announce the NAMI-NYC Expressive Arts workshop event I will be hosting at the end of the month!  This event will be via Zoom and on the NAMI-NYC website. You can find the link by typing in the link in the flyer here and clicking the Expressive Arts Zoom link for October 29th, 2022.
If you have any questions or concerns feel free to send me a DM or email. The time of the event is in Eastern Standard Time.

**I will share any updates or changes and keep everyone posted. 

Here are some details for the event:

Title
Show And Tell

Description
“Show and Tell” is a creative and fun event focused on reflecting on our achievements and accomplishments. Starting with an ice breaker, we will sketch an image and write about a moment when we felt really proud of ourselves. The main activity will then be to pick one of two activities. The first activity will be to add to your ice breaker activity and sketch a series of images that remind you of your favorite accomplishments, and the second activity will be to write a descriptive poem about how it felt to achieve a goal that was important to you.  Lastly, we will close by sharing our works of art.

Materials
Paper, writing utensils (pen, pencil, markers, or crayons).

Hope to see you there!

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Potential and Worth, Self-Care, Self-Talk, The Mighty

It’s World Mental Health Day! Pick a leaf 🍁☘️🌱

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Activity

In honor of World Mental Health Day let’s reflect and share our experiences, perspectives, and goals!

Pick a leaf and follow the prompt that goes with that leaf:

1. 🍁 Share a mental health victory you’ve had this year.

2. 🌱 Write a list of three ways you can prioritize your mental health this week.

3. ☘️ Finish this sentence: My mental health is important because
____________________.

My Reflection


I choose all three leaves today ☺️

🍁: This year I continued therapy and grew so much in self-love!

🌱: Three ways I can prioritize my mental health is by getting enough sleep (8-9 hours), eating breakfast every day, and writing in my journal to manage my overthinking.

☘️: My mental health is important because I deserve to feel at peace within myself and feel proud of how far I’ve come on my journey.

You can also find this prompt on The Mighty here.

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Self-Care, Self-Talk, The Mighty, The Pencil Case on The Mighty

Mid-week Encouragement Check-in and Proud Moment Reflections

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Activity

Mid-week Encouragement Rest Stop: Supportive and Motivational Messages

Write an encouraging or motivational message in the comments below for yourself or someone who may need support today. 🌱💌

My Message!

Take your time and rest if you need to. You are doing what you can right now. I’m proud of you ❤️.

You can find this post in The Pencil Case on The Mighty here.

Activity

Finish this sentence: My proudest moment was when __________.

Think of a moment in your life when you felt the proudest you’ve ever been. What moment comes to mind?

My Reflection

My proudest moment was when I graduated college even after experiencing the lowest I’ve ever been with my mental health. I strived to get that degree and I got it WITH magna cum laude honors AND distinction in the writing program 💃. I did that!

Check out this post in the Cheer Me On group on The Mighty here.

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Potential and Worth, Power, Self-Care, Self-Talk, The Mighty, The Pencil Case on The Mighty

Writing and Reflection Activities: Pencil Case Prompts, Exploring Comfort, and Learning Lessons

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Activity

Finish these sentences:

I am moving past _________.

I am moving toward _______.

Let’s take steps forward together and affirm what we’re moving past and what we’re moving toward.

My Reflection

I’ll go first!

I am moving past shame, guilt, and self-limiting thoughts.

I am moving toward self-love, self-forgiveness, and accepting all parts of me.

What about you?

Let’s walk together 🤝💌.

You can find this post in The Pencil Case on The Mighty here

Activity

What does “comfort” feel like to you?

Whether we feel supported by those around us or in an environment where our needs are being met, the idea of comfort may look different for all of us.

What does comfort look and feel like to you? What makes you feel most comfortable?

My Reflection

For me I know comfort is directly related to how safe I feel in my environment. If I feel safe and supported by those around me, I’m able to access and navigate that environment more freely.

What about you?

You can find this post in the Self-Care Lounge group on The Mighty here.

Activity

What is a lesson you’ve learned that you feel is valuable to share with others?

Is there a life lesson you’ve recently learned or learned over the years that you feel is valuable information that others in our Mighty community can benefit from?

My Reflection

A valuable lesson I’ve learned was that life isn’t a timeline that everyone has to fit into. It’s OK to go at your own pace and do what’s best for you. There is no need to compare your journey with others people’s journeys. We are all on our own path.

You can find this post in the Chat Space group on The Mighty here.