Tag: empowerment

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

Reclaiming the Sacredness of My Birthday

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Today is my birthday, and for as long as I can remember, it has been a day filled with grief and depression. Every spring, the flowers would bloom, the sun would stay out longer, and the temperature would gradually rise from 30 to 40 to 50 degrees, yet the sadness would wash over me like a waterfall each year. I came to recognize this in a recent conversation with my therapist after a panic attack, which felt inevitable given the number of life changes my nervous system has been trying to process this year.

A birthday is meant to be a time to celebrate yourself, your life, and how far you have come. For me, though, intrusive and cruel thoughts would grow louder, like a speaker reminding me of all the ways I believed I had failed in becoming a “successful” adult. I would question whether I deserved to keep going, to keep living. This year, however, I want to reclaim the sacredness of my birthday. I want it to be a day to celebrate my life. I want it to be an “I am” day, not a “what have I done so far?” day or a “list all the reasons you are behind your peers” day.

In creating that sense of sacredness, I am building rituals and routines to remind my body and mind that I do deserve to be alive and to experience joy and excitement every day, especially on this day.

My first ritual this year is to write myself a letter, something I have done a few times before. Writing helps ground me in the “I am.” I know my SparklyWarTanks family understands that about me. So here it goes:

Dear Nina,

Happy birthday, precious girl. You are in your 30s, what a milestone. Instead of listing everything you have “done” to earn the right to celebrate yourself today, I am simply going to honor how amazing you are as a person. Your personality and who you are is something truly special. You are a bright and divine light in this world. You are meant to lead and to walk alongside those who share your vision of recovery, hope, and love. Keep your head up, because you are not only living for yourself, but also for your ancestors who are cheering you on along the way. You have broken numerous cycles and have chosen yourself. I am so proud of you. Keep going, because you deserve to live a life filled with unconditional self-love.

With all the love in the universe,
SparklyWarTanks

📷 Note: The image above is a self-portrait I created in a workshop last weekend. It reflects all the things that remind me of who I am.

Posted in Events, Mental Health, Self-Care, Self-Talk

NAMI-NYC Virtual Story Hour!

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

I’ve been sharing my mental health story with middle school and high school students with NAMI-NYC through their Ending the Silence program for almost 5 years now, and late last year I trained to become an In Our Own Voice presenter as well! It’s been an overwhelmingly gratifying experience to not only open up spaces to have conversations about mental health, but to meet new people that inspire me to continue my journey.

This Thursday April 4th at 6 pm EST you can hear me share my recovery story with Kristen in NAMI- NYC’s virtual story hour!

🌟 If you’re interested and would like to attend click here to reserve your spot 🌟

Posted in Creative Writing, Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Love, Mental Health, Power

I Deserve…

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

In celebration of my recent birthday I’m walking into this year with an open mind and heart to receive. I’m deserving of good things and good things flow to me effortlessly. 

I deserve….

Peace of mind.
Love in abundance. 
To laugh. 
Consistency in my relationships with others. 
To eat full meals every day. 
To wake up with energy. 
Sunlight.
Breaks and rest. 
To sleep 8 -10 hours. 
Reciprocation. 
To learn new things. 
To have positive experiences. 
To heal my nervous system.
Friends. 
A healthy and healing partnership.
To receive what I desire. 
Hugs. 

I deserve to feel good being who I am. I am proud of myself and move forward knowing how much I’ve achieved, especially in the past 10 years. It hasn’t always been easy, and that’s OK. I can make it through every time. 

I celebrate myself.
I’ve made it this far.

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

Pencil Case Journaling Prompts: Finish the Sentence and Mental Health Goals

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Activity

Finish this sentence: I’m proud of myself for ________________.

Let’s cheer one another on today! What are you proud of yourself for right now?

My Reflection

I’ll go first!

I’m proud of myself for continuing to push through, completing my daily tasks, and working on my personal projects. I’ve been struggling a lot with my mental health these past few weeks, but I’ve still been able to get my work done and make it to this moment right now 🌸. 

You can also find this prompt here in The Pencil Case on The Mighty!

Activity

What’s a collection of words or phrases that represent your mental health goals for this month?

As we keeping marching on through the month of April, let’s make a list of words that represent the mental health-minded goals we have for ourselves.

My Reflection

🌈 Here is my collection of words:

Resilience
Self-reflection
Standing up for myself
Realizing my needs
Conversations
Sunlight
Love
Challenging my bad habits
Consistency
Practice
New perspectives

What’s on your list?

You can also find this prompt here in The Pencil Case on The Mighty!

Posted in Events, Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Reflection, Self-Care

NAMI-NYC Virtual Expressive Arts Event: Pick Your Joy

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 in the flyer here. On the day of the event click the Expressive Arts Zoom link for April 30th, 2022!

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to send me an 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

Pick Your Joy 

Description

“Pick Your Joy” is a creative and fun event focused on reflecting and expressing what joy looks and feels like to us. Starting with an ice breaker, we will sketch an image and write about one fun fact about ourselves. The main activity will then be to pick one of two activities. The first activity will be to draw what it’s like for you to experience joy and the second activity will be to write a poem about an exciting moment in your life. Lastly, we will close by sharing our works of art.

Materials: Paper and writing utensils (pen, pencil, crayons, markers, etc) 

Hope to see you there!

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

New Season Mantra

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Practice this new season/new month mantra with me. We can approach this season together.

“With every step I take I allow myself grace and compassion. I listen to my intuition and I take my time. I’m patient with myself and I protect my heart as I navigate the next season of my life. I remind myself that I am safe as I continue to succeed. I am ready.”

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

Pencil Case Prompts: Moments of Empowerment

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Activity

Share a moment where you felt empowered.

Reflection

A moment, I remember, where I felt empowered was when I decided to ask for help with my mental health instead of isolating myself and struggling on my own. At that moment I knew I was capable and willing to receive help without feeling shame or embarrassment.
Find this activity here in The Pencil Case on The Mighty!
Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Potential and Worth, Power, Quotes, Self-Care, Self-Talk

Creative Self-Care- Crafts and Quotes on My Wall

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

You are light.

Even in the darkest moments you are strong enough, brave enough, and capable of feeling joy again. You are more. You are power. Remember all the times you were able to get back up. You did it once, you can do it again and again.

You exist on purpose.

The past 3 weeks have been difficult for my mental health, particularly for my depression. One of my favorite activities to do when I’m experiencing my symptoms is creating something I can see every day when I wake up.

Last night, I decided to get some card stock, scissors, a pen, and some images that reflect my vision of empowerment to write myself a message.

Every day I wake up, right next to my pillow, written by my own hand, I’m now reminded of my light, persistence, and resiliency even when my mind is telling me I’m none of these things.

As I trudge through the days exhausted and torn, I must constantly remember who I am and all I’ve accomplished simply by being me. My joy is accessible to me, it’s time I access it.

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Love, Making Sense Analysis, Mental Health, Potential and Worth, Power, Reflection, Self-Care, Self-Talk

Sometimes It’s Hard to Remember…

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Sometimes it’s hard to remember the thoughts we try to forget about. That one childhood memory that brings everything back or even the ones that happened just last year. And even though we thought it was behind us, in a split second it’s staring us in the face. The feelings flood back and so does the pain, frustration, and confusion, too. Sometimes it’s easier to avoid the memory and pretend it’s not real, to repress it, of course, so we don’t have to feel.

But, as hard as it is to relive those painful memories, the ones we avoid with every part of us, they resurface.

Those memories are telling us to feel them. Without feeling them and processing how they shaped us, we hold that pain within our bodies. We often see those memories wanting to come out; in our dreams, our behavior, through our fears. To process pain and memories is to honor and love ourselves. We are not meant to hold baggage and to suffer unnecessarily. We do not live to suffer, although it seems this way.

Process the memories and express how they made you feel. What did you learn from that memory? How do you see yourself moving on from it?

Empowerment is the constant processing of pain, thoughts, and perspectives into ambition, potential, action, and advocacy. Our stories are what empowers us.