April is #StressAwarenessMonth, and Dani DiPirro at @positivelypresent has some gentle suggestions to help you get through a tough day.
— Rader Ward Foundation (@RaderWardFound) April 28, 2019
❤️
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💛#stressmanagement #stress #destress #slowdown #findadog #takeatimeout #gooutside #mentalhealth #suicideprevention #griefsupport pic.twitter.com/wxbFBs4Dae
poems of hope, read aloud
Here’s another well-known poem about hope from Emily Dickinson, read aloud on the PoetrySpoken.com YouTube channel. Look around when you’re finished; maybe you’ll find something else you like.
old favorites: case of the elevator duck
instagram: it's 🐧 world penguin day 🐧
27 Likes, 0 Comments - @raderwardfoundation on Instagram: "For 🐧 #WorldPenguinDay, here's my all-time favorite penguin, 4-year-old Rader in costume for the..."
stress awareness month: managing anxiety
suicide prevention experts say we all can help
Mario Monday: national jellybean day!
a poem of dedication
Click here to visit the blog and read my National Poetry Month poem of dedication.
celebrating national look alike day!
alliance of hope added to resource page
anxious? try this breathing technique
thousand-year-old tradition: predictive text haiku
I found this idea so charmingly ridiculous. I wrote probably a dozen of them that worked (with varying levels of quality), and made efforts for several more that didn’t. Here are instructions for how to try it yourself, a couple more of mine that I liked, one from my college kiddo, and one written by my friend Cyndi, who is a great sport for participating just for my amusement. These are from my Instagram post, which by its nature was much wordier than I was allowed to be on Twitter.
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To get started, I found it easiest to pick a random letter on the keyboard, or go ahead and choose a first word. Then use predictive text from there, counting 5/7/5 syllables. Some of them just didn’t work. But here are a couple I liked.
❤️
Sweet dreams and good news
I hope it’s not too late for
The other people
💛
Whoops sorry if you
didn’t have any questions but
I thought it would work
💗
And one about self care, written by my offspring:
Fun and stuff to do—
It’s okay to have some stuff.
It’s okay to be.
💕✨🍭
And here’s Cyndi’s. I am all in on this one.
Can you meet at the lake
place tomorrow night too
party at my place
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❤️
💛
#poeticgenius #nationalhaikuday#haikuday #haikupoetryday#nationalpoetrymonth #poetry#poems #predictivetexthaiku#predictivetext #haikus #haiku#aprpad #tinysnekcomics #tinysnek#tinysnekrepost
national orchid day: phalaenopsis (phalaenopses?)
Mario Monday: the whole gang together
the way i see it
April is National Poetry Month, and so far I’ve kept up with writing a poem each day with prompts from Writer's Digest. Yesterday’s assignment was to write a view poem, which was easy because I happen to be visiting our mountain cabin, the place with my very favorite view.
Harbingers
Lake
pitted by raindrops
that also fall, pattering,
on the tin roof
Birds call
and flit by
robins, crows, cardinals
other unseen songbirds
Still-bare trees
almost shimmer
with the verdant haze
of leaves about to burst forth
The rain falls faster
reflections of light like static
across the surface of the water
ripples, circles
A mallard soars past
audible rush of wind and feathers
to make a noisy splashdown
quack, and preen
Now he swims by
all majestic iridescence topside
and busy orange feet underneath
V-shaped wake trailing him, a royal cape
The rain cloud passes,
sun emerges
everything above reflected below
A view I will love all of my life
that I long for when I am away
How this place soothes my soul
All is well, you’ll be well, be still and listen.
teen takes action for mental health
I don't usually post a lot of resources that only operate in a local area (especially if it's not even my area!), but I heard about Tori via Recklessly Alive's Sam Eaton, and was so encouraged by the work she is doing, I thought it might be a good inspiration for others!
As Sam explained it, "Out of her own story of panic attacks, self-harm and an attempt [at ending her life] she created Gifts of Hope, where she brings gifts to kids and teens in psychiatric care." You can read all about it and see photos of what she’s accomplishing on her Facebook page. Way to go, Tori!
Below is her story:
Gifts of Hope was created to bring hope to the kids who are currently staying in adolescent psychiatric units of local hospitals. We want to give hope to the kids and teens that have to go through a little extra every day. We collect stuffed animals, throw blankets, and a bunch of other things and we give the gifts to the staff at the hospitals, who then give the gifts to the kids and teens.
My inspiration for Gifts of Hope:
When I was 13, I went through a very difficult time in my life. I was depressed and anxious all of the time. On average, I had about 3 panic attacks a day at school. I was constantly being bombarded with the screaming voices in my head saying that I wasn’t worthy or enough and that nobody would care if I was dead. On average, I would self-harm 5-7 times per day. I was in a very dark place but I didn’t tell anybody about what I was going through at the time.
Then I made a public suicide attempt by attempting to jump off of a bridge. In total, I stayed at Abbott Northwestern three times and Fair View one time. One of the times that I was at Abbott, I was having an especially hard day and a nurse noticed. The nurse ended up giving me a floppy eared, brown puppy stuffed animal. It might not seem like much, but to me it was everything. That nurse made me feel like someone outside of my family wanted me to get better and actually cared about me. It gave me hope again. That’s why I started Gifts of Hope. To give hope to the kids and teens that need hope more than ever! Now two years later at 15 I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life! I'm living life to the fullest!
Another reason why I started Gifts of Hope is that while I was at Abbott I noticed how desperately the kids needed markers and coloring books. A lot of the kids were stuck in hospital scrubs the entire time because a lot of the times family members wouldn’t even come and visit them to bring a change of clothes! The kids and teens also had games, but not very many. The ones that they did have were torn up, colored on, or there were pieces missing.
The last reason why I started Gifts of Hope is because there is such a stigma around mental health! The stigma needs to stop. I'm hoping that my story will help change that.
Things that we are accepting:
Soft throw blankets. No comforters or large blankets.
Fidgets. Stress balls, fidget cubes, etc.
Card games, board games, and puzzles. No sharp or little pieces.
Adult coloring books, washable markers, and colored pencils.
Stuffed Animals for ages 10+ that are new or gently used. No long limbs.
Cash is always appreciated! The money will go towards buying items for the kids and teens.
bittersweet blog, a recommended resource, updated
take a daily poetry break: have a poet read to you!
the complexity of treating children's mental health
seven, eight
Calligraphy by Carol Chan
I’ve been writing daily poems for National Poetry Month. Yesterday’s Writer's Digest prompt was to write a lucky number poem. I thought of this quote and then found this calligraphy by Carol Chan of howcarolsees.com.
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Lucky number seven
When I read these words,
I feel a boost of courage
— my inner optimist
straightens her shoulders
and nods in recognition,
resolved, ready —
as if the deepest truth of the universe is that
all that is required of me
is to keep going.
“Try, try again.”
“Don’t give up.”
And I want to think
I will get up eight
But is it really that simple?
And how do we ever know
until we have fallen down seven?
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You can read my daily poems in the blog section of the foundation website.