So you think you can't recover from mental illness...

Ruminating on reasons you can't recover because your symptoms are different or you have very unique circumstances that prevent you from moving forward... is one of the most common symptoms.
If you want to cut out compulsions and practice not caring what your brain thinks (and hear me tell you weekly that I don't care what your brain thinks), contact me through my website for more info about peer support coaching for recovery: www.markfreeman.ca

[@sueweymouth1412]

Why don't all the professionals who treat mental illness, OCD, , do so the way Mark Freeman does, wth a reassuring smile, making one feel ;okay' about being ill. Thanks Mark

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thanks, Sue!

[@gingerisevil02]

I could've recovered a decade or more ago if therapists approached it this way. All mine encouraged me to get rid of my anxiety and doing counter thoughts and suppressing my feelings or whisking me away with meds. This approach of embracing your fears and that anxiety isn't bad is really unique and unheard of for me.

[@ahill7684]

By FAR, the best OCD channel on KZbin.

[@thomast9872]

Accepting and agreeing to the thoughts doesn’t mean you believe them. It means you’re not reacting to it which means your brain doesn’t perceive as dangerous. This helps so much!

[@lauraa7994]

Yes!!!!

[@cerealis_5432]

This!!

[@jimmysmh]

I spent so many years away from others because I was obsessed with believing I was fat and stupid because every time I tried something growing up, I failed. I was bullied at a job for trying my hardest, thinking so hard about the task at hand, and never yielding the results I know I was capable of. I have suffered with this in every aspect of my life, from my social life, to my artistic endeavors, to my relationships. You've given me so much hope in the last 24 hours. I haven't lived up to the person I know I can be, and I no longer want to play victim to my own mind anymore. Thank you so much. From this point onward, I will do everything in my power to rewrite the story of my life and become a healthier person.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Enjoy being yourself!

[@cerealis_5432]

Has your situation improved? If so do you have any advice??

[@BrianDodl1]

I went to my psychologist to discuss these ideas and instead he diagnosed me with ADHD and recommended Adderall. He is no longer my psychologist.

[@alphawavesready6639]

Thats what im afraid of going to a therapist just give me meds and not really help me

[@ElizabethGonzalez-jt7ns]

@@alphawavesready6639 ... that happened to me. I went to a therapist and he put me on SSRIs. I never even went to the pharmacy to get the medicine. And I never went to see him again.

[@HamsterKey]

So in summary, don't give a crap about your ocd no matter how real your case seems to be and do the things in life you wanna do.

[@ahill7684]

Thanks so much Mark...you probably hear this all the time, but this video came at just the right time. Your videos are such a great service to people like me who have OCD. Three steps forward, two steps back. Onward!

[@enriquequintero3193]

without a doubt, Mark is the better comunicator about this issues in youtube! U help a lot ! :)

[@itiswhatitis9089]

This compulsion thing is so constant to me that it almost felt like breathing. You've basically narrowed down teachings of the Yogis I've been following for years in just several minutes. Thank you!

[@ahill7684]

Mark, thank you for this wisdom!

[@tinyshinythings]

So glad I found your videos Mark. Thought it was only me! So good to have found my tribe.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Welcome!

[@annalynn870]

i think this may actually be the most helpful video i’ve ever seen, which is saying a LOT coming from someone who’s watched every self-improvement video on the internet when i didn’t have energy to do anything else. what you said was perfect and you said it perfectly, and i truly think i’ll reframe my thoughts like this from now on. thank you :)

[@everybodyhasabrain]

:)

[@nonobrobro3310]

" we are so good at thinking....and it is not helping." lol. ocd or not overthinking is useless

[@alr.3137]

Yes, I feel you. Overthinking has literally led to me developing delusions and buying into them. Because you can't really disprove ideas.

[@floweryunicorn8888]

@@alr.3137 I mean, when you literally keep on analyzing a situation you end up discovering more and more things to the point they never end and you're never satisfied. It makes you see all the possibilities, even the unhelpful ones, and that can make you literally taste hell.

[@jeaninelanza981]

This was an amazing video! I have so many fears that drive my compulsions. I'm gonna tell myself that this time its different and I'm not gonna listen. I'm also gonna telll myself that YES it is possible to recover! I noticed a comment about your meditation videos and I'm gonna watch them now!

[@LongLiveInspiration]

I needed to hear this so much. Thank you and I look forward to watching more of your videos as I embark on my journey to good mental health!!!

[@everybodyhasabrain]

+LongLiveInspiration Thanks. Enjoy the journey ahead!

[@deankerr2469]

Thank you as always, Mark Freeman

[@JC-nm5pj]

This is life changing. Truly. I watch it every now and then to remind myself where I was.

[@kamran8451]

This is helpful because we're learning about personality and emotions in psychology and it never seems like they talk about how these things can be overcome. Even in therapy, my therapist never explained this sort of stuff this well, part of me wonders just how much help she was.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

+Kamran It is really strange that recovery isn't talked about more in psychology courses.

[@kamran8451]

+Mark Freeman I'm glad you can make videos because your videos shaped my outlook on mental health. I might still be constantly struggling thanks to unhelpful beliefs from psychological experts around me. Viewing mental health maintenance as a skill has been so great for helping me realize my potential.

[@kamran8451]

+Mark Freeman Hey Mark, So in my psychology course, we got to the subject of Positive Psychology (after three weeks of studying mental disorders in depth) and it turns out that the field of positive psychology is really new. Historically, psychology has been focused on the negative aspects of human behavior and describing the causes, rather than how a person can build and maintain psychological health. Positive psychology as a discipline within psychology is about 10-20 years old. So this kind of explains why there was a sort of negative spin on everything we discussed in psychology. There was focus on disorder and ill health and not necessarily the things you talk about at all. It was interesting to see.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

That's great. New things catch on eventually. The Internet is only a little over 20 yrs old, too, and it's turning out to be fairly popular.

[@janvytasek]

So true Mark, you nailed it. Thank you.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

:)

[@NaijaPrince15]

Spot on as usual, thanks mark!

[@alr.3137]

Happy New Year 🎆🎈🎊 Mark and all the great people on this channel!

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Happy New Year to you, too!

[@Chryslerx88]

Wow. Thank you so much for this.

[@kaylawells1880]

Watching your videos have given me so much hope, thank you so much for sharing with us! ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️💖💖♥️💖

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Enjoy the steps ahead!

[@TheTerminator317]

Seems like it all comes down to how you react to thoughts and how much importance you give to your thoughts. Best way is to not give any importance to your thoughts. And also having uncertainty in life is important too. Hoping that I can practice this myself. People with OCD become so sensitive that we are on constant look out for anything dangerous around us including what we thinking in our mind. We try to control thoughts, stop the thoughts, avoid situations, avoid places and so on. These are compulsions which sa Mark says needs to be cut down.

[@susieq984]

I swear the idea of being a special snowflake is super real to me right now 😅 of course it's not true I just find it comical how the mental illness community can all relate

[@ocdbrain]

I definitely can recover because the intrusive thoughts have gotten so much better overtime and all I needed to do was let them pass by in my brain. Thanks for making that intrusive thoughts video!

[@hg77777]

Mark you're the most amazing inspiring person ever !

[@everybodyhasabrain]

:)

[@gingerisevil02]

I'm grateful for this video because this is exactly what I'm feeling; like I HAVE to do compulsions cause if I don't then I won't be able to sleep, and because my fear thoughts have been true in the past, and because in OCD support groups on Facebook, I am the only one who has particular obsessions. And because I think I needed help with therapy a long time ago and haven't gotten the help I need I just feel it's too late. I hope that's not the case. My OCD has gotten soooooo bad that I can't do the things I enjoy anymore and I avoid even social media which use to be my only "safe space." I'm worried because my OCD is that lets say I share things that I deal with that are hard. I'm ok with sharing but if someone brings it up, in my mind they're obsessing so I turn obsess and then I avoid them. I've done it for so long that now all of Facebook and Instagram is scary because of how they perceive me. And an entire social agency become scary because of one person's question so I cut them off. I get a panic attack if I snap a picture of something cute like an animal because "omg then I have to share it and I can't because of how people will perceive my life!" It's terrifying. I left a message for the OCD foundational referal center. I was told I'd get a call tomorrow and I hope I do. I'm starting to feel suicidal as I progressively get worse. My OCD stems from wanting to control what others think of me, being afraid of how often they think of me, sleep anxiety, and all around my insecurities and wanting to control what others say. I've seen what anxiety can do and other people's effects on me and it's just scary.

[@kathashway]

Thank you! This is wonderful.

[@alr.3137]

Hi Mark, I have this obsessive thought that is similar to the issue you are addressing here - my OCD fear is related to a really unpleasant event in my past, where my OCD was later trying to tell me that I said „this is the best feeling ever“ - now it says that if I would have recorded everything surrounding the event and thereby „proof“ that I haven’t said anything like this, then my OCD would have been gone (I feel deep down that this is a lie by my OCD-demon). Anyways my OCD basically tells me that if I had done an epic compulsive effort of recording everything, then I would now be OCD-free. Implying that I blew my one-time chance of ridding me off of OCD. But yeah, as you have mentioned the very act of trying to get 100% certainty is what keeps OCD alive. Also 100% certainty is never attainable and especially not for the OCD brain.

[@lovelysweet74]

This resonated with me sooo much!

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Enjoy the adventures ahead!

[@Garycruz85]

Thanks Mark 😊 🙏

[@everybodyhasabrain]

You're welcome, Gary!

[@credenzamostro]

I can't say I'm not guilty of this sometimes, everytime I manage not to engage in a compulsion and not think about a certain thought, my brain is like "Oh, it doesn't matter because you're still going to have intrusive thoughts after this one's gone, so you can keep it anyway." It's really frustrating! But I know not to pursue OCD's lies, so I think I'm good :)

[@ranirupeiris]

thank you Mark

[@everybodyhasabrain]

You're welcome!

[@amanrai8010]

Thanks Mark

[@ileanaprofeanu7626]

this is so life changing. I actually thought 20 minutes ago that i would never get rid of my OCD and anxiety and life a happy joyful life, without fear, without interpreting what others say or not interpreting well, making sure I understood what they said by repeating in my mind what they said and checking that my response was appropiate, it's so tiresome really, and it really doesn't help that i took meds for four months now and when i try to cut them, the anxiety, the fear, the obsessive thoughts and compulsive mental rituals don't cease to exist... it's like I didn't learn anything in four fucking months, it's discourging. i dream of a life without fear, obsessions and compulsions, i can see it... but it seems so out of my reach. to be able to finally let go out them, im sure that feels like being reborn. to deal with my weight issues, to start excersing, to eat less junk food and more healthy foods... why all these things seem so hard to do? i did them once.... i don't know, i have only one regret in this life, and it really affected me, to such an extent that i developed a mental illness... why didn't i seek help sooner? I had so many problems and conflicts with my family, too many for my poor little mind to comprehend, so many messages: don't have negative feelings. don't judge others, don't make fun of others, don't express your opinion if it's not in accordance to other's opinions. don't make healthy and constructive remarks. don't take care of yourself. all these from my mother. and starting two years ago, for a year's time, i had arguments with her everyday, countless hours of trying to encourage her. countless hours of being scorned and made crazy and hysterical for expressing the mildest opinions. and never once have I thought there is a way out of this. having grown up in such a disfunctional family, there was no way i had the mental tools to deal with my depressive, frustrated, egocentric mother. i tried to help her, i tried to make her understand me, i tried to seek her approval of my otherwise completely normal behaviour, to no avail. this is the only thing that i regret in this life (well, and im 21, I'll probably have other things to regret in the future, lol), that i didn't seek help earlier. im afraid that seeking help when i sought help was a little to late to fully recover and live a normal life. is it even possible?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

All of this judging of yourself and your actions doesn't seem like it's helping you. I didn't even go to get help until I was 27. Recovery is up to you and the changes you make in your life. It has nothing to do with your age. Why not get started on making those changes?

[@TheTerminator317]

Hi Mark, I understand you have fully recovered from OCD. I mean you don't have obsessions or compulsions. For me even bit more caffeine seems to bring lot of obsessions/intrusive thoughts to fore. Sometimes they start even before I have got out of the bed which makes it very frustrating. Needless to say it also makes me compulsive. I have had some degree of luck in not doing compulsions. Unsure whether I will ever be able to recover completely especially because my OCD has traumatic origins. Also my obsessions are for something where I can't just go ahead and do my ERP. Thanks

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I found it helpful to look at thoughts/obsessions as being a problem with compulsions, not the thoughts themselves. Thoughts are just thoughts. They only cause us problems when we judge them and stick labels on them. You don't control thoughts but you do control the judgments and labels you stick on them. So it can help to explore the stuff we do to thoughts. As long as we do that stuff, the problems just naturally persist.

[@TheTerminator317]

Mark Freeman thanks Mark..appreciate your insights. One of the problem seems to be having belief that "negative" thoughts are "bad" and they can bring "negative" results in my life. So all those things in "" are perhaps judgements? How do I overcome this fear this fear that negative thoughts can bring negative results?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

This video explores beliefs, judgments, and desires: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJbcn3V7e8iFmpY We change beliefs through our actions. If we want our brains to stop believing something, we need to show it that we no longer believe that. It can also help to stop judging thoughts as "negative". They're just thoughts. It's like judging a colour of paint as "bad" and putting that bad paint in charge of your life--that's not so useful!

[@bellelee5268]

I need your help Mark! My problem is like these;I don't know whether what I'm going to do is a compulsive behavior or what I really have to do. For example, I wanted to listen to music for one day, but I couldn't do it. The reason why I should not listen to music is that I feel I might have had a bad thoughts, bad behavior, or bad face related to listening to music. I think I may have done something wrong.I think I should review what I’ve done and figure out a specific idea or act that I’ve done was sin or not. But it's too painful and unpleasant to do. I really hate to recall the situation when I might have done something wrong and figure out whether it was bad or not. I don’t want to think about it. but if i don't think of it, then i become afraid i don't think of it because of my laziness.I am afraid if I listen to music then It might be the bad thing, even though I love to listen to music. is it a compulsion if I don’t listen to music because i’m afraid something bad will happen? but what if I really did something wrong? I can not be sure that I did not commit the mistake because everyone can commit the sin. Please give me detailed advice.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Trying to avoid fears and thoughts and feelings is what mental health struggles are all about. If I want to continue to struggle, then trying to avoid a thought and not doing things I like is a way to maintain and worsen the struggle. So that's not something I would find useful. For taking care of my mental health, I find it's useful to accept the stuff in my head and do things I value. If I did something in the past, that has nothing to do with the present. I'm not a time traveler so all I can do is make healthy decisions in the present.

[@Wendy1178]

I like ur videos, in addition to the help and the tips they offer, i like ur positive attitude, it gives hope and happiness, thanks alot.

[@margaretyoung2279]

Thanks

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thank you for the donation, Margaret!

[@binovucinic]

04:35 We are SO good at thinking :::claps::: , and it's NOT HELPING

[@everybodyhasabrain]

So good!

[@TheTerminator317]

Hi Mark, hope u r well. I have been really trying to give up rumination and the need/urge to find answer(s) to my obsessive/intrusive thoughts. However it seems like obsessions and themes keep changing and they are violent in nature and makes me feel so real. Also I have found that core issue somewhere deep is anger/resentment/rage for ownself. Any suggestions? Feeling mentally overwhelmed and drained often. thank you

[@everybodyhasabrain]

It can help to see that obsessions/urges don't change. They are all the same: just an uncertainty about something bad happening. If we judge them as different, then it's very natural that they seem to grow and change and become worse. That's because of the compulsions we engage in. So it's useful to cut out the compulsions.

[@TheTerminator317]

Mark Freeman yes Mark I hear you. Just that its very difficult to not respond to those intrusive thoughts and all the noise going in the head sometimes. I believe all those things that one does in response to that noise in the head can be considered compulsion. thanks

[@briellehunter3290]

How do you stop blanking out? I am scared my license will get taken away I dont want to stop driving. Does anyone have any tips to stop Dissociating. My damn brain short circuits and I really need it to stop asap. It's like m6ild fainting. I just go from awake to asleep really fast but it's not really asleep. Fml

[@rachitjoshi23]

My main problem is feeling of dying and extreme fatigue due to severe anxiety and low libido and dp/dr. It feels like living with a damaged brain. But, I don't experience any negative thoughts just a state of low energy and fatigue

[@everybodyhasabrain]

This is probably just getting stuck on different meanings. Because to me, you just described a whole bunch of brain stuff that I wouldn't see as helpful to engage with: "...feeling of dying and extreme fatigue due to severe anxiety and low libido and dp/dr. It feels like living with a damaged brain."

[@rachitjoshi23]

@@everybodyhasabrain . Of course. Everyone is different and only you know what works for you. It's individual journey and cannot be generalized

[@josejuarez5846]

Check your Vitamins B12! You are more likely to be deficient on Vitamin B12 since fatigue & anxiety are some of your symptoms!

[@matthewalderink8180]

I think i can recover but i think its gonna be the hardest thing im ever gonna do in life

[@everybodyhasabrain]

You can do it!

[@alr.3137]

Hey Mark, what's your advice for dealing with guilt attached to mental illness - Like now I'm much better, but I feel like a dysfunctional man and a lesser human being for even having developed mental illness.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

It doesn't sound very useful to get caught up in compulsions like that! You can see the outcome of holding onto those beliefs and spending time on those compulsions. If you don't like the outcome of those compulsions, doing something else might be more useful.

[@emilyc4724]

i think i’ve had ocd all my life, but it only got really bad in august 2020. i’ve known about recovery work to do with ocd since october and yet i haven’t done any, mainly because i fear not recovering ever and feeling guilt forever which i know is irrational but it’s always looming in my head telling me ‘you’ll never recover’. i’m a teenager and i feel like my life is being wasted because of ocd. i have a therapist, but she doesn’t specialise in ocd and i’ve been seeing her for a couple of months and we’ve done basically no recovery work and i’m feeling more lost than ever. do you have any guidance of what i could do next? your channel is very helpful and i appreciate it greatly.

[@michelleverburg9923]

I think you should start doing ERP in baby steps on your own! I know how this ''you'll never recover'' thing in your head is probably scarier than the initial OCD stuff at times, but just remember there are people out there who had the same issue as you and did recover. You're so young and you can make it through that hellhole too, I promise you. It's not fair you have to deal with this, and I'm sorry this has hit you, but I do believe sincerely you can overcome it. Lots of love sending your way, and don't listen to the people who say it's ''forever''.

[@emilyc4724]

@@michelleverburg9923 thank you so much for the advice i really appreciate it! but actually since i commented my previous comment i have been working on my ocd and i’m so happy to say that i am barely affected by it anymore and life is really good for me right now :) again, thanks so much!

[@philosopher0636]

Hey bro can you answer please . Did you recover or not ?

[@roysaptarshi620]

mark...i have ocd from childhood...suffering from terrible intrusive thoughts about my relationships...i cut out all the physical compulsions in the 2nd month that's december or early Jan....i was the happiest guy in november without any doubts and then suddenly an anxiety attack came about my girlfriend and it all went south after that...the transition was in minutes....now I have so negative thoughts about all the things i loved a few time ago though knowing that i still love them...if i stop reacting to a thought will it go away?like the thought "what if i don't love her that much" or "what if i don't like our next date"....i love her so much

[@everybodyhasabrain]

+saptarshi roy Sorry to hear about the thoughts. With relationships, the thing that's often most valuable is to focus on the actions that build a healthy relationship or a great date. When your brain thinks: "What if I don't like our next date?" you can recognize that as just a thought and instead focus on making it a great date. It's up to you to build a healthy relationship. That doesn't mean having no doubts. You can have doubts and do things that make you healthy and happy. You don't have to react to the stuff in your head any more than you would react to a person shouting in the street.

[@roysaptarshi620]

You know i'v started doing that...but gow can i get rid of all these?will mindfulness based meditation help?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

+saptarshi roy But the more you try to get rid of them, the more you'll think about them. Mindfulness meditation is great, but meditation is about feeling whatever you're feeling. Consider clouds: do you spend all day trying to get rid of clouds? If you did, would it be an enjoyable experience? If you hated clouds and wanted to get rid of them, you would spend all day noticing them, being upset by them. And nothing you tried would get rid of them. But the problem would not be with the clouds, the problem would be with your desire to get rid of the clouds.

[@roysaptarshi620]

then what should i do to recover?its been 4 months....i know its ocd,its rocd or whatever the theme is....how will i recover..i love her o much Mark.She's very supportive in this matter.Just tell me how can i recover from this

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Here's a question that might help show the things you can do for recovery: Why do you react to these thoughts but you don't react to clouds?

[@dannydel7280]

I ben taking my mental health seriously a. I was embarrassed to admit I had issues but now I’m embarrassed it took me so long to admit this Bc if I did earlier I’d have been better by now lol

[@ramuluram2305]

hello,recently my doctor told me that am suffering from sensorimotor ocd (one of the type of ocd).My obsession is like i want answer every thing i do physically,for example am talking and suddenly i become aware of my brain in order to find the answer how am able to talk,from that moment i just want to distract myself,in order to become assure of the situation, because of this am not able concentrate on my studies.Please help me with how to perform erp for this type of ocd. and do"s and don't during thearapy.please help me,,,please

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Can you explain a bit more? What do you mean by: "I want answer every thing I do physically"?

[@ramuluram2305]

yeah for example am speaking or am reading,suddenly some sensation attacks me and i become aware of what am doing.this creates lot of stress and i want to leave that task

[@ramuluram2305]

means mentally i become aware of how am reading if am reading,or i become mentally aware of how talking if am talking,especially i face this problem with reading, talking, thinking.please tell how to perform ERP

[@everybodyhasabrain]

It helped me the most to cut out compulsions. Leaving the task would be a compulsion. So instead of checking your body, it can help to stick to the task you're doing. In general, with these types of compulsions, learning to practice mindfulness and learning how to meditate can be a big help. You can notice the urge to judge or notice a physical sensation and you can accept that experience but not react to it. You can keep your awareness where you want to keep it. This does take practice, in the same way that reacting to these sensations has probably become a practice. If your doctor can refer you to an experienced therapist, that could be a great help.

[@stephaniep2674]

Hey mark I️ want to ask you I️ guess deep down inside me I️ still question my sanity is always in the back of my head what if I’m really crazy or something is so scarey .is it normal to come to the point where your afraid of your thoughts like I️ over analyze every thoughts and so into my houghts and feelings my mind just keeps going and going sometimes I️ feel like I’ll lose control of my mind

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Stephanie P I find it really useful to cut out compulsions. We're in charge of our mental health. If we react to uncertainties (like: am I going crazy?!) by engaging in checking compulsions for reassurance, then it's natural that we only become more uncertain and more anxious. It's totally fine to be uncertain about sanity, but if you want to take care of your mental health, then it's not useful to chase after these certainties.

[@stephaniep2674]

Mark Freeman but that doesn’t mean iam crazy ?right to be extremely afraid of my mind and thoughts and losin control of my mind and going crazy

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Stephanie P Do you understand that asking this is a compulsion? By chasing this certainty, you're choosing to make yourself more anxious, not less.

[@stephaniep2674]

Mark Freeman yes I️ understand what you mean I guess I️ just don’t know how to be ok with theses feelings and irrational thoughts which are in my mind all the time is a scarey feeling meanwhile in the outside I’m trying to be as normal as I️ can but in my mind is a battle

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Stephanie P A big help with this can be demoting the importance and meaning you attach to thoughts. If you believe that clouds in the sky mean something about you, then it's disturbing to see dark clouds. But if you recognize that you are not the weather in the sky or your head, then you can put your time into things that are you.

[@blanccontent]

I really DONT think i can get rid of this ed

[@everybodyhasabrain]

It's ok to think that. Problems only start coming up when we listen to the thoughts.

[@burgieFR]

Mark, did you took medicine too?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I never took any medication or any supplements for mental health.

[@margoco4058]

Roberto Estevez he’s not discouraging he is just answering a question he is being asked.

[@Afura33]

What about pesonality disorders? I checked everything, they are stated as incurable. I feel like I am forever trapped in this mental illness.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

It's totally possible to get over personality disorders. They can be easily misdiagnosed so you might just want to get another diagnosis or work with a professional that has experience helping people recover.

[@Afura33]

Hello Mark, thank you for your answer. Yea they mostly wanna describe me meds for the anxiety and the depression which are caused by the personality disorder. How can it be that everyone is saying that it is uncurable? I guess I will look out for an other psychologists who can make a proper diagnosis.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

When you go to the psychologist, it can help to tell them about the things you want to do in life that you're struggling to do. Then the focus is on removing those barriers and helping you live your life.

[@Afura33]

I am not even sure if I can achieve the things that I wanna reach or change in my life. I do struggle a lot with negative emotions and the same time I can't really feel the positive emotions, feels like I do not have positive emotions. If I believe in what I have been told, that would mean that I don't have positive emotions and whatever I do, they do not come back and there is no way to get rid of my negative emotions. But thx for the hint, maybe I will find the right psychologist to help me out and who do not believe that mental disorders are incurable.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

That's exactly what I'm talking about: you just dismissed the things you want to do in life and went straight to judging your emotions. It might help to start with talking about the things you want to do in life. You don't have to start telling yourself you can't do them. There's a risk you might believe the stories you tell yourself :)

[@simonquick6244]

you da man 👍

[@susieq984]

Can you make a video on eating disorders?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

+Susie Velasquez Is there something in particular you're curious about?

[@susieq984]

+Mark Freeman my friend Jamie suffers from it. but I figured it would be a very similar concept as for accepting I believe right? acknowledging thoughts as thoughts and then not ruminating while you are eating a healthier lifestyle. I just always was wondering if that was the issue, holding on to the eating disorder itself, even after you cut out the unhealthy eating habits. it was just a question/suggestion sorta haha, just would love her to be able to see if from another viewpoint.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

+Susie Velasquez Yes, you can show her these videos and she'll probably see lots of things she didn't know were part of the eating disorder. Food-related compulsions are attempts to control or cope. Not eating to avoid something is no different than somebody that avoids touching an object to avoid contamination, or avoids doing homework because they want to avoid whatever feeling they're trying to avoid. Likewise, an eating or drinking disorder that involves excessive consumption is just like any other compulsion a person does repeatedly to get a certain feeling but just never quite gets its.

[@susieq984]

+Mark Freeman I agree. She's been on this road to recovery for a while, but I feel like all she has done is cut out the bad eating habits and forcing herself to eat healthy. She's still honestly engaging with the idea of her being "fat" and the idea she has to be skinny to be perfect.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

+Susie Velasquez Yeah, it's tackling those unhelpful beliefs where there's big opportunity for long-term healthy change.

[@Thorhem]

What if your own therapist says you will always "think this way"?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

+FL0YD666 That would be like a personal fitness trainer telling you that you'll always have the same level of physical fitness. It's their job to help that not happen. But if they've never had the experience of improving their mental health and overcoming a mental illness, they might not know what it's like so they don't think it's possible.

[@Thorhem]

Hi Mark, thanks for your reply. I talked to him today to express my opnion and to find out what he actually meant by saying that. He meant I will always stay sensitive for my anxiety/ocd to come back if I 'overcome' it. But it still seems that his opinion is that it will never go fully away. I'm not sure this is the right therapist for me. But I'm hesitant to find another because I already had so many over the years.

[@PaTroNxMoD]

Find another therapist

[@ivannovoselac3518]

Why is our own brain work against us? I don't get it? 🤷‍♂️

[@idadin5526]

So... Can we recover?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Of course. But it requires changes, just like improving physical fitness

[@idadin5526]

@@everybodyhasabrain Thank you sir for replying! Thanks for the videos as well..

[@brennanlettucetomato]

My girlfriend from 2 years ago was abused as a child and a teen, and she was mean to me no matter how supportive I was. I tried to be understanding at the time, however sometiems I forgot to realize how mental illness can impact how people feel about themselves and others. I dont think anybody with mental illness can completely recover or should, but rather I say its okay not to be okay, and even though she will have mentall illness for life I believe that she deserves to have her emotions and deserves to find joy and purpose in life gradually. Its not simple, but I believe in most people with mental illness if they gradually acknowledge their emotions and not listen to the naysayers that tell them they "should get better" or call them "mistaken people".

[@sashacolley4386]

K yeah but I cant recovery because: 1. i dont have the option to 2. I actually have emotions no one knows (Not even my therapists) 3. I cant go outside 4. I cant try

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I found that one of the most useful first steps was to stop listening to myself. Believing the things I thought and listening to myself is what got me into this mess. It wasn't going to get me out of it.

[@devfree4117]

Mark Freeman how do you remove emotion from anxious feelings that are always there for no reason?

[@vaporwingfauxmcloud1190]

The barrier of people who are struggling and people who are working towards successful lives are mental issues. Mental issues are meant to disable people who want a better life and the workforce keeps people from seeking mental help because they know that people would catch wind of their abuse and mistreatment and leave which would make a company or corporation struggle. Mental health issues are what keeps companies moving because you have to pay bills and eat food and live at a home. If you undercut people, they won't leave. If you abuse your employees long enough they would get used to the abuse and anything else would be an issue which would enhance the abuse.

[@jakelaroche]

This video made me so much worse. Bye.