Our Mental Health.

I can not stress enough how important our mental health is and how seriously it should be taken because of my field of work. I study psychology as I've mentioned before and I make it a priority to educate as much people whenever possible on the importance of mental health. There is still this stigma around mental health and gaining help from psychological professionals.

I do stress that you do not have to go seek a therapist because you have some kind of disorder. You can absolutely go to a professional when you just need to talk; talk therapy is a thing. I understand that some people do not like being analyzed but how do you expect experts to help out if we don't observe and try to understand who you are as an individual?

I got inspired to talk a little about this because it was brought to me that kids do go to their parents asking for medication for certain mental disorders or illnesses because they may have friends who are being medicated when for a fact, everyone does not necessarily need medication. Some people seriously just need someone to talk to and to help organize their thoughts. I know it sounds like something that can happen with a friend or family member but a professional is trained to notice certain habits that your friends or family members might not mention or even take notice to because they see you every so often if not everyday. There are things that only people on the outside of your life can notice and professionals have no problem talking to you about those issues. 

An example can be one of your bad habits that get in the way of you feeling better about yourself. Maybe something as small as you biting your nails which can get in the way of your grooming and oral health. Another example could be something bigger like a drinking problem your loved ones do not have the courage to approach you about. Who has the courage to talk to you about your drinking habits?  Your therapist because that can be hazardous to both you and your loved one if it turns into an addiction. A third example could be that you feel like you have all of these situations going on at once in your life and you're not sure how to handle any of it. Paying a visit to your local therapist can help you organize your current life situation(s) and help you get everything organized. 

I know I am making it sound super simplistic but with your corporation, a good therapist can and will help you situate your life so that you feel better and happier with yourself and your life. That is the main purpose of therapy; to help improve yourself and your overall way of living.

I do stress though that if you feel beyond not okay, if you feel like you could harm yourself or others, you feel like you may have some sort of disorder, you can't seem to feel any form of happiness or anything in relationship, I deeply stress to see a professional as soon as possible because your overall health comes first, do not let anyone stop you from seeing a psychological professional because they wanna say that you are feeling well when in fact you don't feel well mentally; go see a doctor.

Try to think of psychological professionals as medical professions; and some are. When you have a cold, you go see your primary physician to get medication and rest for a few days. Do the same thing with your mental health! When you are not feeling well mentally, go see your therapist and they might give you some medication only if you seriously need it. Other than that, they will advise you what to do next and it is important to listen and they will see you next week or again later on in that same week to check how you are doing and feeling.

I think that is enough for now, I am only touching the surface when it comes to our mental health and I plan to discuss it more but that is all for now. Please follow me on TWITTER @midnighthuee and tell me about your experiences with mental health issues.

Smiling might cause frowning but it causes more happiness in you and those around you. Try to do a good deed each day and until next time, Take Care <3

Ellen Hopkins books

If you love books as much as I do, along with some poetry, you know who Ellen Hopkins is and you know about her books.

I wanted to take a post to talk briefly about it because I was finally able to get a copy of one of her books for a deal because ever since she became a Best-Selling Author, her books cost about $20-30 each. I buy most of my books on thriftbooks.com, I strongly urge everyone to buy books there if you don't already. They also sell textbooks for all you college students who need more affordable textbooks for your semesters.

I am currently reading "Tilt" by Ellen Hopkins and of course I'm in love it. My love for her books started when I was still a teenager and I went to my public library way more often to get my books. The first book I found by her was "Burned." I finished that book in three days because I became so immersed in it. When I went back to my public library, I tried to find another book by her but all of her books were checked out. That was when I learned that all her of books were vastly popular and it was going to be hell to get another book by her.

Over time, I was able to buy my own copies of her books and I was more than thrilled because her books are amazingly written to me. Sure, each book is around 500 pages but each page is a poem so each page isn't filled to the brim with words.

Each book is it own story about teenagers and what is going on in their lives. I know some people might say it's dramatic because of some of the situations but it is the teenager's life stories which is why I can't help but get sucked into her books. I get angry, sad, or feel happy at what each character has to experience. A lot of the time I feel it isn't fair but that is their current life; this is real life for not just these character but for teenagers and people who can relate or has experiences similar situations.

I will end things here because I finally started reading another one of her books and I just wanted to share with you guys. I really hope you guys end up picking up a copy of any of the Ellen Hopkins books. Please follow me on TWITTER @midnighthuee and tell me which copy you have. Everything I say here is just a suggestion.

Smiling is great for you and the people around you too. Try to do one good deed a day and until next time, Take Care <3

Get Out

I watched this movie last weekend because of the reviews that I was seeing all over the place. Everyone was saying that this movie is wonderful, despite it being a thriller, because it brings to life how racism does still affect black people in our country. I cannot relate to those struggles as much because I am not considered black. Hispanics are not considered black because we are Hispanic. Everyone calls us Spanish and calls it a day. There is still a group of Hispanic people who do not want to admit that they are black or do not even realize that they are like myself growing up. My culture is Hispanic therefore, that was my surroundings. As I got older, I realized that I am black too because I am not White nor Asian and there are only three races in our world; Black, White, and Asian. 

The only thing, at this point in my life, that I can relate to is not being considered "black enough." I'm already going to give you my thoughts on that and it is that it is just fucking stupid to say to a black person that they are not "black enough" for whatever ridiculous criteria they have for a black person. Being black is not what we are "trying" to be, black people is what we are and black people come in many shapes, sizes, and colors just like White and Asian people. Our Earth is mixed with so many mixed people that it is a shame to hear such comments in modern and developed societies. 

I digress, returning to the movie, it is great and if you have not seen it yet, you better go catch it while it's still in theaters or if you can find it online I encourage that too; save your money. The movie is so well done in the sense that every theme in the movie ties into each other so well such as, white supremacy, racism, slavery, race when it comes to certain jobs, psychology, slavery, history, and how black people may be viewed today. It is so good. This movie tackles so many issues that are still relevant today and approaches them through a horror/thriller movie because all of those issues are scary to and for anyone who can relate to it. I think it is the perfect way to address such scary issues; through a thriller to show how serious these issues really are.

Also do keep in mind that it is suppose to be a thriller and it is. There are some fantasy aspects in  that movie that only does happen in horror films so please be mindful of that fact that is in indeed, a horror movie and it is rated R

I do not want to give too much away about what happens in the movie since it's a thriller; I might practically give everything away. I wanted to mainly discuss the main themes surrounding the movie is all so I will end this here. Please go watch the movie and try bringing a friend for discussions because this movie is going to cause some great discussions in my opinion.

Please follow me on TWITTER @midnighthuee and tell me if you've seen the movie and what you think. Everything I say on my blog is merely a suggestion, I am not telling anyone to do anything.

Remember to smile because it causes you to feel that much more happier when you're having a bad day, smile to a stranger and until next time, Take Care <3

Relationships

Okay everyone, this one is going to be a toughy because everyone has different relationships and everyone may have a different definition for relationships.

I wanted to touch on this topic a bit because I am dealing with what feels like a bunch of emotional stuff right now and channeling it somewhere productive could help with organizing it.

But I'm confident that we can all agree on having a healthy relationship is extremely important.

So what does a healthy relationship look like? I'm asking this to get you thinking so that you can pay attention to the first thing(s) that comes to mind for you. Some people might automatically think about romantic relationships when I am talking about all types of relationships we have.

I know when we hear the word relationship, we automatically think of a romantic one because we were programmed by our society to automatically think about romantic relationships when we have and will have so many different kinds of relationships. We need to be considering our other relationships because they're important to our everyday living; it's creates a sense of peace when you have a healthy relationship with everyone around us that we see on a daily or weekly basis.

Starting with our parents, that is the first real relationship we have. It is very important because that is the first relationship we develop in life. I know, right off the bat, that everyone does not have the best relationship with their parents or even have one with their parents. I think it is important to be aware of what kind of relationship is there and to accept it as is and don't let it ruin you future relationships because everyone is different. That is factual. You can and will meet someone you can have a healthy relationship with even if you didn't start with one.

Relationships with your friends are the next kind we will encounter when you start school or however early our parents were having us interacting with other kids. Most of the time, more deeper friendships start to form however we start our education. Since we were very young we are taught how to interact with other people our age and how to speak with them; how to have a conversation with another human being.

I know a lot of people might not pay too much mind to this but our environment(s) does play a role in how we interact with other people. As we get older and head to different schools, some people interact how they usually do with some but some might switch things up depending on where they are and who is it specifically that they're conversing with. An example is how high school boys are with their male friends and how different they may interact with a female friend if he is interested in her romantically. Those three relationships that one high school boy has are very different from one another. The relationship he has with the boys in his life are different than the women he has in his life along with both of those relationships being different than the one he has with the girl he is romantically interested in. Nonetheless, all three of those relationships matters because it shows a part of his trail through life.

The third kind of relationship, the romantic one, is one that can occur at anything throughout our lives. 

Here I am going to start point out what healthy relationships include across the board.

Communication. We were taught since we were really young how to talk to one another about what we are thinking and how we feel. Learning how to listen is very important because you want to give the other person time to express themselves and also for them to feel comfortable enough to speak their thoughts and emotions. We also learn how to express ourselves in a way that the other person can understand what we are trying to express and why we feel and think the way we do.

Growing with each other. When all go through phases throughout life. Even when we are adults, we are still learning about things everyday and we continue to find ourselves. It is important to be with people who realizes that we do not finish growing when we become adults. Our habits and how we view the world changes a little everyday. Therefore, we change a little everyday. When our friends support us with however we want to change our appearance for example, it helps us find ourselves much sooner rather than later. I know I appreciate my friends for accepting me when I started wearing makeup more and supporting any new hobby I recently discovered because it makes me feel that much more complete and comfortable in myself even if I might switch things up next month.

Spending time together. I know this is an obvious one but it's called quality time, not quantity time for a reason. You can spend a lot of time with someone but if you do not feel your relationships growing, if you do not feel like you're learning more about the other person then that might not be the person for you. There are some people who are just fine with doing the same thing with the people in their lives everyday but others are not. Some people truly feel if they cannot learn from the people in their lives, they do not want to interact with them much. This includes going out to museums for example, anywhere they can learn something new. Having in-depth conversations about topics related to social constructs and current events for example can help broaden our horizons too.

Those are three main qualities everyone should search for in any relationship because you want to feel comfortable in all of your relationships enough to be yourself. You also want the other person to feel the same way to; you want them to be comfortable enough that when they do need something or just want to talk about their day to you, that they feel more than welcome to come to talk with you and vis-versa. 

I will end things here. Finding healthy relationships might be hard to find but once you do find people who love you for you and encourages you to be the best version of yourself, hold on tight because it's going to be a wonderful ride. Everything I say here is just a suggestion hence the name of my blog. Please follow me on TWITTER @midnighthuee and tell me about your enriching relationships.

Smiling helps your body feel more happier compared to when you are frowning. Try to do a good deed each day and until next time, Take Care <3