Ashley Brooks Counseling Services,Inc

11/11/2024

12/11/2023

A quick lesson about autoimmune diseases. It takes an average of 3 years and 5 doctors for a person to get a proper diagnosis of an autoimmune disease. I just wish more people understood what an autoimmune disease is. It is not a cold or the flu; you will never get better, and even a nap will not help. Just eating a salad and hitting the gym won’t slim your face or get the pounds off. Sleeping 10 hours doesn’t leave you well rested, ever. Last minute changes in plans because that “just got ran over” feeling. Achy joints and bones, dry skin, breaking hair, mood swings, and depression are just the tip of the iceberg. You are also prone to having multiple autoimmune diseases. The “put together on the outside,” rarely matches the raging battle on the inside.
I am watching the ones who will take the time to read this entire post and react.
Please, in honor of someone who is fighting APS, Grave’s, Myasthenia Gravis , POTS, MCAD, Sjogren's, Scleroderma, Hashimoto Disease, Hypothyroidism, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, ITP, Sarcoidosis, CVID, RSDS, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Hepatitis, Raynauld's Syndrome, Diabetes, Mold Illness, Celiac, Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis, Pemphigus, Neuropathy, SPS, MS, PBC, Psoriatic Arthritis, CIDP, Behcet's, Alopecia, MMN And GPA
Paste to your page and reply "DONE" on mine.
Unfortunately, most of us know someone fighting against one or more Autoimmune Diseases. 🙏❤️💙💚💜

12/05/2023

DEPRESSION TIPS:

Shower. Not a bath, a shower.
Use water as hot or cold as you like. You don’t even need to wash. Just get in under the water and let it run over you for a while. Sit on the floor if you gotta.

Moisturize everything.
Use whatever lotion you like.
Unscented? Dollar store lotion? Fancy 48-hour lotion that makes you smell like a field of wildflowers? Use whatever you want, and use it all over your entire dermis.

Put on clean, comfortable clothes.
Put on your favorite underwear.
Those ridiculous boxers you bought last Christmas with candy cane hearts on the butt? Put them on.

Drink cold water.
Use ice. If you want, add some mint or lemon for an extra boost.

Clean something.
Doesn’t have to be anything big. Organize one drawer of a desk. Wash five dirty dishes. Do a load of laundry. Scrub the bathroom sink.

Blast music.
Listen to something upbeat and dancey and loud, something that’s got lots of energy. Sing to it, dance to it, even if you suck at both.

Make food.
Don’t just grab a granola bar to munch. Take the time and make food. Even if it’s ramen. Add something special to it, like a soft-boiled egg or some veggies. Prepare food, it tastes way better, and you’ll feel like you accomplished something.

Make something.
Write a short story or a poem, draw a picture, color a picture, fold origami, crochet or knit, sculpt something out of clay, or anything artistic. Even if you don’t think you’re good at it. Create.

Go outside.
Take a walk. Sit in the grass. Look at the clouds. Smell flowers. Put your hands in the dirt and feel the soil against your skin.

Call someone.
Call a loved one, a friend, or a family member, call a chat service if you have no one else to call. Talk to a stranger on the street. Have a conversation and listen to someone’s voice. If you can’t bring yourself to call, text, email, or whatever, just have some social interaction with another person. Even if you don’t say much, listen to them. It helps.

Cuddle your pets if you have them/can cuddle them.
Take pictures of them. Talk to them. Tell them how you feel, about your favorite movie, a new game coming out, anything.

May seem small or silly to some, but this list keeps people alive.

*** At your absolute best you won’t be good enough for the wrong people. But at your worst, you’ll still be worth it to the right ones. Remember that. Keep holding on.

*** In case nobody has told you today I love you and you are worth your weight and then some in gold, so be kind to yourself and most of all keep pushing on!!!!

Find something to be grateful for! ❤️🙌🏼

May I please get 2 friends or family members to copy and re-post? You never know who on your list needs to hear this.





Just two. Any two.

Say DONE.