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I tried some things too and I stopped doing them. Probably because I didnt think it was a lot of fun. But if you really want to learn something and your only problem is self-confidence, I recommend taking small steps to see fast results and to stay motivated. So dont start with drawing a complex photorealistic scene but start with drawing just an eye. You can find many tutorials for this, it may take a few hours but I'm pretty sure, you can do it and I bet you will like the result.

It's great that you try to be self-reflective. The easy way is to call somebody toxic and leave him/her behind and that's probably a good way to deal with strangers or people who are not important to you. But there are also important people like close friends and your family. The harder way is to ask yourself, why these act like they do. Many people, like your friend, who want to be in control of things/people are insecure and afraid they are not in control of their lifes. So they desperately try to control anything. If you can build up enough trust with these people to get behind their wall of appearing powerful and strong, you can talk to them about their fears and you can try to help them. You will experience rejection but there is a chance to make it. As a minor it can be hard to understand your parents. Parents usually try to enable a good life for their children and they hate it if their children don't respect them for their effort. Also they try to hide problems from their children to prevent them from worrying. So it is hard to call parents toxic if you don't know the whole story. But you can ask them for honesty and you can ask them to share their problems with you. Your sister and you are probably in a very similar situation, because you are surrounded by the same (maybe toxic) people. So the first thing you can do is to talk to your sister about your situation. It's important to convince her that you will not making fun of her, so she can feel safe and talk to you.

Be patient, please be soft on urself and YOU are not crazy.you got this believe in yourself..u keep going on ur self improvement...and ignore those toxic people..because they Don't deserve ur time,attention,they don't a place in ur Mind.. Don't let it happen..if u keep remembering their toxicity again and again then do your hobbiesss and dont give a damn.you are great please dont let them push you down...u will shine trust me just be patient and only focus on urself..forget about their existence whenever they are being dense Sending love🖤

Here are the links to the guided meditations we are practicing with during the MBSR course: Feel free to choose the recoding for the week you are at that resonates best with you. I will continuously add more links to high-quality recordings to cover a broader spectrum of voices and personal styles. Like the posture, the teacher that works best for where you are at today might differ. Yet in their core, those different meditation are the same. We offer a free guided meditation once a week live on zoom. Onve a month we offer a free FAQ session for this course. To see the time and dates and sign up for a session please checkout Tine's profile. Some recordings are by Dave Potter, an experienced MBSR teacher and psychotherapist who put together this online course. Jon Kabat-Zinn is the founder of the MBSR course. Emma Reynolds is an experienced MBSR teacher with the Mindful Academy, Solterreno, Spain. This is where I got my training too. Lynn Rossy is a health psychologist, author, researcher, and Kripalu yoga teacher specializing in mindfulness-based interventions. Week 1: Bodyscan Bodyscan 29min by Jon Kabat-Zinn (the founder of MBSR) Bodyscan 15min (YouTube) Bodyscan 15min (InsightTimer) by Tine Steiß Bodyscan 33min by Dave Potter Bodyscan 45min by UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness Bodyscan 20min by Emma Reynolds Compassionate Body Scan 24min by Kristin Neff Week 2: Sitting Meditation Sitting Meditation 32min by Dave Potter Sitting Meditation 40min by Jon Kabat-Zinn (the founder of MBSR) Week 3 and 4: Mindful Yoga Mindful Yoga 1 37min by Lynn Rossy PhD Mindful Yoga 2 36min by Lynn Rossy PhD Week 5: "Turning towards" the difficult, Soften, Sooth, Allow Turning Towards - Meditation for difficult emotions 23min by Dave Potter Turning Towards - Meditation for physical pain 25min by Dave Potter Soften, Soothe, Allow 16min by Dave Potter Soften, Soothe, Allow 9min by Happiness Insight RAIN 11min by Dave Potter Week 6: Mindfulness and Communication Mountain Meditation 20min by Dave Potter Lake Meditation 20min by Dave Potter Week 7: Mindfulness and Compassion Lovingkindness Meditation 13min by Dave Potter Other meditations that are closely related to the MBSR curriculum: Taking a breath - taking a break 13min by Tine Steiß Breathing Meditation for Beginners 10min by Jack Kornfield Labelling emotions 20min by Emma Reynolds the RAIN of Self-Compassion by Tara Brach (PhD in Clinical Psychology, founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington and author of Radical Acceptance, True Refuge, Freedom In Your Own Awakened Heart) Oneness Meditation 35min by Jon Kabat-Zinn (the founder of MBSR)

My self Rajveer I'm frome india Gujarat State and Ahemdabad district. I'm civil Engineer . I'm also join this club become im thinking more than negative think...and mentally depression so I joined this app and ...hapy for join this app thanks.

I meditate daily. In 170 days following the Vipassana retreat, I only skipped two days so I guess I can say it's every day. Some days it's only 3 minutes, sometimes it's 30. Right now, I am focusing on loving-kindness mediation. I am also doing the 7 minute workout a few times per week, but there's definitely room for improvement when it comes to self-care regarding exercise. Another big part of self-care is creativity and reading. I do one of them almost daily.

Maybe she is self-isolating for some reason but I would expect at least something like "Hey, I'll be back, when I feel better". Ghosting without any comment is pretty cruel, especially to a friend.

As someone who lives with depression and anxiety, I have to ask if maybe she struggles with her mental health? How long have you known each other? My friends who really know me, know that sometimes I need to step away and I sometimes self-isolate for long periods because life is too overwhelming. Not saying that's what's going on but something to consider? Take care ❤️

Welcome to happiness and thank you so much for sharing 💫 I hope our community can be helpful on your self improvement journey and that you keep sharing any ups and downs. I'm sure lots of other members can relate and give great advice 😊 I found this article about kundalini meditation, maybe you'll find it interesting!

Thank you @Lily1876 for raising such an important topic. The "mantra" I use to balance self-care and compassion is "You can't pour from an empty cup." And when I need to refill my own cup that's where boundaries come in. Some people come to refill you cup, some send you to take care of refilling it yourself, others won't refill it but accept that you need to do it and some won't let you, they just want you to keep pouring. And that's where the boundaries come in.

@Tine I was quite surprised when you mentioned about poetry. It did occurred to me recently that the things that I wish to say are sometime better presented in verse-like manner; relating about an ideology, even though I literally also meant what I said. And probably because poetry is closer to the heart and therefore it resonates well with healing & liberation - my perpetual wish for others. I'm quite concern about how the world is driven along by crazy folks or people abusing their powers. Even the smarter ones are not addressing the crucial points, nor are the spiritual ones. The attitude is more like "it's beyond me, or not my concern". But does this gives us the excuse to turn a blind eye to the problems? Or perhaps we have too much problems on hand. Given the above problems and including those of our own, where do we turn? Perhaps I could shoulder your problems, while we dive our hearts into contemplating "How would you like your World to be?". Hence send me your grief, your pain and I'll return you a light that shine clarity into your heart; albeit telepathically. We are very connected with everyone, through our minds, in this world. We can always steer the World from self-destruction, if anyone still not aware what's coming. And I believe there are more episodes on the way, where even survival would become a problem; not just about food. My mom visited my sister, from Pure Land, a few months after her passed on last year. My sister is not a spiritual or religious person, and this utterly convinced me that Pure Land is not a myth. Comparing Pure Land to our current world, it's laughable. But it leads me into asking "What kind of World would I wish for?". My solution to the problems - Contemplate would be the key; from a person with an ordinary and yet unordinary heart. And everyone, don't forget to send me your grief and pain! =)

@Kingdomaire I too realised that in most situations of suffering, my thoughts and reactions were what caused the suffering in the first place... Like you, I learned the importance of self compassion and patience and it's a wonderful thing! I'm working through a Byron Katie book called "I need your love - is that true?" and it gives a very practical yet profound workaround for dealing with thoughts. It's been a great help to me. I think that self-love, patience and acceptance of ourselves as we are are some of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves and those around us, and I'm so happy to hear that many of us are doing just that. Thank you for sharing ✨

A big part of self care is talking care of your mental health 🙏 Prioritising your own wellbeing is never selfish!

this is the best time to know yourself more. Talk to your inner self and dig out more within you. When you will focus on your own self then many new talents and skillls you can find about you. You can also do things which you could never do because of lack of time. Its the best time to manifest positive energy and enlighten yourself. stay safe and healthy

@BeingBre your partner who suffers from depression is still in there, she is still the same person, she needs your help to remind her of her great qualities that depression fogs our brain and wants to make us forget. Our brains with depression give us false messaging about our true selves, and traumatic events that have happened to us can take away our self-love, and make us feel unloveable and make us withdraw and isolate. But we need connection with others and we need our people to help us feel connected to them and with consistency. We also need some levity from the heaviness we have been carrying - laughter and fun, plan things to look forward to. Help generate the seratonin our brains lack. For example, my husband learned from me that sunflowers brighten my mood so much- he started bringing one home picked fresh from a co-worker’s own garden when he told her about me. An old friend of mine sends me funny text messages constantly. She also mails me thoughtful little gifts. Another old friend wrote me handwritten letters reminding me that I have support, love and friendship and I am valued. I can empathize with your struggles to support and feel connected to your partner- my husband has gone through the same for 11 years with me. From day one that he met me, my major depression had just started less than a year before. He did not know many times if he was strong enough for how bad it was for me back then and for years. But when he finally made the choice to be my partner to defeat this and always help me to keep it at bay, and when a few amazing friends stuck by my side continuously through it all - until then, all of my self-work to help myself develop mental strength like no other was not sustainable. We cannot do this alone. And as my husband and few unwavering friends see now- my light and new love for life was worth the support and time they found for me. My relationships are stronger for all of this. Love and friendship heals. There is no greater gift than giving light to someone in the dark. That is why I spend my free time giving my new light to strangers that I like to call new friends. Also please know you don’t have to fix anything, just listen, let her vent, give hugs, give smiles, reach out to her especially if she is isolating. I am always here for support. Chat with me any time.

Thank you for sharing. I feel similarly when it comes to virtually all of my family members. I have not been open with any of them about many aspects of my true self for fear of their harsh judgment and criticism. That fear causes me to project even further into the future by predicting that if they did meet me with such harshness, I would inevitably have to further distance myself from them to protect my own energies and remain authentic to myself. I am focusing on working on remaining my authentic self especially in the face of fear. I am focusing on learning how to meet people as they are in the present instead of predicting their reactions and responses based on my past interactions with whoever they were doing those times. While at the same time preparing myself for worst case scenarios, remembering how I must be true to myself and adjust relationships/energy exchanges accordingly.

It is both a blessing and a curse. As empaths we are very attuned to the world and people around us, which makes us good friends, good listeners and sensitive to others needs/problems. On the other hand, we can get too involved by taking on the emotions and negative vibes from those same people. It can be physically and emotionally draining so self care and setting boundaries are very important. Carrying stones for protection against negative energy is very important. Amethyst, hematite and selenite are great options. Lots of rest, meditation, grounding and creating a “bubble” of protective positivity around you will help to repel the negative energy from attaching itself to you. Being an empath/HSP is a gift but you have to practice self preservation so that you don’t deplete your own needs and emotional well being. ❤️

It takes courage and determination to grow up and become who you want to be.When people try to say anything about who you are,don't believe them.Don't give them a chance to decide how your life will be for you.You are the driver of your own life and nobody has no idea of what you go through.Nobody will make you happy and important than yourself.Believe in yourself and be your biggest fan even when nothing seems to work.Don't give up and don't be afraid to do mistakes rather have the zeal to try new things and learn from your failures.Let no one look down on you,speak for what you know is right and learn to say no for what will ruin you. You are blessed.You are more than you think you are.You are a winner.You are an overcomer.Be what you can be.Be You.Be disciplined.Love your self and in everything,put God first.

Start taking care of your self , start to love yourself, expectations regarding you by others is none of your business.

As a person that has battled depression for many years, along with anxiety and PTSD I believe that I may be able, finally,, to see all experiences, challenges, difficulties, obstacles and so forth as gifts. I regard myself has a person that walks a spiritual pathway. I also regard myself as a person that has experienced extremes, for example going from a British Army Marksman (I entered the Army straight from school) to a Reiki Practitioner and Spiritual Healer, and Medium, with 26 years in Spiritualism. So for me, I've experienced (as lots of us do, I'm not special) polarity/duality, exploring myself on many levels, physically (in the Army) mentally, through deep soul searching, emotionally and spiritually (in meditation, self reflection. Exploring the extremes of myself, really getting to know myself, at many different levels of being. As I look at life from a spiritual perspective, I do see this (difficult and challenging) life as a gift, an opportunity to come here to this world, enter into the density of the physical form, experience cold, heat, hunger, limitation, isolation, separation , deprivation, love, connection, interaction, joy, bliss and everything else beyond and in between. As I believe that the universe (multiverse) is divinely and intelligently orchestrated. I really do feel that this (and every) life , along with everything we experience within them, is a gift, a gift in the sense that it provides us with the opportunity to really get to know ourselves., each other and to be able to truly empathise with others, having suffered ourselves. We are the brave souls that took the opportunity to really have our metal tested, be forged in the fires down here on the earth, ultimately to return to our true home in the spirit realms, richer and finer through experience, knowing ourselves better than ever before. Life, and everything we experience in it, really is a precious gift! Many applied, but not all were accepted, to return to Earth and assist our earth be uplifted and freed from the clutches of those that would rather see us perish. We are the Light Warriors, here to assist in the ongoing Ascension process, and we will ultimately be triumphant. Life is a gift and one that, at soul level at least, we are very grateful for. Yin/Yang, dark/ light, positive/negative, polarity,/duality ~all necessary to generate movement, momentumand growth, all through experience. Our sensitivities and our self awareness is a gift also, for all the same reasons, as difficult as that may be at times.A great servant once said, and I agree entirely " The Meek shall inherit the earth" Our time is coming friends! Hang in there for just a little while longer, great changes are just around the corner I (very strongly) feel. Namaste.?? The image below is my design that I've drawn out after being inspired with it. I'll be giving it the Pyrography (wood burning treatment) soon ?

Self love is so important, and how you see yourself matters more than how others see you 💫

Thank you for this uplifting post 🌈 It all starts with self love 💚

Depression is not a bad thing .. enjoy it because 70% are in the same conditions. Enjoy your beauti .find your self in you . You are the most luckiest 💓

Thank you @neuguru After adding my reply to this topic, I kept pondering the words "simple life" as my life didn't become simpler, but there's a certain quality of contentment, ease and happiness to it that I didn't know before and having fewer expectations, attachments and desires are areas were things became simpler. I'd add: piece by piece replacing self-doubt and anxiety with self-compassion and kindness.

Over the last week, I've been introduced to some extraordinary tools that have been absolutely vital in my own personal pursuit and I'd like to share these tools with you. What does happiness truly look like? For myself, I am happy in improving my life at the moment. That has been my main focus right now. I'm still struggling to define what sorts of actions make me happy, but for now, diving into my psychology and doing the things necessary to improve myself, brings me happiness. For example, I'm just now getting into a program that is going ot help me pay back my college loans that are currently in default. The whole program will take 9 months to get me out of default status and a further 2 years to eliminate my owed debt entirely. I often find myself being impatient with this, however. 9 months is a long time and I really want to get back into school, I'm looking to take up welding as a profession. Enter the first tool I've recently learned Patience. A lot of the things that bother me are not in my control at this moment and that's ok. The general idea is to try to moderate your emotional investment. The hardest part of every journey is the very beginning and often times we tend to quit just before hitting the knee of the growth curve. This is because we emotionally exhaust ourselves and by the time we are just a few days, a few weeks maybe, away from that knee of the curve, that we just simply are drained completely and just quit. But had we taken the time to apply the principles of patience, the return would vastly outweigh the initial investment. So if you are struggling with this area like I do. Try asking yourself these 3 questions, apply them to your own specific circumstances. 1. What does a lazy approach look like in this endeavor? Could be school, a relationship, work, self actualization, maybe you're depressed and anxious and you're just wanting those results. So ask yourself, what a lazy approach would look like. To be lazy would be to do nothing, right? You're not putting in the effort, you're not doing the work etc. 2. What does an impatient approach look like in this endeavor? We all get impatient. It's only natural. We want results and we want them now. But that is a double edged sword. You can end up causing more harm than good. Maybe you're trying to take on ALL the tasks, maybe you're trying to cramp ALL the information, trying to do ALL the work. But you have to allow yourself to moderate how you invest your energy. Take the time to do each step, apply each step, learn each step etc. 80-90% of the emotional labor of any endeavor is going to be in those beginning phases and you're not going to see much growth. You'll see tiny bits of growth here and there. You gotta learn to appreciate those tiny growths and stop looking at the end result as an ends to a means. 3. What does a wise approach look like in this endeavor? So exactly what does this mean? How do we know what a wise approach is? It's actually pretty simple. A wise approach is giving yourself the time to grow, even when the growth doesn't seem to actually be there. Find it, appreciate it, enjoy it. Are you working towards that great relationship that's going to last the rest of your life? Are you writing a book that could change humanity? Are you starting your own business? Are you doing personal development? Any of these things and more are going to take time. It's going to take consistent effort on your part and your job is to try to make the best of the hardest parts of that journey. Ask yourself a few follow up questions. 1. Would this endeavor be worth it, if it took 4x as long as you initially planned? 2. Would this endeavor be worth it, if it took 100 to 1000 times the emotional investment as you planned? If you're working on something like meditation, mastering your emotions, chasing that wonderful relationship, starting your own business, writing a book etc. The answer to both of these questions should be yes. It is absolutely worth the investment because when it comes time to reap the rewards, it's going to be far surpassing anything you had conceived. If the answer is no, perhaps you're either not invested and maybe that project isn't for you, or perhaps it could be your own neurotic mindset, getting in your way. You have to be the judge on that. Moving forward there are 5 simple things that you need to stop allowing to influence your happiness. Just bear in mind, this works hand in hand with the previous tool. Results aren't going to be immediate and that's ok. 1. Your past We all have a past and it can sometimes be pretty murky at best. This includes things others have done to hurt you, things you've done to hurt others, things you've done to hurt yourself, bad choices and mistakes, all the things that made you who you are. You are not those things, you are you. So stop labeling yourself with the ghosts of the past. 2. Your relationships This could be friendships, relationships, family etc. This doesn't mean that any of these things were bad or are bad. Maybe you've had wonderful relations with pretty much everyone you know. It's still equally important to not base your happiness around those relationships. Relying on others to provide our happiness for us is a very clingy and neurotic way of living and chances are, it will ruin that relationship. 3. Your own limited beliefs Have you ever criticized yourself? Said "there's no way I can do that"? Having realistic expectations of what you expect from life is good, but when you begin to say you cannot because of past experience or because of some arbitrary limitation you put on yourself, it becomes an issue. Say for example, you're an introvert that wants to make friends. A stereotypical label that you might put on yourself is that it's not in your nature to make friends or that you can't have friends because of that introverted nature. Let go of that. Maybe you think you won't get that job because you view yourself as a failure. Maybe you feel like you won't get that job because you're not good enough. Maybe you feel like your business won't succeed because you're not a good leader. Whatever it is that you put on yourself. Maybe you think you can't succeed because of your physical appearance or your gender or your skin color. All of these are self defining labels that cause so much detriment in our lives. 4. Other people's opinions of you Just as equally as the way we label ourselves, if we allow others to tell us who we are or what we can be, it is that same detrimental outcome as if we had labeled ourselves, because we are in a sense. We accept the labels that other people put on us. The goal is to stop doing that. Even when they do so with good intentions. 5. Money We all know that money makes the world go round. But the illusive chase of just money is a cold and primal way of living often leaving a person to appear as cold and heartless. I'm not saying to just go and quit your job or that money is evil. What I'm saying is that money shouldn't be the ONLY motivator in your life. It's reasonable to want to be capable of sustaining yourself, a family, having the possessions you want and all that. Just don't be so focused on it that you lose sight of everything else. It's the easiest, fastest track to a toxic life. So that's it! Now the only objective left is to find what actually makes you happy. Go out and try new things, pick up a new hobby, give it 4 weeks. Be patient and approach it as though you want to enjoy it, because that is the purpose of this whole endeavor after all. Not everything is going to strike your fancy and that's ok, at least you tried and now you know.