Tag: mental health

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Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Healthy Habits For Writers and the Disabled

Recently I talked with an acquaintance who has an epileptic family member. Lately,  their family member suffered from intense seizures and my friend was curious about how I manage my seizures.

Although I’m not epileptic, my brain injury puts me at high risk for seizures and strokes. If I have a seizure, it’s a grand mal seizure, which are the worst you can have. And it usually takes a few days for me to recover from 100%.

I am glad it’s been over a decade since my last seizure. My friend asked how I stayed seizure-free for so long, especially without taking any anti-seizure medications. I explained to her the lifestyle changes I made in order to improve my health and reduce my risk of seizures naturally.

  • Get more sleep
  • Stay active
  • Stay well hydrated
  • Exercising my brain and body

Growing up I remember the health campaign, “Your mind is a terrible thing to waste.” However, I was ignorant and foolish and never took my health seriously. Like most people, I lived for the moment and was more concerned with being happy, than being healthy.

If we take our bodies and brains for granted, they will fail us sooner, rather than later. I have already explained how important it is for disabled persons to stay active to help keep the muscles from atrophying, and I’m not talking about stretching them either.

Stretching is a healthy habit, but when done wrong it is extremely bad for us. We all need to learn better health habits.

Healthy Habits

One of the surest signs someone does not know what they’re doing when it comes to exercise is stretching before they exercise. Most people confuse stretching for warming up, but warming up is meant to keep us from overstretching cold muscles and damaging them.

Whereas when the muscle is properly stretched, it releases lactic acid and reduces soreness and pain after exercise, these are basic health habits for staying strong and healthy.

It is important to remember that being healthy encompasses a lot more than just our bodies. Healthy bodies are only one piece of the puzzle to being healthy. Our brains and our nervous system are what control our bodies, we must not neglect our brains, that is why I limit caffeine intake, I don’t want to damage my nervous system any more than it already is from my TBI.

Mental health, emotional and spiritual well-being all impact our overall health. We can’t focus on our physical bodies without exercising and taking care of our mental health and that means eliminating the bad influences that distract or hinder us. This is especially important for writers.

Writers Health

A writer’s mental health and well-being are critical to our craft. Our brains are the most important tool in our toolboxes. Computers, pens, pencils, and editing apps are useless without a healthy and focused mind.

Overall health begins with the brain. If we want to be productive and healthy, we need to learn some basic health habits for maximizing our brain health.

  1. Quit smoking
  2. Stay physically active
  3. Manage a healthy blood pressure
  4. Maintain a healthy weight
  5. Eat healthy
  6. Manage blood sugar levels
  7. Stay engaged
  8. Get enough sleep

I cannot over-emphasize the need for sleep. Many people view being sleepy as a feeling of simply being tired, but this could mean you’re not getting enough sleep which is a vital function in life. Sleep plays such an important role in maintaining our bodies and our brains. It detoxes the brain, repairs damaged cells, regulates blood sugars and hormones; it takes more than just a few hours of sleep to get it all done.

Sleep is when writers often dream up new ideas or work out issues in what they’re writing about. It’s true we can’t control what we dream about, but, we do need to protect our sleeping hours and bedrooms from being misused. I have learned to stop practicing bad bedroom habits.

Watching TV, reading, writing, or playing on our phones in bed, reprograms our brains not to rest and sleep when we go to bed at night. I turn my phone off before I go to bed and put it on a charging stand. I don’t want my brain or body to think my bed is my workspace.

Work It out

One of the hardest lessons for many writers to learn is our bodies were never meant to be sedative. We are designed and enabled to move regularly. And movement is an important way for us to improve our health.

Our bodies are amazing instruments of movement. I took that for granted before my accident and losing the ability to walk and feed myself. Recently I shared with some other friends in the gym, I am paranoid about being sedentary and unable to move freely.

If God has given you the ability to move in any way, please don’t abuse it or take it for granted.You never know when you might lose those abilities. Unfortunately, 98% of the writer’s life is spent sitting down.

  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Editing
  • Proofreading

As I write this, I am taking another rest week from the gym. But, I am not being lazy, just changing my activities up and focusing more on biking. Biking helps me sleep even better at night because I have worked my heart more.

Our fitness goal should always be to meet our target heart rate because that increases blood flow to the brain and the rest of our body. Maintaining a strong heart is the best way to improve our overall health.

Writer friend, do you have any healthy habit tips to share?

Martin Johnson

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Categories
Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Stay in the FIght

Like most people, I was saddened to hear the news about the passing of Christian recording artist Mandisa. She didn’t hide the fact that she was struggling and that her success and fame couldn’t fulfill her. I respect her vulnerability about the battles she fought because I have struggled with them as well.

  • Depression
  • Low self-esteem
  • Health issues

Her song “Overcomer” encouraged people to keep fighting. About the time it was released, I was struggling with my faith, broken relationships, and the loss of close friends. Her encouraging words helped me get through some of the darkest days of my life.

Today, many people are struggling to deal with daily life, whether it’s finances, mental health, or physical health concerns. We all need a little help and encouragement if we’re going to stay in the fight of life.

The Fight

While I am a firm believer that it’s the fight that makes us stronger in life, I am also keenly aware that sometimes the fight can overwhelm us, even if we have a strong faith. If you think life is hard, try living with a severe brain injury.

The side effects of living with a brain injury range from physical to mental and emotional challenges. Alone, any of them may cause a person to want to give up and quit life.

Statistics show that fifty-seven percent of TBI (traumatic brain injury) survivors are moderately to severely disabled. Fifty percent of survivors are hospitalized again at some point. Thirty-three percent must rely on others for help with daily activities

It doesn’t take much for disabled persons to become depressed or discouraged. The Brain Injury Association of America advises survivors to practice self-care and self-affirmations to stay encouraged and healthy. Many of these practices are beneficial if you are struggling with the grind of a writer’s life.

The Grind

 Most of us writers have experienced the grind of the writer’s life and know how it can wear us down. Social media and marketing can suck the life out of the craft of writing. The writing process itself can sometimes be difficult.

There are times when brainstorming, writing, and editing just seem to drain us of our creative passion. Add to that the rejection letters and no guarantee of being published. It’s clear why so many choose to throw in the towel.

If you have found yourself overwhelmed by the grind of a writing career, you are not alone. The odds of making a living as a writer are stacked against us. But don’t give up the fight just yet, below are some tips for staying motivated and staying in the fight for your writing dreams.

  1. Find your why.
  2. Find your motivational triggers.
  3. Make sure you’re not chasing someone else’s goal.
  4. Picture yourself as a successful writer.
  5. Create a roadmap and stick to it.
  6. Reward yourself
  7. Establish a routine
  8. Create a vision board
  9. Let go of perfectionism
  10. Cultivate community
  11. Read
  12. Reevaluate constantly

Over the years I have almost given up numerous times and each time I have stepped away to reevaluate my goals and options. I can attest it is wise to take a break and regroup. My initial writing goals had nothing to do with writing books.

As an English major in college, I wanted to write screenplays that made a difference. Life had different plans. My desire to write books was encouraged by mentors who believed in me and nudged me in the direction of writing books.

However, I never completely gave up on my dreams of screenwriting. Earlier this year, I decided to take the time to do another revision of my latest screenplay.

While rearranging the order of the plot points, I had an epiphany. Sometimes life also takes us down unexpected paths on our journeys.

Different Paths

I’ve said it before and I will reiterate it here, every brain injury is different and each person’s recovery will be unique to their brain injuries. I have seen people with less damage to their brains who are worse off than I am.

Our brains are amazing organs that can be reprogrammed and rewired to do common tasks in not-so-ordinary ways, that’s why no two people are the same; even conjoined twins can follow different paths.

I have learned over the last 27 years just how unique my recovery has been because the brain surgeries performed on me are rarely performed. I am one of the last persons to receive a partial frontal-lobe lobotomy due to the risk to the patient.

Likewise, a path to publication or literary representation looks different for every writer. We cannot follow the same course to success as other writers, because we are different writers and unfortunately the publication industry is constantly changing.

That’s why, this year I made the hard choice not to attend an annual writing conference I usually go to in the spring. I felt like it was time to take a break, regroup, and see what doors would open. Fortunately, the doors and opportunities are already opening.

  • I am about to celebrate one year of writing a successful spiritual column that reaches around the globe.
  • A popular screenwriting website has offered me free hosting and evaluations for my revised screenplay.
  • I am in my seventh year writing this column.

My path to success is different because my goals, gifts, and story are different. I must use my voice and skill set to achieve my goals. I get to encourage other writers through my writing. I can educate others about persons with disabilities and I get to help others struggling in their writing journeys. Together these are enough reasons for me to stay in the fight!

Martin Johnson

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Categories
Writing for YA

Writing Diverse Mental Health Themes in YA Fiction

If you’ve queried in the past five years, you’re familiar with the plea for diverse books. Publishers and readers alike are searching for stories that reflect the world in all its colours, orientations, beliefs, and abilities. We are searching for connections. We want to be seen.

But not all diversity will be as obvious to spot on the cover of a book.

Diversity goes deep—down to the core of who we are and how the neurons in our brains allow us to think. But, as a society, we are less likely to recognize or celebrate this deeper neurodiversity.

Each of us process and react to the world differently.  Our life experiences also play a role, leaving unique internal scars and mended pathways. For a growing majority of teens today, this internal milieu feels like a battlefield and it comes out as mental illness.

Right now, more than ever, these differences in neurological wiring and life experiences will affect how teens react to fear, anxiety, grief, and confusion. And if they can’t find themselves in the stories that they’re reading, we risk letting them feel alone in their experiences. Which we all know is false.

As YA Authors, mental health themes need be high in our considerations for diversity. But how can we do this authentically?

  1. Write #OwnVoice – Mental health stories written from lived experiences offers a genuine and raw lens. If you’ve lived it and feel comfortable communicating the everyday struggles, along with the big plot turns of life, do it.
  • Write Deep – Don’t include mental health as an afterthought. A person is more than one aspect of their diversity. Our characters need to be seen this way as well. Ask deep questions of your characters. Know their wounds and back stories. Empathize with them before starting to write.
  • Write Educated – If you haven’t experienced the themes present in your story, spend time researching what they are and how they present. Look to respected resources (i.e. The DSM-V) rather than arbitrary blog posts.
  • Write Relationally – Even with the best research, there is something powerful about speaking with a person who has experienced mental illness first-hand. If you will listen and come with empathy and encouragement, odds are you will find someone who will share. Please be considerate though. Never approach someone who is in crisis and stick with friends and family.

With my novel, FADE TO WHITE, I wrote from both personal experience, research, and over 10 years of relational conversations with teens. Some of those conversations were painful to hear, but there was also mutual healing and hope gained through sharing our stories.

mental health

Mental illness is a hidden disease, despite its ever growing prevalence. By considerately sharing diverse mental health experiences, we are giving young people a chance to be seen. A chance to be recognized as broken but not lost. A chance to be represented within the diverse and unsettling world we now live in.

Tara K. Ross lives with her husband, two daughters, and rescued fur-baby in a field of cookie-cutter homes near Toronto, Canada. She works as a school speech-language pathologist and mentors with local youth programs. When Tara is not writing or reading all things YA, you can find her rock climbing the Ontario escarpment, planning her family’s next jungle trek, or podcasting at www.tarakross.com.