We are all witches, but we come from many different backgrounds. Our personal experiences, family dynamics, and culture are just a few of the factors that color our world and how we see it.

Some of us may have grown up in an environment where mental health or emotional wellness were seldom discussed. Others may have a family who is well-versed in alternative health or modern Western medicine. Still, there are nearly endless experiences in between and outside these two options. We all didn’t begin our journey with the same idea of what mental wellness truly is – and we certainly won’t always agree.

This is just one of the many reasons why, at Mental Health for Witches, we do not endorse one way of treating or caring for your emotional well-being or mental wellness needs. Instead, we want you to be aware of as many therapies and treatment options for your symptoms as possible. We also want you to know about the different outlooks and opinions within the witchy wellness world, so you can make the best choices for yourself. We care for our symptoms the way we see fit, based on research, experience, intuition, and education. We encourage you to do the same so you can create your unique health plan.

One of the things you may do as you go about your lifelong mental health journey is to redefine the way you see your symptoms.

Understanding Your Unique Symptoms

Some conditions, such as that which create the symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, can make daily life very difficult. Many people who live with this condition will take medications like antipsychotics or anti tremor medications to help with hallucinations, “disordered thinking,” and delusions.

Even if we do not have symptoms like that of schizophrenia, there may be times when we cannot cope with our mental health related-symptoms and require an advanced level of care to stabilize. Everyone’s experience, again, is different. It all depends on how you are feeling, what your mental health history is, and what you are discussing with your care team. We encourage you to stay in contact with your support system, whatever that looks like, so you can make sure you keep your energy grounded and balanced.

Most of us fall somewhere in this space: We have symptoms of chronic depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), or we deal with post-traumatic stress, anger, mood stabilization issues, or hypervigilance, all of which are difficult to live with but which may be able to be helped by taking responsibility for our healing and dealing with our trauma.

Whether we have other components in our care plan or not, many of us in this witchy wellness community can start to feel a lot more stable, grounded, energized, and healed if we focus on our past trauma or the experiences that caused our inner child to destabilize. When we give that inner child our full attention, re-parent ourselves, identify our triggers, understand what causes us to feel depressed/irritable/anxious, and adjust our lifestyle to better care for our whole-body and mind health, we may be able to see results that we didn’t see with another previous model of care.

Rewriting Your Mental Health Experience

It is not easy to live with stigma, false labels, or judgment. As witches who have received a mental health diagnosis or struggle with our emotional wellness, we may feel doubly misunderstood. If you’re reading this, your intuition is likely telling you that there is nothing wrong with you and that you may just be different or even have a gift. Hang onto this, because your intuition is correct. Your psychic powers, empathic gifts, or witchy affinity are going to help you to rewrite your mental health experience and take your power back.

Start by asking yourself the following questions:

• Do I really think I am “mentally ill”? Could there be another explanation for how I feel, like that I had a tough childhood, learned some poor coping skills, or never had anyone to teach me any better as a kid?
• How can I change my words or thoughts to manifest new strength and stability? Instead of telling myself, “I am “mentally ill,” I could instead tell myself that I have “empathy and sensitivity,” “a chance to heal after a lifetime of challenges,” or “emotional gifts that can be channeled into something special.”
• Is there a way I can better care for myself so I can turn myself toward a model of healing? Can I try a new method of treatment or incorporate alternative health strategies into my modern model of care?
• If I redefine my mental health, what would that mean for me? How would my life change if I took responsibility for my symptoms and referred to myself as a healer or a mentor or a consumer advocate instead?

We will continue to discuss the concept of mental health / mental illness and defining your symptoms in more blogs and social media posts. We will also examine how we can take a look at a self-healing-based modality for our wellness needs.

In the meantime, check out our latest features on witchy wellness and emotional health on Instagram. We are also on Twitter and Facebook.

If you are interested in related blogs, you can view our articles on Witchy Wellness Activities, different Forms of Magickal Healing that you can incorporate into your care plan, and Spiritual Wellness Resources for witches of different faiths and paths.

—

—

—

*Disclaimer* – The opinions in this blog are not intended for witches who are experiencing severe mental health symptoms or need acute mental health care. Rather, this blog is for witches who experience chronic, manageable symptoms and want to consider the subject of self-healing. If you need mental health care or want to discuss treatment, talk to a doctor, psychiatrist, or mental health counselor as soon as you can. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, visit your local emergency room immediately or get to a phone and dial 911 (United States).