Lexie Manion

In this blog post, Lexie Manion, mental health advocate and future art therapist, and Emma Demar, LMSW, therapist on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, share some of the coping strategies they’ve been utilizing to help get through these uncertain times. I’ve found on social media and just in my personal life that many people are feeling like they “should “ be doing certain things or feeling a certain way. As a future art therapist and someone who loves art, I love telling people that yes, you can do art; anyone can be good at art. Whether you are a therapist, a future therapist, or know nothing about therapy or mental health, this time is incredibly challenging and we all need coping strategies to get through it!

I think if people don’t know the full story or realize there is a much deeper root, it can easily be misunderstood and seen as a threat, instead of a human emotion that requires love, kindness and attention. Of course we want to remain calm in situations it is called for and of course we want to be sure we are coping effectively when we feel anger coming on, but it is also natural; anger is a valid emotion and part of the human experience. We all know those tropes of how a man can be viewed as “powerful” or “taking control” for expressing anger, while a woman doing the same can be viewed as “overly emotional” or “crazy”, so I appreciated that Taylor addressed anger in an honest way because it makes me feel like I can talk about mine, too. I think in a way you can separate them out; violence is wrong, while expressing anger can be scary for ourselves and others, but safely expressing anger is very important for all people to find.

This first verse of “Freedom Hymn” resonates with the time I was experiencing manic episodes last year. This is my freedom hymn, my freedom hymn” It’s lyrics I’ve wanted to caption along with a photo of myself on Instagram ever since I discovered this song, but I actually wanted to explore the lyrics a bit more and explain how much it means to me. The chorus fits in my life when I discharged the hospital to the time I started feeling better taking medications and going to therapy for Bipolar Disorder. I know now that while not every person will forgive me for past mistakes or how I acted during manic episodes, I’ve done the most powerful thing: I have forgiven myself.

For anyone who may write a letter like this to themselves the next time they may be unwell, I recommend putting your letter in a “crisis box” or “coping skills box I put my letter in my coping skills box, which has squishy toys, grounding stones, my supports phone numbers, a list of coping skills, DBT skills, a notebook and pen, and a glitter calming jar. You have Bipolar Disorder and while you are being treated for it and have felt better for some time now, you may be experiencing a manic episode right now. You may be feeling like you’re crawling out of your skin; you will feel better soon.