Hi @Vanessa5, Welcome to Forum Land. It is nice to see you out here on the ocean.

Yep, I have a LOT of issues with the MH system. Most of my muddle now is related to my experiences in it, rather than the stuff that brought me into contact with it in the first place. I'm not sure how far you read back on this thread, but I have just started with my twelfth therapist in 18 months. I am hopeful that this is a positive turning point in my life, but the mess is definitely a heck of a lot deeper than it was when I started with therapist-take-one almost two years ago.

I like the smiling mind app and I agree that mindfulness is super helpful. I find it odd when people say they've tried mindfulness and it hasn't helped because as you say, it is technically impossible to feel anxious if you are fully focused on the present moment. I think because mindfulness is the "in" thing in psychology at the moment, it isn't always explained or implemented as well as it might be.

The other problem I see arising more and more is that mindfulness is being spruiked as "the" solution. It isn't. It will super help deal with the present moment, but in and of itself it won't actually fix some things. For example, I have heard of people being told to mindfully accept their current state of homelessness rather than being provided with instrumental support to find accommodation. That is not helpful.

Thank you for your offer of a panda hug. I understand that to be an expression of care and I super appreciate that. However, I have an extremely complex relationship with the concept of physical touch and thus I am very selective about who I let touch me. @Former-Member is on my notably short list of safe-touching people. She seems to be able to morph herself from a moon into a sea turtle at times and thus comes by the ocean to give me a tiny turtle hug.

Pandas are super cute. We have an owl in Forum Land you know. Hey @Owlunar, @Vanessa5 here super likes owls.

I hope your week has started well @Vanessa5 and I look forward to seeing you around in Forum Land.