Sitting-With-My-Demons.blog

Welcome banner for Sitting-With-My-Demons aka SWMD

Welcome! My name is Alka and on this page I want to teach about c-PTSD, Anxiety & Depression, in a more accessible way, easy to digest for people who are not heads deep into the scientific language-lingo. I want open conversations about daily life struggles and how to overcome them, as I have been on my own healing journey for quite a while in now.

I am a licensed OCT, a survivor of various circumstances and with the help of my creative nature as a 2D artist, I try to build bridges between affected people and themselves, as well as their supporting people. This world is getting more confusing & exhausting with each year, and I want to try having a positive impact, by sharing you everything I have learned.

At some point, it became so utterly annoying to me, that official literature is written in a way, that many people cannot grasp it – that I started to explain things in a more artistic, image-driven way. This has now been going on for quite a while and the result, is the blog page that you just discovered now!

While staying here, you will find my artworks showing my character Kai, and mainly three big creatures that I have created to teach you about c-PTSD, Anxiety & Depression.

Kai having a tea with Anxiety & Depression.

Most frequently asked questions about SWMD:

What is the main mission for SWMD here?

Teaching about c-PTSD, Anxiety & Depression in an understandable lingo for the ordinary person, who does not have a psychology degree.
Creating easy to apply resources for the everyday life of affected people.
Building bridges between affected people & their supporting humans.

And what can I expect to find here?

Sciences backed information pages about the Big 3 (c-PTSD, Depression & Anxiety)
Tools for critical situations & hard days; f.e exhaustion-friendly recipes
Book recommendations & Critical views about workshops / books / influencers
Tools to help reflect on yourself
Tools to help communicate better with your supporting humans
Tools for your supporting humans to better understand you
…and many more to come (btw. I started this blog May 1st, 2025, so bear with me, when you come here and there are some points missing ;D)

But, you are not a psychotherapist, so what qualifies you to teach & give advice?

Yes, I am not a psychotherapist – I’m an occupational therapist, a creative, and a survivor. And that is precisely why I can help and maybe shed a different light on these topics.

Thanks to being an OCT, I don’t approach mental health from a purely clinical perspective. I approach it as someone who has been educated and hardwired to understand what makes people struggle in their everyday life. As an OCT, you try to find the stumbling blocks and come up with solutions that make it possible for your patient to regain life quality and independence.

Plus, I know what it feels like to deal with c-PTSD, anxiety & depression myself. I know how hard it is to function when your mind, body and the whole world outside your system, feels like everything is working against you. I am here to share real, practical ways to navigate through everyday life situations, all while teaching you about the science behind all of it.

Where do you position your project among other professionals & their services?

My blog project, by no means, tries to be a replacement for therapy, or professional consultations. I want to be a source of knowledge, inspiration and try to spark the right questions in the minds of my readers. My blog shall be a resource for you, f.e in the time before you get a therapy place – given that we all know how long we sometimes have to wait. You shall come here to learn, about the science behind the three big ones, and find ideas about how to make your daily life easier – as well as probably the most important thing of them all: the knowing that you are not alone in all of this.

What can I do, when I suddenly start to feel bad while reading SWMD posts?

Negative feelings can evolve while reading the posts, yes. This is something we need to address. If you ever happen to feel stressed, or even feel panic, here are my resources for immediate help, based on the severity of your situation. Please, always be kind to yourself and respect it if you get overwhelmed. That can happen, it is nothing bad – we just need to make sure, that you are not left behind with these emotions.

What you feel will most likely be the dissonance between the things you thought you know, and your inner core reacting to what you read – this is normal, it is okay, and in many ways actually needed. Still, this experience can be a bit scary, so do not hesitate to use one of my resources below and/or hold contact with one of your support humans. Take breaks while reading, stay hydrated and take deep breaths. We will get through this together. 🙏

Where should I begin?

Here is a curated list of blog posts, that you can browse through. Pick one that resonates with you and just get started. There is no right or wrong way to do it.