Whether you call it R U OK Day, or Suicide Prevention Day, this is it. The 12th of September. This is the day where we want to message or call every single one of our friends and family and ask them, are you okay? How are you doing? How is life, and are you really … Read More
Often people are living life working towards big goals, some are completing bucket lists, others are living in the moment, some people are working towards saving to have a good retirement, and there are some who are great at procrastination, too. But, to put things into perspective, ask yourself this question: If you died tonight, … Read More
Dear Friends,
It’s been a while since I have posted here, and I apologise for that.
This is something that has been in both my mind and my drafts folder for some months now, and I hope that someone is encouraged and able to find peace instead of bitterness the way I did.
xx
‘Just look on the bright side!’
‘It’s not as bad as you think it is!’
‘If you just focus on the positives, you’ll feel better.’
‘Your life is wonderful, you don’t need to be depressed!’
We’ve all heard them, and a lot of us have even said them. But you know what? These things don’t help (believe it or not)! I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again; people like us, we can’t just look on the bright side to feel better. If it were that simple, who would need antidepressants? Therapists would be out of a job, and we would all be ‘okay’! Here are a few reasons why you really shouldn’t tell someone with a mental illness (or even someone who is seriously struggling with something) to just ‘look on the bright side’:
A poem, by Julie Priebbenow. You were on His mind before the world began;In the darkness and space, you were part of His plan.As He created the world and all things good,And when He punished the evil with a world-wide flood. You were on His mind through many generations;Noah’s, Abraham’s, and every other nation.The world … Read More
And just like that, it was the start of a new year. As we come into the beginning of 2019, it’s a good time to reflect back on 2018. Do you feel satisfied with the year past? Or, are there things that you are unhappy with and would like to change? Perhaps you made some New Year’s Resolutions, or you set yourself some goals for 2019. Let’s take a moment to reflect on last year… there are several questions I’d like you to ask yourself:
Dearest Friend, It’s been a while since we spoke, but I have seen the change in you. I wish I could say it’s a good sort of change. But it isn’t. Darkness has so clearly taken a hold of you, and the change in your face, your expression, your eyes… oh my friend. I see you … Read More
A phrase that often goes through my head is “some days are better than others”, and I have often used this in my posts and stories, simply because it is so true. Some days are great! Other days are average. And some days, we feel like we are in a living hell.
We might be too tired to fight it; things seem too difficult to keep pressing on. But even if some days the only thing I do is survive, I will not give up. If I wrote out my entire life story, not once would you read that I gave up, and this is why:
Dearest Friend,
Some days really are better than others. For me at the moment, there are a lot of days that are better than the ones in the present. And there are some things you need to know.
I understand that you are one of many people who go through life having no idea what it is to feel depressed or to experience anxiety. And that’s okay too. But for those of us who do, it can be incredibly difficult to explain what’s going on in our minds, but it’s also difficult for you to understand us.
Yes, it’s okay to not feel okay. I mean, hey. It’s not alright that people have to go through this, that fact is just awful. But this is to you, my friend, who doesn’t know what it’s like, and I ask you to take a moment to read just four things that we struggling people really want to tell you…
Life can get pretty intense. Things get busy, we get overwhelmed, and we struggle and feel like we fail at times. But lately, I have been doing a lot of learning. Learning things about other people and about myself; important things that I could not have learnt if I did not go through some very difficult times.
I have been encouraged and inspired to become a better person through all of this, and I hope that by sharing these things, someone else might be encouraged too. Here are three of the latest things I have learnt, which I consider to be extremely valuable life lessons:
