Let’s talk mental health

Hi everyone! I hope you all have had a fantastic October so far.

Apologies for disappearing on here for a bit. If I’m being honest, I haven’t been in the greatest headspace these past few weeks. Not for any particular reason, but it was enough to where I decided to step away for a bit to try and focus on myself and my mental health.

However, I didn’t want to disappear for too long, and I wanted to get back into writing!

I wanted to talk this week a little bit about mental health. For those of you who don’t know, I struggle with anxiety and depression. It’s definitely a challenge in life, but, in a way, it’s given me a perspective in life that I never would’ve had otherwise.

I’ve learned over the past few years that these challenges that I’ve faced with my mental health are not uncommon with others. In fact, once I started being more open about my struggles, others started opening up to me and sharing about their battles as well.

What a lot of people don’t fully understand is that these struggles aren’t just simple, everyday emotions that pop up. Someone can be anxious without having anxiety, or feel depressed without having depression. These diagnoses are when someone experiences these symptoms excessively, and sometimes for seemingly no obvious reason.

It’s isn’t just someone who’s sad, or someone who is feeling a bit anxious. These disorders can be a very extreme and debilitating thing for some people.

Thankfully, I have a great support system around me. Like I mentioned, many of my friends also struggle with their mental health as well, so I can be open and honest if I’m going through a low point. Friends and family have always been the best medicine for me when I’m not feeling my best self!

I always encourage people around me to be honest when talking about their mental health. I try to make it clear to others that they don’t have to fake it if they’re not feeling well. If you struggle with mental health, or even if you’re just having a bad day, don’t be afraid to be honest about it. As I said earlier, the more you talk about it, the more you may find that others can relate to your situation.

Another huge help for me has been therapy. I’ve been going for several years now (About 4 years on and off, but around 3 with my current therapist), and it’s honestly been one of the biggest helps for me. Another thing I’ve learned–a lot more people are in therapy than you’d think! I used to think it was a huge deal, but once I started talking about it, a lot more people have shared that they either are currently in, or did go to therapy at one point.

Of course, I want to mention as well, mental health is still important even if you don’t struggle with anxiety, depression, etc. I firmly believe that keeping your mental health in check is just as important to your physical health.

This means that you don’t have to be afraid to take a step back if you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed. Make sure to take time away for yourself away from the craziness that life brings. And yes, still communicate with others if you’re struggling.

This may have been a bit more of a rambley post than usual, but it’s what’s been going on with me lately, and I wanted to share.

I’m always happy to chat if you need someone to talk to. I hope you have a great weekend friends. ❤