Life Through Writing

Mental health is a funny thing. We live in a time when we're more open, more honest, more willing to learn and listen about people's experiences, but it's still not enough. There is still a massive stigma attached to talking about mental health, admitting that you have a problem; or, in my personal experience, disbelief that I could have a problem, because on the surface, I have everything that someone needs to be happy. So, it's easier to not saying about it. It's easier to let people believe and say whatever they want, because they don't want to be educated. They say they do, but as soon as you mention you struggle mentally, suddenly, you're someone they don't know. You're an alien. And, I've been guilty of this too, I have been guilty of treating people differently when I find out that they may be struggling. And that's difficult. It's difficult to know how to treat them, because the dynamic will change, there's no way to get ar...

Let's talk about self image. Self image obviously means something different to different people, and perhaps that seems a bit silly to point out, but it's true. One of the things that my family consistently brings up is that I should try harder to understand that not everyone views the world like I do. And I do. I really truly do. And I am a deeply empathetic person, to the point where I feel like an emotional sponge. I just soak up the excess of other people's hurt, maybe it's because I want them to know that I'm there for them, or maybe it's because I don't want them to think that I'm being insensitive to what they're going through, or maybe it's just because that's just the way I am. I don't know. I just know that I continually put more on my plate than I can handle. My mum, who is a deeply wonderful person, is also an unapologetic perfectionist. And, growing up with that wasn't always easy. But please don't misunderstand, m...