Through what I do I get to meet some amazing young people meet Coral.
Coral got on board with our #SickNotSad campaign and we started talking. It turns out that this lovely lady not only loves her coffee she is an amazing blogger. She has written a fantastic blog for us and has said that not only can I send you to her site to read the blog, that I can also write put it below. Hopefully this is the first of many link ups with bloggers and especially Coral!
WHEN LIFE SEEMS TOO MUCH #SICKNOTSAD
Some days, in the morning, I open my eyes, and think ‘I do not want to do today’. That’s a ‘normal’ thought for most people, jobs, children, situations, just get a bit too much sometimes. That’s okay.
For some, struggling with darker thoughts, this is a daily thing. 24/7 their mind tells them to give up. To give up on ambition, dreams, relationships, on life. You try to keep going, keep pressing on. In the end, it becomes exhausting. Life gets too much.
For myself, who struggles with this journey daily, I can relate to those thoughts and feelings of despair. Feeling worthless daily and to have no purpose in life. You pick yourself up, and keep fighting….It’s completely exhausting, and then you run yourself to the ground. Someone once described this as ‘others look and see swans just gliding through the water (life) but underneath, you don’t see the swans feet paddling continuously trying to stay afloat’. As someone with a mental health issue, I see this often. No-one shares their struggles because of the stigma around mental health. We see everyone else gliding along in life, when actually, we don’t see what’s going on underneath.
A few years ago, I decided to no longer be ashamed of my mental health and to own this part of me….This is who I am. Some have an issue with this, they feel awkward around me. I felt like sometimes they think that I would harm them. All I wanted to shout was “I AM A PERSON JUST LIKE YOU”. Why do others think that just because I function a little different, that I am weird. I’d like to say I am ‘normal’, but seriously, what is normal?!
It has been hard to know that some people would avoid me, because I didn’t have a smile on my face. I do show my emotion and if anything, I wish everyone else would. I feel like I am the only one feeling sad and struggling. When people are open and honest with each other, you build a relationship, and you can encourage each other, rather than separate ourselves.
Everyone’s mental health is different. Some want people to leave them alone. Some want to tell you everything. Either way, let that person communicate this to you. Let them know you’re there for them.
I call my mental health a journey, because there will always be ups and downs in life for anyone, but I know there will be an end. I have come to terms with the fact I may always struggle and may always be on medication. I am thankful for the wisdom of doctors who are able to provide medication for people like me.
Medication is not an easy decision. Lots of people tell me I have too much good in my life to be depressed or that I do not need pills in my system. This is possibly the most frustrating and heart breaking thing to hear. If you broke your leg, you would take painkillers and be wrapped up in a cast until you were mended? well, that’s just like mental health. Medication keeps you stable. It keeps the bad days not being horrific bad days. It helps you function a day to day life.
If you know someone struggling with mental health, please do not shut them out. Hear them out. Listen to them. They probably don’t want advice or for you to say anything, but just to have someone to talk to. Hold their hand. Give them a hug. Just let them know you’re there.If they want to shut themselves away, let them. They need that space, but let them know you’re there if they need you.
Please check out https://mydiscombobulatedbrain.com/
Coral xo