Mental health week🙌🏻

It’s mental health week this week, a week which helps to raise awareness and normalize mental disorders. Now, there are a million things I could talk about this week and I have thought of so many ideas, but I thought I would keep it simple this year. So I’m going to share with you some of the best advice I’ve been given over the years❤️-

1). “Our thoughts and emotions are not fact”- For someone who has battled severe intrusive thoughts, this one sentence has set me free so many times. No one ever teaches us this at school, but it’s true, our brain computes random thoughts and emotions all the time, but it doesn’t have anything to do with us. Just because our brains sometimes like to hit us with some weird/ extreme thoughts, it doesn’t mean we have to attach a meaning to them. As humans we need to learn to control our thoughts and understand what’s rational and what’s not. This can count for emotions too. I’ve had days before where I feel really low but there’s no reason for it. Rather than looking into why I feel like that, I should just accept it and let it go, because there isn’t always a reason. Remember, thoughts are not facts!

2). “We all have bad days”- Knowing that I am not alone is one thing that has brought me massive comfort over the years. As humans, it’s so normal to have bad days. I think sometimes we feel like the only person going through something when really, the person standing next to you is probably going through something similar or something even worse. I’ve had so many days where I feel so confused as to why I’m sad and why everyone else is okay, but the truth is you’re not alone. Know that it’s okay to have bad days, we all do.

3). “Everything will be okay”– Cliche and simple, but true. Like we believe this at times though, am I right? Sometimes it feels like our battles are never ending, we’ll never be free and we’ll never be happy…but I promise one day, you will be. The reason people give you this advice is not to comfort you or lie to you, but because they’ve been there before. We all have scars, things we never thought we would survive, yet here we are to tell the story. If you are heartbroken, I promise you will love again, if you are mourning a loved one, I promise you will find some peace eventually, and if you are in a dark place mentally, I assure you the light is coming, and you will be happy again soon!🥰 No storm lasts forever.

4). “Don’t lose yourself by picking others up”- My dad taught me a lesson a long time ago, and I wish I had remembered to stick by it. His analogy is…we all have a bowl of sweets in life and we end up sharing those sweets over time. We might give a sweet to someone and that’s a nice thing to do…however, if you continue to give out all your sweets and fail to receive any back, you are left with an empty bowl. Have you ever been left with an empty bowl? Me too. Whether that’s in a friendship or a romantic relationship, that relationship takes two efforts, not just one.

Be kind to others, look after others, but make sure they are kind to you too, and most importantly, make sure you are kind to yourself.💚

5). “This will only make you stronger”- Again, we don’t want to hear it at the time…but it’s true. Each battle we face, we create a new piece of armour, one that will protect us and stay with us for the rest of our lives. My battles have only made me stronger and yours will do the same for you. Those who are the most content, confident people, are the ones who have fought in the bigger battles.💪🏻

6). “You only have yourself at the end of the day”- I used to think this was such a negative comment and way of looking at life, but if you live by this, you can’t go much wrong. Most people have experienced abandonment in their lives, whether that’s from parents, friends or someone you loved….it’s the worst feeling in the world. But there’s something so beautiful about being left alone. This strength and power you find within yourself….that power can never be taken away from you. The more comfortable we become with being happy on our own, the less pain we will feel. Learn to love who you are, and learn to love being in your own company because there’s something so powerful about being happy alone. The one person that will always have your back is yourself…you’ll never be let down. Surround yourself with those you love and talk to others, but remember that you always have yourself🤍

7). “The answers are within you”- Sometimes we look to the ends of the earth for a solution. How to be happy, how to overcome mental illness, how to feel confident, but the answers are not in a therapy room or a beach in Bali…..they are within you. What if I told you, you have the power to overcome anything, and you have the answers to your own happiness….well it’s true. Look inside your heart, trust your mind and remember that you are a warrior❤️

8). “Don’t be like them, be like YOU”- I used to be so unconfident as a young girl, I didn’t see beauty, talent or anything within myself, but over the years that has changed. I used to compare myself to everyone and wonder why I didn’t look like other girls, but the same advice kept cropping up….and one day I finally believed it. I don’t want to be like anyone else….I want to be me. The things that make you unique, end up being the things people love about you. No one wants a copy, they want you, an original. Trying to be someone else will never make you happy. You are on this earth for a reason and you being you, is what makes you beautiful.✨

Thanks so much for reading guys, and remember to look after yourself and give yourself some credit (this week more than ever). Much love, Lou x