Don't Give Up

It has been a few weeks since I have posted a blog. I had stepped back from being online as much as I used to be because I was truly overwhelmed. My mental health has been stable, so it gave me a lot of time to reflect on other aspects of my life; my business, my jobs, my family & friends, and what is really important to me.

Starting this blog and writing more openly about my mental health has been empowering; but it has also been scary. There are parts that I feel comfortable talking about but as I started to inch closer to the deeper, darker stuff, I became more resistant to sharing. It became easier to come up with reasons to NOT write a blog. My anxiety around opening up more forced me into a place of fear. Maybe I should give up writing. Maybe no one even cares what I have to say. Maybe I should get a "real" job and abandon my dream of helping others. What's harder was having multiple people TELL me I should quit! Quitting is the easy way out. Screw the easy way; I'm stronger than that and want to continue to share my mental health journey with others. Letting others know that they are not alone in this struggle is important. Being comfortable enough to talk about mental health is difficult for most people and we need more people to speak up. I have always been an open book to those in my personal life, so I might as well put myself out there to the world so that others may be able to relate to me. I'm not giving up the idea that I can help people by telling my story.

My dream is to help people create meaningful change in their lives. Having a mental illness does not mean that you cannot have an amazing, happy, fulfilling life. It is not rainbows and sunshine 100% of the time.There are peaks and valleys for everyone. When you're in a valley, try to remind yourself that things will get better. Don't give up on trying to be the best version of yourself that you can be. Changing habits and behaviors is hard work, but it is so worth it. Developing your physical and mental strength will make going through the hard times a little bit easier.

Giving yourself a break once in awhile will help to relieve pressure on yourself. It seems as if people feel weak if they slow down, take a break, or go on vacation. If anything there's strength in knowing when to slow down. Self-care can help prevent us from burning out or help us come back from burning out. Build time into your days for yourself. Do yoga, read a book, run, walk, hike, bike, watch Netflix, go to concerts, check in with your friends & family, do whatever YOU LOVE!

If you feel like you are constantly busy and need to use every second of the day as efficiently as you can (speaking from personal experience) make sure to build in days off where you can recharge. Just don't give up! Don't let anyone tell you that it would be easier to do it their way. If you have a dream, go for it. Just make sure to take care of yourself in the process.