Today is a pretty special day. One of Canada's largest phone and media companies is hosting their annual "Let's Talk" day. The idea behind it is to raise awareness and to end the stigma around the idea that any mental issues you have make you look "crazy" or "not normal." This includes raising money, having others share their stories, and understanding that we all battle inner demons.
Since my path to simplicity and the idea of minimalism, I have taken steps to not only de-clutter my home, but also to de-clutter my life. This includes cutting out unhealthy relationships, unhealthy situations, and unhealthy behaviours that used to be part of my everyday routine.
While this is still a work in progress, one major thing I have noticed is the state of my mental health and well being. I am much more focused on the important stuff, and have realized that there is absolutely nothing wrong with cutting people and situations out of our lives to take care of ourselves. I am going to be quite honest by saying that there are relatives of mine that I have removed because of this. Certain family members of mine feel that, in order to keep peace, they still need to keep in contact with them. They feel obligated to attend family functions and "put up" with those other family members. I understand there are times where this is unavoidable, but please don't do it for the sake of pleasing other people.
After a nasty email from my grandmother a few years ago, I have decided to cut her off completely. It wasn't a case of revenge or creating ripples in our family, it was a necessary step to take for myself. Now, not to get into too much detail, but I've never been close to my grandmother my entire life. I didn't go to her house on weekends to bake cookies. I've never had a phone call from her 'just because.' She was someone I only saw twice a year, and she lived 10 minutes from my house. After her email, I realized that was the last page of that chapter in our relationship, and I was ready to close the book for good. I've never looked back.
Back to where I was going with this - it really is all about self care, and how you can take steps to calm down when you are feeling anxious and off set. My journey has taught me that a lot of the issues I was having was because of a life time of trying to please other people. I know now that I was taking away from the person I'm supposed to become.
I'm not afraid to tell you that I have had issues with anxiety, having panic attacks, going to be at 7:30 pm because I just couldn't deal with the outside world. I've always been a bit of an introvert, but this was to the point where I'd rather be in bed than see anyone, including my spouse. The depression came in waves, especially during my cycle, since my hormones have always been out of whack. I felt like I was a basket case at times and had a hard time learning to love myself.
I took action, and started seeking help. I talked to my friends, family, to Marc. I read a lot of self help books, blogs and watched a lot of Youtube videos about other people's struggles. I also took a lot of time to focus on myself. I knew when I needed to take a break, and that I had no issues with disconnecting to focus on myself. I started to see real progress, and even though I'm still taking baby steps, I've come leaps and bounds compared to who I was 3 years ago.
I'm not alone in this, and neither are you.
I don't know how many people will read this, or if anyone will find this helpful, but that's okay. It's now out there for other people to read, and hopefully see that regardless of what you are going through, you are strong and you can do this. Not everyone will understand, but it isn't their journey, it's yours. You have the power to do whatever you please to become who you were meant to be.
xo
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