Tag: mental health

Posted on

Self-Love

Embracing self

Our souls long for love. A tender touch that can only render inside. An expression that every person craves. At times, we can wonder where such love can be? Love can feel so dim inside a lonely heart. What would life be like without love? For we would not know the true meaning of this world, the true depths of relationships and friendships – for what we have and what we hope for is bound in love. 

A common trait among those who become mentally unwell is lack of self-love. We tend to give more to other people’s needs than our own. We tend to care for others, more than we care for ourselves. We tend to love deeply, and hurt deeply, and neglect to give that same love to ourselves, but it seems we have no issue in blaming ourselves for the hurt. 

However, it is not just mental health sufferers who are not great in self-love. Adults who have not suffered from trauma or been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, also struggle with it. From my research, the average mental health sufferer reported 50.3% and the average healthy adult reported 55% that they regularly self-love.

Self-love is a prerequisite to belief in self. Believing in ourselves is one of the strongest internal validations we can have to build our self-worth, have hope, be successful and build a stronger foundation. Without self-love, we would struggle to believe that we can truly make it.

Have you ever felt incredibly stuck? And in that stuck place, a part of you is slowly dying. I felt within me a longing to be nurtured, of who I am with no pretence, no falsehood or invisible masks, no compromise. I have learned that being stuck requires action. If we know how to care and love others beyond description, then we should be able to apply those same principles to ourselves. I must admit it is harder though! We have to start off with the belief that we deserve love, care, attention; and when we start to believe, we then see that receiving love is much easier too. 

If you have no reserves in loving, caring and nurturing yourself; what would your world look like? 

For me, it will be a world of freedom, love, compassion. There will be boundaries. It will most definitely be a safe haven. A place of no fear. A place I can know my needs and wants and freely give me the chance to receive them. A place I offer genuine care and concern as I have done for others for so long, but to also freely give that to me too. This world will have a solid foundation, surrounded by nature, beauty, peace and acceptance; so that when I walk into my world I will feel empowered to be me. 

Ultimately, the more we can love ourselves, the better we will be in serving and helping others and also in receiving their love in return. It’s a win-win.

Publication on self-love will be out September 2021.

Posted on

Finding your purpose

Purpose is like the breath of life. Or for some it could be more the breadth, depth and width of life. The times when we think most about our purpose is usually when we are struggling: as a teenager wondering what job we will do and/or university course; when we become dissatisfied with our job, career direction or course; and when we su fer trauma or health issues and lose the role we loved. I’ve been through all three and the worst was the latter one. When you finally found that role that fits you like a glove, you’re passionate about it, you love going to work, being part of the team and then everything is taken from beneath you. Not only have I experienced it, but I’ve also witnessed and stood beside thousands of police o ficers and Defence personnel going through this change once labelled ‘hurt on duty’ then medically discharged. How do we recover from this loss? Not only loss of something we loved, but loss of our mental health and perhaps physical health, loss of our passion and drive as well as loss of our purpose.

One thing I discovered on my journey through this is that my purpose was actually never lost, the way that I executed it needed changing. It will certainly be di ferent and when we get our head around that and it is okay, then opportunities start to arise. My purpose throughout life has always been education, motivational speaking and supporting others to be the best they can be. What I started to do post-police and navy in various roles, I could see that my drive, passion and purpose was still thriving. I just had to find the right avenue with my limitations.

After you decide to move forward, what happens next is truly amazing. It is like the shifting forces of nature were engulfing your whole being beforehand, even most days felt like you were trying to move in the opposite direction through a massive wind storm. Then, the day it all becomes too much, sand is flickering into your eyes disabling your sight and you feel totally exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. It seems impossible to go on. At this point we have a choice and we think the choices are to give up or keep battling, but there is another choice. Let go. Let go of everything we are holding on tightly. Allow the storm to pass. Rest our mind and our body, then start working on the root cause slowly and steadily. Yes, it’s hard work, but the result is amazing. Things in life start to align again. We feel more connected to life, to friends, to nature, to the world! Indeed, we feel alive! We are survivors and becoming people who can empower others to reach that amazing place too.

Feel free to download a free tool on how to discover your purpose and meaning.

Latest publication on purpose out now at your local Blurb
Posted on

Mourning to Dancing

I have seen the burden carried by humans. I have certainly felt the burden of my own battles – externally and internally. Yet, in the midst of all this there is beauty. A new flower budding. A new life brought into this world. The miracle of a healing. A lost soul found. It is so easy to be caught up in the chaos of life and not stop and see the beauty.

Grief is chaotic. We cannot control our grief. We cannot control the moment it will arrive at our doorstep. We cannot control the triggers we may have from memories, certain dates, smells, reminders. Grief comes in various ways for us all throughout life. We cannot really escape grief.

We could be mourning the loss of a loved one. We could be mourning the loss of our health. We could be mourning the loss of a job we loved. Or the loss of the family pet, or everything we have worked in life towards. I think I’ve gone through every single one of these and it certainly is not pleasant!

When I lost my health and career at the same time, my world certainly went into chaos. What I learned out of the chaos is a special little formula.

be PRESENT + take COURAGE + find ACCEPTANCE = CALMS CHAOS

There is a time to mourn, a time to cry and be sad; but there is also a time to laugh and most certainly dance.

Posted on

illness to wellness

Struggling with being mentally unwell is one thing and then when your body cannot stand it anymore, the physical illness signs start to show, especially if you are fighting against your mental health and not doing the best things you can to avoid stress.

I was certainly one of those people. I was under a great deal of stress and trauma for 6 months before I finally told someone. By the time I did, I was thrown in all sorts of directions and work in the navy didn’t help my cause. They kept me in the same place for 18 months where the triggers from the trauma existed strongly and my body couldn’t cope. Daily I was led to jumping off the edge.

I certainly understand looking back why my body withered away – inflammatory diseases, arthritis, hypertension, stacked on weight, most likely because I was drinking far too much to cope with the trauma and numb. So I wasn’t helping myself either and it took many years to accept this and take on the responsibility of my health.

I learned the more we can accept, the more we can take courage in taking that step forward. In going forwards, and not stopping, means we can find the best avenues towards recovery or living with the conditions we have. It is a balance. I still hold victory in my mind that one day I will be healed, but at the same time in knowledge of living with my mental and physical health conditions that I do what is best for me in this moment. That is all I can ever ask.

In finding balance, I have found that if I complete something I am passionate about in each of these areas on a daily basis, then I am doing okay.

Proudly powered by WordPress