I will never forget several years ago, when I saw someone on Twitter tell Demi Levato via tweet that she was “perfect”.
As it turns out, trying to live up to perfection put Miss Levato into a recovery program because she was trying so hard to live up to other people’s standards of beauty that she almost died.
When I think about my mental health journey, I don’t worry anymore when I have bad days because I know they won’t last. That doesn’t make them easier to deal with, it just reminds me that they won’t last, even though they feel like they will.
I have to remind myself often of where I was last year, compared to where I am this year. Doing so helps me to remember that things change, and that even on days when it doesn’t really feel like it, every day is completely different than the day before.
Those are such wise words, and ones that I resonate with deeply. It is important to remember that you have survived every bad day you have ever had, and some of those days almost killed you. Yet here you are, still fighting, still standing strong, still refusing to give the fuck up.
I am genuinely proud of you, and I am proud of myself, I am proud of all of us who have found a way to keep going on, even though the bad days nearly killed us, because it’s really fucking hard to do so.
I think this is especially true when you are a creative type, because we tend to be a bit more sensitive than our counterparts. Learning that mental health care is a practice was a mind blowing experience for me.
Learning that I could get through the bad days by remembering and reminding myself that they won’t last is a fucking game changer.
Practice and progress don’t come easy to me because I don’t like to do things more than once. It’s why I hate cleaning, I loath having to repeat myself.
But the more I practice the better I get at holding off the darkness, and sometimes that means asking for help when I need it, which also does not come naturally to me, but I am working on it.
One of the most important things to remember though, is that self care is not selfish. It is important to learn to lift yourself up because sometimes, when you feel alone, you really are physically alone. It’s important to know how to get through those times on your own.
Not only so that you can stand on your own two feet, but so that you know…you can stand on your own two feet. This also helps to teach you, how to teach others, how to deal with your bad day episodes, for lack of a better word.
What are you working on this week?
This post was inspired by @zanade on Twitter.
Sending all my love,
Devon J Hall
Loud Mouth Brown Girl 