In the mind yet so real.

11/09/2021

🦋 Baby steps are better than no steps xx
🦋 As we ease back into a new ‘normal’ be kind to those who are struggling
🦋 Be kind to yourself on the days where just getting out of bed is like climbing a mountain
🦋 If you can, then do. If not, take a step back and look at how far you’ve come
🦋 Celebrate the small things - there are times when they feel like the big things

14/07/2021

23/06/2021

💕

DEPRESSION/ANXIETY TIPS:

Shower. Not a bath, a shower. Use water as hot or cold as you like. You don’t even need to wash. Just get in under the water and let it run over you for a while. Sit on the floor if you gotta.

Moisturize everything. Use whatever lotion you like. Unscented? Poundland lotion? Fancy 48 hour lotion that makes you smell like a field of wildflowers? Use whatever you want, and use it all over your entire dermis.

Put on clean, comfortable clothes.

Put on your favorite underwear. Cute black lacy panties? Those ridiculous boxers you bought last christmas with pink love hearts on the butt? Put them on.

Drink cold water. Use ice. If you want, add some mint or lemon for an extra boost. I always use lemon.

Clean something. Doesn’t have to be anything big. Organize one drawer of a desk. Wash five dirty dishes. Do a load of laundry. Scrub the bathroom sink.

Blast music. Listen to something upbeat and dancey and loud, something that’s got lots of energy. Sing to it, dance to it, even if you suck at both.

Make food. Don’t just grab a Kit Kat bar to munch. Take the time and make food. Even if it’s beans on toast. Add something special to it, like a soft boiled egg or some veggies. Prepare food, it tastes way better, and you’ll feel like you accomplished something.

Make something. Write a short story or a poem, draw a picture, color a picture, fold origami, crochet or knit, sculpt something out of clay, anything artistic. Even if you don’t think you’re good at it. Create.

Go outside. Take a walk. Sit in the grass. Look at the clouds. Smell flowers. Put your hands in the dirt and feel the soil against your skin.

Call someone. Call a loved one, a friend, a family member, call a chat service if you have no one else to call. Talk to a stranger on the street. Have a conversation and listen to someone’s voice. If you can’t bring yourself to call, text or email or whatever, just have some social interaction with another person. Even if you don’t say much, listen to them. It helps.

Cuddle your pets if you have them/can cuddle them. Take pictures of them. Talk to them. Tell them how you feel, about your favorite movie, a new game coming out, anything.

May seem small or silly to some, but this list keeps people alive.

*** At your absolute best you won’t be good enough for the wrong people. But at your worst, you’ll still be worth it to the right ones. Remember that. Keep holding on.

*** In case nobody has told you today I love you and you are worth your weight and then some in gold, so be kind to yourself and most of all keep pushing on!!!!

Find something to be grateful for!

May I please get 2 friends or family members to copy and re-post? I am trying to demonstrate that someone is always listening.




Just two. Any two.
Say done.

💙💙💙

**copied and pasted, feel free to do the same**

17/05/2021

01/03/2021

It occurred to Pooh and Piglet that they hadn't heard from Eeyore for several days, so they put on their hats and coats and trotted across the Hundred Acre Wood to Eeyore's stick house. Inside the house was Eeyore.

"Hello Eeyore," said Pooh.

"Hello Pooh. Hello Piglet," said Eeyore, in a Glum Sounding Voice.

"We just thought we'd check in on you," said Piglet, "because we hadn't heard from you, and so we wanted to know if you were okay."

Eeyore was silent for a moment. "Am I okay?" he asked, eventually. "Well, I don't know, to be honest. Are any of us really okay? That's what I ask myself. All I can tell you, Pooh and Piglet, is that right now I feel really rather Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All. Which is why I haven't bothered you. Because you wouldn't want to waste your time hanging out with someone who is Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All, would you now."

Pooh looked at Piglet, and Piglet looked at Pooh, and they both sat down, one on either side of Eeyore in his stick house.

Eeyore looked at them in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"We're sitting here with you," said Pooh, "because we are your friends. And true friends don't care if someone is feeling Sad, or Alone, or Not Much Fun To Be Around At All. True friends are there for you anyway. And so here we are."

"Oh," said Eeyore. "Oh." And the three of them sat there in silence, and while Pooh and Piglet said nothing at all; somehow, almost imperceptibly, Eeyore started to feel a very tiny little bit better.

Because Pooh and Piglet were There.

No more; no less.

(A.A. Milne, E.H. Shepard)

20/02/2021

Keep going everyone. Sending kind thoughts and wishes to all you lovely people ❤️💚❤️💚

You’re not imagining it, nobody seems to want to talk right now.
Messages are brief and replies late.
Talk of catch ups on zoom are perpetually put on hold.
Group chats are no longer pinging all night long.

It’s not you.
It’s everyone.
We are spent.
We have nothing left to say.
We are tired of saying ‘I miss you’ and ‘I cant wait for this to end’.
So we mostly say nothing, put our heads down and get through each day.

You’re not imagining it.
This is a state of being like no other we have ever known because we are all going through it together but so very far apart.

Hang in there my friend.
When the mood strikes, send out all those messages and don’t feel you have to apologise for being quiet.

This is hard.

No one is judging.

Donna Ashworth
Author of poetry book, ‘to the women’: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08LRGWY74/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_R28VE6D965H97R9DCFFG

Image by Paula Belle Flores

05/02/2021

"Today was a Difficult Day," said Pooh.

There was a pause.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Piglet.

"No," said Pooh after a bit. "No, I don't think I do."

"That's okay," said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend.

"What are you doing?" asked Pooh.

"Nothing, really," said Piglet. "Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don't feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either.

"But goodness," continued Piglet, "Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you've got someone there for you. And I'll always be here for you, Pooh."

And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his little legs...he thought that his best friend had never been more right."

- A.A. Milne, author Winnie-the-Pooh

Sending thoughts to those having a Difficult Day today and hope you have your own Piglet to sit beside you. 👏💓

25/09/2020

So very true and a reminder to be kind to yourself ❤️

22/09/2020

So very true right now.

04/07/2020

Sorry, this is a bit of a long one!

Oh wow another full month has gone past. It's certainly been an interesting one. I know lots of people are struggling now more than ever - my eating disorder has been having a party recently, and I've been generally avoiding social media. The influx of mass gatherings as lockdown is eased has massively increased my anxiety levels, and updates from people doing this, that and the other with their kids has sometimes made me wonder if I'm the only person with a technology-addicted 7 year old.

And now, we reach a new stage. Pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, etc are opening up today in what the media are dubbing 'super Saturday.' Thousands of people will be returning to work, myself included, wondering 'is it too soon?' I guess we won't know until we try it. I know employers will be doing everything they possibly can to ensure the safety of their staff and customers, many going above and beyond Government guidelines. It doesn't stop anxiety from reaching new heights and for me, wanting to stay in bed and never get out. I know, though, that in order to move forwards, we have to get through these initial stages. Here's a couple of messages that dropped into my inbox over the last few days - I thought they were quite appropriate for this weekend. (Thanks to The Blurt Foundation for these).

🦋'Just a little reminder for those days that feel pretty rough. No matter what happens, the clock still ticks and time still passes. You can get through this.'

🦋'Think of all you’ve survived—conquered—through your life. Hard times make us underestimate ourselves. You are stronger than you believe! You can get through this!'

So, we will get through this and whatever happens, will happen.

🥰 Be kind to yourself and others; remember this is a learning curve for everyone in these unprecedented times.