Hi there friends!

I’m not really sure where this post will end up going, so please bear with me. May is #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth and I think it’s important to put the spotlight on MH. It’s not a taboo subject. It’s not something that should be silenced. It’s something that should be talked about. We all endure and cope differently and each and every experience is valid. The more we talk about this, the better it will be for everyone.

Every week this month I’m going to post another little mental health type post. You don’t have to read it if that’s not your thing, but if it is I’d love to know your thoughts on whatever it is I’ve posted about. The posts each week may be what I do when I’m feeling like I’m spiralling, some books I might recommend or anything. I’d love your suggestions on what you’d like to see me talk about. 

One of the posts will be centred around body positivity – why it’s important, what it means to me, how we can be more body positive etc. This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week 2019 will take place from Monday 13 to Sunday 19 May 2019 and the theme for 2019 is Body Image – how we think and feel about our bodies.

Today I’m going to just spend a few words talking about perception. How we perceive others and how that can in fact be SO INCREDIBLY different to how we perceive ourselves.

Something I do is asking people to describe me, keeping their positive words (in my phone, my bujo, my brain) for when I don’t have any for myself. Now some people may think ‘well that’s awfully self-centred of you’, but sometimes you need someone else’s words of positivity when you have none yourself.

If you ask people to describe me in a word, you will more than likely get the following words:

• funny
• loud
• bubbly
• confident
• friendly
• affectionate

And I think those are words that I would use to describe me from time to time. There’s also a whole chunk of words, which aren’t as positive, that I would use to describe myself. I am, at times, my VERY OWN WORST CRITIC.

It’s SO EASY to fall into a hole of “you’ve not done this, you’ve not done that, that could have been better, you’re not this, you’re not that, that person is doing this and you’re not”. It’s so easy. It’s so easy to listen to the negative things that people have said about you, rather than the equal amount of positive things. It’s so easy to only think negative things about yourself, rather than tell yourself positive things.

I’m particularly bad at being kind to myself some times. And some times I need reminders that I am enough. I am kind. I am friendly. I am funny. I am good at my job. These reminders need to come from me. It’s lovely when other people tell me them, but it doesn’t make as big a difference until I start to believe them.

I’m a BIG LOVER of quotes (and mood boards as readers of this blog will attest to), so I’ve put together a moodboard of quotes that have hit a chord with me as I’ve been scrolling recently. We all deal with our mental health struggles in different ways, and each and every voice is valid – for me, these help to show me that I’m not alone. They help me to see that OTHER people have felt the way I feel. 

Thanks for stopping by today. If you ever need to talk, or just want a hug (virtual, or real), my inbox/twitter is always open.

Love, Steph xx