Hi SG army/family.
I am a new member, and a hopeful! Fingers crossed. I just wanted to start off by saying hello to everyone! I am Shay.
Theres something about a sense of community, whether it's behind a screen, or a close group of friends that can really make the world of difference in our day to day lives. I have recently had a relapse with my mental health leaving me hospitalized and I realized that relationships, romantic or not, is something we all as humans need in some capacity. (I tend to push others away when I am stressed)
I know that even though it's 2017, there is still such a stigma around mental health struggles. I refuse to sit back and pretend to be okay out of fear of being criticized or judged. It has taken me many years to be able to admit to myself that "its okay to not be okay." I used to see this as being a sign of weakness, that I didn't have my life together or that I was a failure. That way of thinking will only perpetuate a cycle of negativity and self doubt. If you woke up every morning and looked in the mirror and said "I'm ugly and worthless", you are going to believe those words and ultimately change your behaviour to try to emulate what it is you think you are. STOP THIS. As easy as it may be to tell yourself only the negative, I challenge you to wake up every morning and tell yourself that you are beautiful, and one other positive affirmation. REPEAT THIS. Repeat this every day and I promise you that you will start to believe what you are telling yourself, and what we already know about you. That you ARE capable, and you ARE beautiful and talented, driven, caring.
We all have bad days. We all have days where we feel like we want a do over, or "why did I even bother?" and that's A-OK as well! Acknowledge that moment, learn from it, and move forward. It is okay to fail, so long as you don't quit. The only time you have truly failed it when you have decided to quit. Don't devalue yourself so much to just throw away your efforts when things get tough. You are worth it. Keep going; especially on the days where you feel like "why bother?", those are the times where the effort counts the most.
Keep your head up, even if you have to place your fist under it to support it (that just means you're planning bigger and better things! ;) )
It is okay to not be okay. I promise you will be.
