Yesterday marked the start of mental health awareness week and I can't think of a more important or relevant time to talk about mental health.
I thought long and hard about posting this, something so candid and open.
The past year has been hard for us all. I took a lot away from the first two lockdowns; it was a chance to have a complete time out, a chance to go on a journey of discovery, time to work on myself and strengthen bonds and relationships with family.
Like many families, we've had our fair share of challenges; we lost a family member due to negligence of the NHS (something which was completely preventable and treatable) and we had another family member diagnosed with cancer.
Naturally, dealing with those things would take its toll on anyone's mental health in normal circumstances let alone in the middle of a pandemic.
The third lockdown at the beginning of this year I really struggled with; I was furloughed and ended up catching COVID ... I didn't end up leaving the house for over a month. In that time I started feeling overly anxious and agitated at the idea of leaving the house and I would put off speaking to anyone. Agoraphobia had started to set in. I found myself trawling through social medical which was making me even more depressed. I was constantly comparing where I was in my life with other people's, people of my age that had achieved things that I dream of. It was never jealousy, it was more feeling like a failure. I always thought by the time I was nearly 30 that I would be settled down with the house, white picket fence and the 2.4 children.
Comparison really is the thief of joy
By no means am I moaning about my life; I am lucky enough to have amazing family and friends around me, I have a roof over my head and I am fortunate enough to have a job given the current economic climate.
3 months on and there are still things that I'm struggling with and unfortunately there are hurdles in the way of changing some aspects of my life. I know that everyone has their own path and I know that on mine it's just going to take a little longer to get there!
Love Charlotte
The rants, quips and anecdotes of a twenty-something year old
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