Morning everyone.
You've probably seen that it's World Mental Health Day today.
So I'm sending everyone out a HUG and a 30% discount (use code WMH19), which works till 12 midnight (GMT) on Sun 13 October.
So here goes.....
I'm Alison and I suffer from anxiety and depression.
There, that didn't hurt a bit!
Though, having been there, I know the hurt it causes, both from suffering and from people just not understanding what I was going through and how to help.
For me, it meant medication, which wasn't an easy pill to swallow, both because I had HORRENDOUS initial side effects which made me feel so much worse, and because I had a really hard time coming to terms with the fact I needed to take ANTIDEPRESSANTS. I turned the stigma on myself.
I lost my job as a Librarian, which was incredibly painful for a long time.
But I eventually came to terms with the fact that my body was shouting at me to GET MY LIFE IN ORDER and BE KINDER TO MYSELF!
It started with getting back to being creative. And through that, Mokshatrim was born.
Have you ever thought about that odd name, Mokshatrim?
I was looking at name ideas. I wanted something a bit generic. The internet suggested looking at words in different languages. So I tried Sanskrit, as I was selling lots of Indian ribbons.
Moksha means "The final release of the soul from a cycle of incarnation;
the bliss attained by this liberation". That was me. That was what I was striving for!
It's nearly six years on now and I'm pretty good!
Life still sends curveballs and Brexit is driving me batshit crazy, but Mokshatrim allows me the freedom and creativity that I need and all that colour and sparkle just naturally lifts my mood!
So what have I learned?
Mental Health is something that we all have. Life is tough!
I've learned that changes, though they might be HORRENDOUS at the time, lead to greater things down the line. As they say "this too shall pass".
I've accepted my mantra "I am a tortoise, I'll get there in the end!"
We should all be kinder to ourselves.
It's all too easy to spend our lives criticising ourselves, working harder and harder.
But life is short and we never know how long we have.
Why not try to enjoy life?
Think what have I done today to make myself happy? Even if that is just sitting for a couple of minutes and taking some deep breaths.
Oh and you could buy some lovely glittery or colourful ribbons to stroke. Works for me!! There is even a 30% discount (use code WMH19) which works till 12 midnight (GMT) on Sun 13 October.