I feel that I have been running a very long race. The race of my life. Now, I can almost see the finish line ahead and I am both excited, and scared. It is really the finish line? Or a mirage? Are there more unseen obstacles ahead?
My road has been a long one. Going from my teenager years and thenwhen I was 20, I had the worst period of depression of my life. A time where I could find no hope, only pain. A pain that I could not escape from and in truth, for a time there, I wanted to die. It was the only way I could see out of unimaginable pain. How this went on for, I no longer truly know. Months, definately, a year? Probably.
The only way I have been able to describe the level of emotional pain I felt each day, is equating it to the moment I was told my dad had died. That immediate, surge of pain, before grief, before taking it in. I do not exaggerate when I say this, nor would I compare the two lightly.
It was during this time however that I somehow found my inner strength. A voice inside of me that shouted no. You are stronger than this. A voice so strong, so clear that it stopped me in my tracks. Take that as you will.
I will admit that my whole twenties were a mess. I had learned to withhold what I felt. Not show my pain. Not show the outside world the carnage that was on the inside. I had no voice. No opinions. I was surviving, not thriving as my twenties should have been. I had learned that no one really wants to see the bad inside, the hurt. They wanted a smile. So that is what I gave them.
There was one in particular whom I could have shared my thoughts with. She would have been there for me, and indeed very much was, for the parts that she did see. But I was too scared. I didn’t want to lose her, even though deep down, I knew that I wouldn’t. I wish that I had. I could and do still trust her completely. She is a forever friend. She knew me before I hit rock bottom. The real me.
It has taken me so long to find that person again.
I started writing properly when I hit my thirties and I started to slowly evacuate the ghosts in my head.
This whole blog was created in order to work on my self confident, my self image and my self worth. I came so far, achieving things that I never thought that I would be able to accomplish. From the small steps of changing what I wore from all black to colour, to going to events by myself in London and sharing a picture of myself in a swimsuit. I talked about confidence until I started to find it for myself, and even received an email once from a woman telling me that my journey had inspired the start of her own.
I have my faults, but what I do have is determination and stubbornness (I appreciate that the latter can be a fault too!). I am slow to change, but when I do, I make a very large jump. I have always been this way. I have always strived to be better. To heal. But my roadmap was more like a very complicated squiggle than a straight line.
I found Twitter which helped me find my voice and I found others who were lost and on their way to becoming found. I felt myself coming alive.
By my mid thirties, I realised that my efforts to hide what I felt from the world had gone too far. I had become so good at masking that I had convinced myself that my fake smile was real.
I remember the day so clearly. I was walking the dog, the sun was out and it was gloriously warm. I remember suddenly realising that I felt happy; I was enjoying the day and was looking forward to an evening out with friends. But I could actually feel those feelings. It was both wonderful, and terrible. Because it that moment I realised just how long I had not truly felt. Over a decade. I always felt the sad emotions, but the good ones had been lost to the mask I wore every day.
It wasn’t until I met my partner a couple of years later that that changed. I had someone who could see all of me. Every emotion. Every feeling. And they loved all of me. Every single bit. I have never felt loved like this in my life. So seen. So wanted.
I gained self confidence a while ago now, but the lesson of self worth has been much, much harder.
It doesn’t matter how much someone tells you that you are worth it. That you are worthy of love. That you matter. You have to believe it yourself.
A couple of weeks ago, things finally started to fall into place and I found my self worth that had been lost to me for so long. I unburied the last of the things hidden and locked away in my mind. I confronted face on the reasons why I lost it.
So here I am today. I am starting counselling in a few weeks. This I truly believe will help me with the tools I need to move forward. Move on. Not forgetting, but not letting my past rule my future.
I have changed my mind whilst writing this post. I am excited. I am no longer afraid. I look forward to the bright future in front of me. I intend to celebrate every single minute.