I
want to do a little update post today.
I
haven’t been myself for the past four months or so. It has shown in my daily life, my work; my
blog and in my general temperament. I
felt like I was on a downward spiral of sadness that I couldn’t seem to break. Tears would come from nowhere, all the time
and the blues were firmly in residence.
I
have always used this blog as a means of sorting through my feelings and it has
always helped in the past; but my love for blogging disappeared and the writing
just didn’t help. I decided that I
wanted to look into counselling, something that I have wanted to do for years
but not plucked up the courage to try.
The
thing is, the very last thing I wanted to do was go to my GP. Having been told once before “lose weight and
you’ll be happier” I knew that I would either get the same response again or
alternatively offered anti-depressants which I didn’t want.
What
I was happy to find out however is that you don’t need to be referred by your
GP for counselling. You don’t need to
involve them at all. I went along to my
local Women’s Centre and am now in the middle of my NHS funded eight sessions
(I think that this can be extended to twelve if needed).
If you are looking for a non judgemental environment that can offer the services that you need, I highly recommend that you check out your local alternatives.
If you are looking for a non judgemental environment that can offer the services that you need, I highly recommend that you check out your local alternatives.
My
session last week was a real break through moment for me but it isn’t until
today that I have noticed any change in how I have been feeling. Today though, the happiness has
returned. I feel invigorated and excited
to see what is ahead of me. The smile
that has been missing so much lately is back and I don’t need to put up a happy
façade.
I
had forgotten just how happy that I was prior to my downward period and to feel
like that again makes me want to dance around the room to Pharell Williams' "Happy".
So
top tips of the day:
- You don’t need to go to your GP for help, there are other ways.
- Skeletons in your closet take up too much room and need letting out.
- There is always light at the end of the tunnel, even if some days it is just a tiny dot, it is always there.