If you asked my younger self where I imagined myself to be when I turned 30, the last thing I would have said would have been battling with mental health issues.
Becoming a mother changes your life. Battling a mental illness as a result also changed my whole sense of self.
Reading Matt Haig’s Notes on a Nervous Planet rang true on so many levels – I filled pages of a notebook with quotes that resonated. Here are the top 5 truths about mental health I found within its pages:
1. “Progress is a matter of acceptance”
The first step in recovering from any mental health issue is accepting it. Being diagnosed with PTSD was terrifying but also a relief. What I was experiencing had a name. Other people had also lived through it. And most importantly, there were things that could help. (You can read more about the EMDR therapy I undertook here.)
2. “I relive the past in order to accept and learn from it”
Debilitating flashbacks can be all-pervasive. At the height of my PTSD, I struggled to stay in the present, constantly revisiting my birth experience over and over again. But this is also your brain’s way of facing the fear head-on. Talking through the content of my flashbacks in therapy allowed me to understand the elements of the experience that affected me the most – and stop them ruling my life.
3. “Walking to a shop can be a show of strength if you are carrying a ton of invisible weight”
Be proud of yourself every day. Be kind to others every day. Appearances can be deceptive.
4. “We create a new universe with every decision we make”
Every moment of every day has the potential to improve your life. With small steps, big things can happen.
5. “The future is ours to shape”
Mental health does not have to define you. Triumph over trauma is possible.
Thankyou, Matt Haig, for another life-saving book.
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