happy new year! resolutions!!!! -L

so since June, you have all known us as "A" and "L" but after some careful consideration, we decided that it would be in the best interests of the blog for us to reveal who we are. initially this would have been happening on our 1 year anniversary (so in another 6 months time) but we want to create videos and create a more personal relationship with you all.

so hi... my name is Louise and I have been working with Alyssa on Perks Of Recovery for the past 6 months and it has been such an amazing journey for us, it was a big decision to tell people who we are because there aren't a lot of people who are aware of our illnesses.

we now believe that we have created a decent enough mindset in our individual recoveries that allows us to reveal ourselves and bare our demons to the world.

new years resolutions

1. Enjoy Life to the Fullest- i have gone through so many days over the past few years where i have just wanted to sleep or go and hide in a corner and cry. i have missed so many wonderful opportunities in life because of it and they could have lead me towards being in a better place. the decisions that i have made have made a huge impact on my life and without Alyssa and those problems, we would not have reached this positive influence. i intend to enjoy all of the things that my life brings from now on, no matter how small because i can now find happiness and peace within the world where i was once tormented.
2. Help Others achieve their goals- without the help of others i would probably not be here today because i began to have suicidal thoughts before my recovery and that pushed me to seek help. people have helped me to reach my goals in life and now its time to give something back.
3. manage stress- i happen to know that i get stressed out easily because i wait until the last minute to do things and i worry over the least little thing. stress impacts my day a lot and sometimes i cannot take the stress and i break. this creates a set back in my recovery so i am going to be more organised and practice calming activities such as yoga.
4. be healthy- a healthy balance of sleep, nutritious food and exercise (not over-doing anything)
5. go to counselling- i am finally coming to a point where i feel like i can talk about my problems and i want to be able to understand where they came from and have a better understanding of how to control the urges and not let them control me.
6. go to CBT- the idea of completely changing my thoughts from negative to positive will have a huge impact on all of my illnesses and will help me in the road to recovery.
7. Spend more time with loved ones and strengthen my relationships- relationships are so important and they create a wonderful safety net for you when things start to get too much. illnesses such as depression can lead to its sufferers isolating themselves, as i did and that had an impact on the way that people treated me and the way that i began to act around others. i wanted to be alone and i would do whatever i could to make sure that people left me alone, no matter what the consequences were. its time i rebuild those relationships.
8. Practice listening to my body, what it needs for balance, health, rest, and nourishment.- i have pushed myself a lot lately. i had to be perfect, that's everyone's goal right? i took it too far, i tried to mould my body into the image that others liked better and i didnt take my own health into account. i didnt sleep, eat or let myself find peace at all. it was a constant internal battle for me and although that war still rages on, i am determined to win and care for myself better.
9. Work on developing more insight and mindfulness in my daily life.- i will focus on the small things and how i can use them to make a difference, even if its just in a small way
10. build up a support group for myself (to use in times of need)-there are a few people who know about my issues and yet whenever i need help, it dont feel like i can ask for it. i feel like a burden. that is not true. there are many of my friends and family that i can turn to, i finally understand that now.
11. create a plan of coping techniques that work for me- so that when im breaking down i can stay strong- there are lots of coping mechanisms that help people such as ice (for self harmers) but a lot of them dont work for me. i need to distract myself. i put on my music, i throw myself into my work etc. i have began to realise what works for me and what doesnt.
12. get a tattoo (gotta wait for my mom to agree on that one) (pics of the tattoo that we both want will be posted soon)
13. make a list of all of my triggers to allow me to become more mindful around them and stay away from them
14. write at least 1 post per week
15. meet some of our lovely followers and thank them in person for all of the support that they have given us