Keep Going

"Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." - Winston Churchill

I thought I'd share this quote with you as a reminder to never give up on yourself, and to always stay strong. No matter how difficult it seems, never give in.

Happy New Year! - A

On 15th of June 2013, "L" and I decided to create 'Perks Of Recovery". We started it for many reasons, but mainly to help other people with their recovery, as well as help our own.

We wanted to remain anonymous, as we didn't want people from our school/our family to find out about it, but we decided that it was time for us to remove our anonymity. So...

Ups & Downs

So we all have ups and downs, but sadly some people feel more 'down' than they do 'up'.

I just wanted to write this post because lately I've been feeling pretty down. I've been stressed out from school work and loads of other stuff, but today I've felt absolutely amazing. I've finished my first unit for drama, which is what was stressing me out in the first place, and I felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders (as dramatic as that sounds). Then I started watching some videos of my favourite artist of all time, and realised I'll be meeting him in just over a month.

It's in these moments that I realise that life really is great. Life is what we make of it. No matter how hard things, we can push through and we can overcome it all. Sometimes we need to come forward and admit we need help. Sometimes we need to let people know that we're not ok. Just know that there's always light at the end of the tunnel.

Whenever I'm feeling really low and don't know whether it's even worth it anymore, I always think of things I'd be missing out on if I wasn't here, or things I want to do in the future. For example, I always think about meeting Will Smith, which is one thing I've wanted to do since... well, forever. Haha

So, seriously guys, don't give up. I was watching this video earlier on today, which is the reason why I wanted to do this post really as it inspired me, and I suggest you all watch this video (skip to 39:40):

You don't have to watch all of it, and you don't even have to like Tinie Tempah or know who he is, but just listen to what he says, trust me.

Life really is wonderful, and we can achieve so much if we believe in ourselves. Sometimes we need to step back and realise that.

-A x

"When everything happened did you tell people what was going on?"

We recently got asked this question on twitter:

I thought I'd answer it on the blog because I feel as though a lot of people may want to know about this.

Personally, no I didn't tell people what was going on. I didn't tell people how I was feeling, I just kept it all bottled up inside, which inevitably made things a lot worse for me.

Well, I did talk about it to one person, though, so I guess part of that was a lie.

I spoke to an online friend, who was also going through mental health issues. Venting to her really did help me a lot, I knew that I could trust and confide in her, and she would be able to relate to my problems because she was going through it herself.

However, I didn't talk to any of the people around me about it for a long time, and in some ways I still haven't Honestly, I don't know why I didn't tell them back then, when I didn't really self harm much. But, if I did, I think I would have got help sooner, before my problems got worse, and wouldn't be in the position I am now. In some ways I am grateful for that, as I wouldn't be blogging about this today and wouldn't be helping people like I am now. But I don't know if I would do it again, if I had a chance to redo it all, or if I would have spoken to people about it, but I think you should.

Eventually, yes, people did find out about my problems, and it turns out quite a few of my friends have self harmed in that past. Nobody ran when they found out I self harmed or had depression. Some people probably didn't even care. Not in a way such as "oh she's depressed and self harms, who cares" but "So what if she's depressed? So what is she self harms? She's still the same person, and I'm not going to leave just because of that".

So, no I didn't tell people what was going on, when it was going on. I didn't feel comfortable talking about it, and I still don't. Unless I know that that person has gone through the same/similar issues. But that's just me. I do however know that if I did choose to talk about it to friends and family, they wouldn't run away from me. And if they did, then I'd be better of without them.

If people run, don't be sad. Don't be angry. Don't hate yourself. Don't hate them. Be happy they left. Be happy that you now know the truth about them. Be happy because you were strong for telling them. Love yourself and believe that others do. Know that even though one left, others will stay. Believe that you can recover. Lift that weight off you shoulders, because you don't have to hide anymore.

I'm not saying go out and tell everyone you know about it, and try to discuss it with them in person, because that might not be easy for everyone. I know it wouldn't be for me. If you feel more comfortable talking to people over the internet or via text messages, do that instead. Personally, I feel more comfortable doing so, it's easier to reciprocate and portray my emotions when I write it down.

I hope you get some clarity after reading this post and make the right decision for you.

I still think that there is a lot more that I have to say, but I don't want to babble on even more than I already have. Regardless, thank you for taking the time to read this post.

-L x