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How many times can you say that you have honestly felt proud of yourself? Think about it for a moment. Being proud of yourself when you have depression or anxiety or any mental health condition is not easy. It's not something that happens easily. In fact sometimes we feel like we will never experience that moment when we realise that yes, we are actually worth it and yes we are proud of ourselves. It seems like such a foreign notion, something that we don't tend to think about too much. I myself know that I have seldom felt proud of myself, no matter how much praise or admiration or well wishes I had recieved. I always felt like whatever I did was never good enough. But I think that this is completely and utterly untrue to think. because no matter who you are, what you have done or what you do now, you should be proud of yourself for some or more of the following reasons: You should be proud of yourself every morning when you get up out of bed even though you would rather stay under the doona and never come out. You should be proud of yourself every time you put down that razor blade or pills, or alcohol or drugs or any form of self harming device. You should be proud every time you smile even when all you want to do is cry. You should be proud of yourself when you pick yourself up off the floor even though you feel like you've shattered into a million pieces. You should be proud of yourself for making it this far, for not giving in even when you felt like you had no choice. You should be proud of yourself for feeling good when you look in the mirror and even when you don't feel so good. You should be proud of yourself for being you. Because you are worthy and valuable and there is no one else on earth like you. That may sound corny but it is true. I challenge you to write down one thing or one moment today that made you feel proud of yourself. And each time you feel down, read it. Be proud of yourself. <3

"It's okay not to be okay" This is a tricky concept. It's not something we always believe when we're struggling. We feel as though we have to put on this face of being fine and act as if nothing is wrong, when all we want to do is scream. We walk around with a poker face, hiding how we truly feel inside. We smile and laugh and pretend we're happy when we're not. We try and make others and even ourselves oblivious to the pain we're feeling inside. Sometimes all we want to do is curl up and cry or hit something or scream at the top of our lungs. Sometimes it feels as though we have to be okay, we aren't allowed to not be okay. It feels like we have no choice than to be okay. But. It's okay not to be okay. It's okay to be afraid It's okay to admit you feel sad and lonely. It's okay to admit you're feeling terrible. It's okay to talk to someone. It's okay to admit you're struggling. Be brave, be strong in yourself and recognising your emotions and state of mind. If you're confused or overwhelmed, talk to someone about it, whether it be a friend, a family member or a counsellor or someone from a help line. It's okay.

Challenges are something that we face every day. Some are small, some are medium sized and then there's the colossal challenges that we all wish we could run away from. My first instinct when faced with a challenge is to ignore it and run away from it because of the fear of feeling horrible because of the challenge. I certainly have learnt to face my challenges and not let them rule me or take over my life. That is one of the hardest things I have had to learn over the years and it was not easy. I still find it hard to deal with challenges and hard times but I have found I am more easily able to calm myself and to go to a calm place. I am actually proud of myself for that, I think it is something that I have always wanted and never thought was possible but now it has happened. For example, I start placement on Monday and it goes for 6 weeks, but I have come to terms with it and have come to accept it and begin to believe in myself. It is very difficult to believe in yourself especially when like me, you have been bullied for so many years and told that you are worthless. When someone tells you things like that over and over again, you start to believe it and eventually its all you believe. But over the years I have slowly healed and slowly gotten more confident in myself. I have begun to like myself for the first time in my life which is amazing but scary too. I still dont like myself very much but at least i am slowly learning to love me. Challenges are part of life and are part of everyday. They make life tumultuous and scary but when we get through them, it is always a little brighter and we feel stronger. Life isn't easy and is not supposed to be. If it was easy, it would be boring. I suppose wishing life was easy is a way of saying we want life to make us feel safe. Challenges question our feeling of safety and sometimes temporarily take our feeling of safety away from us. LIfe is an adventure and I like to liken it to a roller coaster because it has many ups and downs, corners, loops and bumps, all of which help to shape us as a person. I am still afraid of challenges. They make me feel very uncomfortable, they make me feel afraid and scared. They make me question myself and my abilities and make me feel helpless. I hate feeling scared, that is one emotion that I truly dislike. But I always know that after a challenge has passed, i will come out stronger and a little braver than before, and that is what means the most to me Stay strong beautifuls, hold your head up high <3

HAPPINESS: It often feels as though happiness is eluding us. Those of us who live with any form of mental illness or mental health issue would agree with me I'm sure. Four years ago, happiness was such a foreign concept to me. It was something I felt I would never experience, something I didn't deserve to experience. Being diagnosed with severe generalised anxiety disorder and severe panic disorder mixed with depression four years ago kind of reaffirmed this for me. As I have been suffering with mental illness since I was 3 years old, happiness was something I seldom experienced. It wasn't because of anyone or anything, it was just the way my brain was wired. I had always been anxious and always been afraid so it was nothing new to me and I didn't know I could feel anything else. A series of traumatic events in my life only established this further. But what I didn't know, is that happiness is not discriminatory or selfish, or out of reach or something only select people get to feel. I may not feel happy everyday of my life, but when I do, I cherish those moments with every essence of my being Happiness is wonderful, like a warm sunny day or a bright ray of sun <3 It is the ultimate goal for everyone and something which majority of us hold in high esteem as a goal to achieve in our lives. Happiness is attainable for everyone. No matter who you are, where you are from, what you have been through or what you are like as a person, happiness is possible. Every single one of you deserves to feel happiness. It may take a long time before you feel that glorious emotion, but I promise that when you do, it will be so worth every tear, every sigh, every decision, every negative emotion and every challenge you have had to face along the way. Happiness is not impossible. You have dealt with challenges I am sure, but yet you are still here. You are still breathing, you are still fighting, you are still coping. And that is the most amazing achievement, so you should be so proud of yourself. You should all be so proud of making it this far and for still trying and fighting even when it feels like the world had crashed around you. Start off your journey to happiness by each day writing down something that made you smile or something that made you feel good. You could also write something that you did well that day or something you coped with or was able to overcome. Put the notes in a jar and every month, pull them out and read what you wrote.This will help to remind you of how amazing you are and what you are capable of. You are wonderful, you are brave, you are strong and you are worthy. Happiness will come in time and soon it will become easier to feel and easier to smile Believe that one day happiness will come to you because it will, I promise

Sleep seems to be a recurring issue for many people with GAD. I certainly have trouble settling myself at night time and being able to drift off to sleep. I thought I would share some tips and things that work well for me to ensure I have a good night's sleep. 1. Guided Sleep Meditation This has been so good for me and I hope it will work for others too. All I do is simply YouTube search or google search 'guided sleep meditation' and I choose a result, put my headphones in and lie back in bed and listen. It is great to have a soothing voice guiding you into relaxation and sometimes you need that comforting voice. You dont have to do anything, all you need to do is listen and close your eyes. There is usually a voice accompanied by soft quiet music and the voice will instruct you to breathe and clear your mind. Then you will go through a process of relaxation to sleep. Meditation of course takes a lot of practice but it is worth it. It has so many benefits for stress relief and for just general wellbeing. It gives you tools to calm yourself down and to breathe which are particularly helpful when a panic attack is coming or happening. Here is a list of great Youtube channels to search for: - Jason Stephenson - TheHonestGuys - Meditationrelaxationclub - YellowBrickCinema - (does great sleeping music) - MrMcClung Music 2. Sleep Music I also listen to soft quiet music at night to help me drift off after I have meditated. I find it soothing and I like having the soft music in the background. Sometimes being in silence freaks me out because my mind isn't distracted and so I find listening to soft music very helpful to stop this. The YouTube channels I have mentioned above are helpful for that but you can always google relaxation music or listen to soft classical music even. Listening to nature sounds is very relaxing as well, I personally love listening to ocean sounds. 3. Prior to Bed I have some rules for myself before I go to bed to ensure I am in sleep mode 1. No computers or television an hour before bed 2. A warm shower or bath in the evening 3. No caffeine or sugary foods or drinks 4. A cup of relaxing tea - herbal tea designed for relaxation is fantastic and natural 5. Meditation for sleep 6. Read a book or do some mindfulness drawing/colouring I hope this is helpful for you guys and I hope you get something out of this! Good luck and let me know how you go! - Georgia xx