Don't do it alone, Let Them Know!

Morning folks!

Thank you to everyone who has read the blog thus far. After making the bold choice to share this on my personal Facebook, I can say I am absolutely overwhelmed with smiles at the response.

Very positive, and some inspiring, powerful individuals came forward and shared their stories with me!

You know who you are.

So, the reason for my post today, was to instigate a little resource for people who may feel like they can't find the right words to let someone know around them that they are struggling to cope.

When I was 15, I had the emergence of an eating disorder. My parents had began to notice I was secretly throwing food away, I would make suspicious trips to the bathroom after meals and generally spend a lot of time holed up in my room.

They began to worry, they tried to get me to talk. I wouldn't talk. Of course, their worry turned to anger, frustration. They didn't understand what was going on with me, and I didn't understand how they could get mad at me. I was struggling! How unfair!

But the answer was right in front of me. They didn't understand. All they saw was a daughter damaging herself in a bizarre way. And they wanted it to stop. They were doing nothing wrong.

So I wrote a letter to my Mum.

I wrote down what was going through my head, why I felt the need to do what I was doing, why I couldn't control it and why I couldn't let it stop.

It worked. Their anger turned to understanding, they could finally talk to me in a way I could respond to. They took me to the doctors, I was referred to counselling and when I started college, they would drive an hour-and-half-round trip on a Tuesday to take me to my appointments.

Maybe the idea that a loved one can't be the solution hurts. Think about it, the person who cares the most about you in the whole world can't seem to help you.

That's an awful position to be in, too. But that's the curse of mental illness, it drives a wedge between those you love.

But it doesn't have to. So, I'll be adding a resource to the Pages above, called 'Let Them Know'.

I'll create templates for letters to send to loved ones to let them know you're struggling. I'll start with a generic template initially, but over time I would to collaborate with people to help create templates for varying issues.

You can copy and paste them into an email, a text, print them out and of course, edit them to suit your needs.

You can leave it open on your loved one's tablet, PC, smartphone and let it speak for itself.

And when they're done, please pass it on to someone you think may benefit!

Let's bust stigma, banish taboos and make mental health issues something no-one should ever have to suffer ALONE.