Hi lovely,

I’m really sorry that you are struggling so much right now; I’m really proud of you for reaching out to us for help because I know how hard that can be! 

I’m really glad that you feel like you wouldn’t physically harm yourself, but just in case, I want to say that if you ever take any action to end your life or seriously hurt yourself, then please call your local emergency services (e.g. 911) for immediate medical attention. If you are reaching a crisis point and are in danger of harming yourself then try to get yourself to the ER, or to somewhere safe and contact someone who can come and help to keep you safe. You can also always  contact a helpline or web counsellor for 24/7 support.

I think the most important thing for you right now, is reaching out to someone for some support, mostly to help you feel less alone and more cared for. Have you considered reaching out to a member of your family, or a close friend? I know it can be hard to admit things like this to the ones we love, especially when we don’t want to burden or worry them, but I am so sure that they will only want the best for you and will do everything in their power to support you. If saying it out loud is too daunting for you, maybe you could try writing it all down in a letter and handing it to them? This way you don’t have to worry about forgetting something and you can word it exactly how you want to, and also you can stay with them until they have finished and discuss any questions that are brought up. 

Even if you don’t want to necessarily share everything with your loved ones, I do think it is important that you reach out to some kind of professional as they will be able to support you in further treatment/recovery. You doctor would be a good place to start as they can diagnose, medicate, and refer, if that is applicable. It is likely that your doctor will suggest taking up some kind of talk therapy; talk therapy is really useful for helping us not only unload some of our concerns, but also to help us recognise unhelpful thinking patterns, and create techniques that help us deal with those thoughts. I’m linking our page about getting help here, please try and consider reaching out for professional help, lovely.

Often if we are going through a particularly hard point, we can feel very left behind as other people seem to just be getting on with their lives fine. Something I’ve found really helpful when I feel like this, is to set myself a daily set of little things I want to accomplish; sometimes, if I’m having a really down day this can be things as small as putting a laundry load on! Other days it is something like handing my CVs out, or going to the gym. Seeing yourself ticking tasking off of a list like this can help you with feelings of accomplishment and like you are progressing. Of course, there may be days when you don’t manage to do everything on your list, and that is completely okay! Sometimes you have to take the time to give yourself lots of self care; have a nice bubble bath, watch your favourite movie, bake a cake… Remember to take care of yourself, love.

Writing about your day in a journal and taking the time to reflect on the things you have done can be a great way to help you recognise the good impact you are having in peoples lives, in turn improving your own self worth and happiness. Something I also encourage is every day, when you write in your journal, is to finish the following sentences:

1) Today I accomplished…2) I felt proud because…3) I felt good about myself when…

I know it can sound a little silly but many of us forget to give ourselves credit for the little things we do each day, and it can be really beneficial to take the time to acknowledge them when we are trying to improve happiness. Another little thing you can try is getting your friends and family to help you to write a list of all the reasons that they love you and that you are a good person; keep the list, make it pretty, and look at it everyday to remind yourself that you have so much worth and goodness in you!

If there is anything else we can help you with, please get in touch with us again. Remember, ‘’fall down seven times, stand up eight’’. Please take care,