Mind Your Mental Health
It’s been a long day. You missed class this morning, couldn’t bear to face the world, not today anyway. You stay in bed, maintaining a constant cycle of scrolling through social media, day dreaming, crying and sleeping. It’s become a routine.
When you finally decide to get up, your body feels heavy, like a sack of potatoes. You brave through it, put on a nice outfit with your favourite shoes before giving yourself a pep talk in the mirror as you brush your teeth.
“You can do it, you are strong...”
An incredibly tough challenge so many of us go through on a day to day basis; facing the world when you’re feeling so low is a struggle. Some days are better than others. There are times where conversations flow, others where even hello hurts. Yet you always wear a brave face.
Positive mental health. More like impossible mental health... At least that’s what Rachel aka “Glowing Girlies” thought.
“Being in a bad situation obviously isn’t nice but some great things can come out of it.
I couldn’t imagine if it had never happened to me, I don’t think I’d be where I am today,” Rachel explained as she walked through her journey with mental health.
Now 27 years old, happily married with a loving family and the owner of “Glowing Girlies,” a growing business and online following, six to eight years ago, Rachel could only have dreamed of such luck.
“That was where it all started. I was struggling and wanting to get out of a relationship after being put down for so long and made feel worthless.”
Living with what is known as situational depression, Rachel’s surroundings led to a very challenging time in her life.
“I Felt things had to change when I wanted to die,” she said openly.
A girl who had never been depressed before, she knew something was not right.
Like many, Rachel was afraid to open up. To this day she still feels as though talking about her struggles can be a hindrance on the people she shares them with.
“I had no intention on talking, in my mind I kept my problems to myself, there was no point burdening anyone else, which I know a lot with depression feel.”
It wasn’t until she was given the push she needed that Rachel opened up and let everything out.
“All it takes is for you to open up to one person and it changes everything,” a message she regularly tells her growing fan base on social media.
Often speaking about mental health to her followers, Rachel could not stress enough the importance of honesty, “I get so many messages and I always try to tell people to speak up, be it in school, to parents, friends or even myself.”
It can be much easier to tell your story to a phone than to sit down one on one with someone which is why Rachel has become an advocate for positive mental health to her online community.
“If I was watching someone before and I really liked what they did and they were willing to listen, I would have been the first to jump and message them. Talking to someone anonymously is so much easier, knowing they know nothing about you makes it easier to open up.”
Having never shared her story before, Rachel explained how the situation she was in became very volatile, involving violence, “I always had to be very careful online for my own sake. I’d love to be able to speak up and say what happened to me but I have to guard myself.”
She feels lucky to have come through such a difficult stage in her life to be where she is today.
“I have an amazing relationship I thought I’d never have. We only started the business two years ago and already have a great online following. To have a big store and to be doing as well as we are, I never could have imagined.”
Pressing home the importance of having a shoulder to cry on, Rachel is grateful to have someone who can look at her and know she is not ok, “it really helps.”
She does however, still witness the mental health stigma in her everyday life.
“I feel a lot of my friends would speak to me saying they find it really hard to find someone to listen and open up to,” she said sadly.
“I’ve been through it but before I was in that situation, if people had come to me, I would have been the first to say you’re fine.”
“You’re taught from a very young age that it’s normal to be Irish and get over it,” she added.
Awareness is key for Rachel, she tries to familiarize people with recognizing when someone is in need, something she strongly believes should be taught from a young age.
“They teach you about the signs of a heart attack but nobody seems to know the signs when somebody is down or depressed.”
She emphasized that it’s not out of ignorance or rudeness, it’s just how Irish people are raised which needs to change.
“From a very young age, kids can be taught anything. If they were taught to open up, it would carry on throughout their life. All it takes is one hour a day letting kids talk to each other or fill out a form anonymously.”
Despite everything, Rachel is a firm believer that her previous struggles are the reason she is so happy in life today.
“When you feel so low and manage to pick yourself back up, you have no more fear,” she said proudly.
“Everyone said you must be scared but having been in such a fearful place before, opening a business is nothing compared to that. I feel like I can do anything, I feel so open to everything.”
By choice, Rachel will never allow herself have anyone make her feel the way she did again.
Her final message, “if there is someone or something making you feel bad, you are the only one who can change it. In my case it was very scary to leave but I promise you, it will get better.”
Katie x
