This month has been another busy one here at Casa Cambule which has centred around World Mental Health Day on 10th October. The theme this year was young people and mental health in a changing world. My contribution was giving a talk for the Time to Change Wales campaign to a group of young adults and, as always, I found the experience extremely rewarding. Feedback is always nice but sometimes it isn’t what is said by the audience but what is felt. I certainly sensed that some of my words resonated with those young people and hopefully, at least one of them took away a key message that will help them to deal with their own mental health challenges.
For me personally, the last couple of months have been a struggle with my own mental health. It’s not something I say a lot about on social media as I believe it is a personal choice for everyone to decide what they want to reveal. I really admire those brave people I see on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram who openly talk about their struggles in intimate details. I know it not only helps them but talking about it can help so many others. In particular, there are some amazing bloggers in Wales who inspire so many of us to continue fighting the good fight. This includes my cousin who does a great blog on mental health and parenting, check it out if it is of interest to you…
Mental health in the workplace is still a big issue and something that has received a lot of attention in the press and wider society. For me, work has been challenging recently and I have been lucky to have some good peers and colleagues to support me during challenging times. The camaraderie of the workforce can be a fantastic weapon during the war on stress and anxiety in the workplace and many of the people I work with have shown empathy and compassion to me, something which I hope I have reciprocated in kind wherever I could.
One of the biggest sources of relief from the trials of everyday life has been the new additions to our little family; Casa Cambule has become a cat sanctuary and little Merry and Pippin are settling in nicely to their new forever home. Pets can be tremendous sources of support as you establish an emotional connection with a creature that wants to love you and needs you. Mrs C has found their company particularly reassuring as she has continued her recovery from her recent operation.
The year is flying by and thoughts are turning toward Christmas. These can be difficult times for many people and I am often caught overthinking (the habit of an INFJ, in case you were wondering) about the stories of other people at this time. People who missed their departed loved ones, people who are estranged from their families, people who have fallen on hard times.
Everyone has a story.
In a world where the competition seems to be continuously driven by how much money we spend for one day of celebration, we sometimes forget to celebrate the good things we have in life no matter how small. And when New Year arrives, we are often looking to ways things could be better in the 12 months ahead rather than being grateful for the good things that came in the previous 12 months. I intend to use this festive period to reflect in a more positive light than I have before. Yes, 2018 has had lots of ‘good’ and a lots of ‘bad’ but I don’t want 2019 to start off with negativity.
We need to get Halloween out of the way first…