There’s always blue sky above the clouds

Walking my youngest son to school this week, he was talking about his conscious and unconscious mind (he’s eleven and it's not something we usually discuss) it made me realise how lucky we are as a society talking more openly about mental health. When I was growing up it wasn’t discussed or acknowledged.

It’s the end of Mental Health Awareness Week today, however every day is mental health awareness, as it’s self awareness - but it did get me thinking what do I do to check in with my mental health and what do others do? Are there any new tips I can learn and what can I share that may help others?

So I dug out this artwork.

I found this image online when I was going through a divorce (unfortunately I don’t know the artist to credit them). It was a hideous time that seemed endless and on many occasions I thought it would swallow me up.

But something in this image would hold a little light within.

I needed loads of extra support to help me through those dark days and it included confiding in a trusted family member and friend, speaking to my GP, self referring for counselling (through the IAPT here in the UK) and having Reiki treatments. This support saved me.

We all have setbacks and if this image gives you a drop of hope, then it’s worth it.

What do you do to look after your mental health? I would love to hear.

You can’t always control what happens in your life but you can control how you think, feel and respond. You hold the power to transform how you feel about your past and your future, by working on yourself here in the present.

There’s always blue sky above the clouds, sometimes we just need to find ways to work with the clouds in our life, so that we can see it.