Happy Sunday! This last week has been all about mental health awareness – a week-long promotion of all things mental health in its many different shapes and sizes, which I believe is so bloody important. I haven’t spoken online clearly about my mental health before, but it’s something I’ve spent years tackling and now feel in a position to discuss.
Mental health has affected some of my closest loved ones, and I’ve struggled in my own way with anxiousness/anxiety since 2016. It’s been a journey (you can say that again) and from intrusive thoughts, to physical symptoms of anxiety, I’ve had to learn to tackle lots of different feelings. I wanted to do my bit to be honest this week, so I’ve posted an IGTV going into more detail about my experience, so if you want to find out more, please have a watch on my profile.
This last week, I started a week-long campaign on my Instagram as part of my #heyboo blog series. ‘Hey, Boo’ was the main reason I relaunched my blog back in January. I wanted to create an online space where we speak frankly about taboos that STILL exist in society and OPEN UP without judgement to break them the feck down. Calling out society’s bullsh*t. Making us feel welcomed, supported and included. There are so many reasons why mental health is still considered as a taboo in society, and there are a million more reasons why it being a taboo is ridiculous. It needs to be normalised. We all have a mental health. And it’s normal to struggle mentally. We can get through this, together.
And that is the exact message some lovely, lovely people wanted to spread when they got involved in my #heyboo campaign this week. To spread awareness of mental health, open a frank and honest conversation and share their messages of support for all of you.
So, without further ado, here’s exactly what went down this week – I hope it brings you some much-needed positivity and normalises the mental health convo.
I posted prompts on my stories and you responded beautifully. All can now be watched on my Instagram highlight, Hey Boo, and I’ll leave the gals who shared their stories so honestly below, so you can check them out and read all about their mental health journeys.
Katrina
Katrina is a gem of a human. She was a guest for Episode 1 of The C Word podcast, she’s a midwife, student, lifestyle blogger and proud Brummie. I miss seeing her so much and I am so grateful she opened up honestly about how she was feeling this week, even when her emotions were difficult ones. Because she’s helped break down Instagram’s filtered highlight reel and she’s been REAL – that elusive thing we all struggle with being. It’s important we learn to see our online spaces as honest representations of ourselves, rather than a glossy highlight.
Ellie-Louise
Ellie is all about self-love, body positivity and being TRUE to yourself and your emotions. She has such a wonderful way with words and at summing up societal thoughts right now, such as the pressure we’ve been feeling to do lockdown ‘right’. She was there this week with reminder after reminder to be kind to yourself, and had such wonderful messages to spread.
Sarah Lauren
Sarah Lauren is a lifestyle, fashion and travel blogger who’s a little bit of a queen of the Instagram vs. reality posts that are going around, promoting the distinction from the virtual and real life, something which I believe is so important right now – more than ever. She’s 100% real online and she’s just a beauty of a human. She shared so honestly her experiences all week – you can read more on my Instagram highlight.
Lisa
Brave and strong are two words that don’t even cut it with Lisa. She’s so much more than brave and strong, she’s bloody incredible and after hearing everything she’s been through and come out the other side of, you can’t help but be in awe of her. She’s got a lovely space online and she’s 100% worth a follow. Have a read on my Instagram highlights about her personal journey with mental health – it might give some comfort to those of us still processing trauma and grief.
Lauren
Lauren shared with absolute honesty, positivity yet reality (so so important) all about her experiences this week. She oozes relatability and is 100% passionate about self-care, which I love. Please check her out and send her some love!
Chloe
Ah, my dear Chloe. She’s the gal who features on Episode 4 of The C Word podcast, and she brings so much light, laughter and positive vibes with her. She took part every day this week in the Hey Boo prompts, and brought some unique tips, unbridled positivity and advice along. You really need to give her a follow, because she brightens ya day.
Britt
Britt is one of my closest pals. She’s one of the loveliest humans I know, she is always there for you and a chat with Britt always makes your day better. She shared this week how her mood has been, what she’s grateful for and told people to reach out and chat when things get overwhelming. Thank you for taking part xxx
Ella
Ella is another powerhouse of a woman. She has been through a lot of challenging times, and she’s standing today strong, positive and is there to inspire others. I am in awe of this girl and I am so proud of her. You can read her story on my Instagram highlights.
@lifewithla_
@lifewithla_ is a beauty of a human, and she’s another big advocate of self-care. She’s good at grounding herself, finding ways to keep herself positive and to distract her brain throughout lockdown. She had some wonderful tips that I think would benefit all of us to have a read of.
Im
Im is a babe. An utter babe. She spoke so honestly this week about how she’s feeling, and she knew to avoid taking part one day when she was feeling off. I am so glad to have found such an honest community online who actively seek out social media as a place of truth, instead of the filtered lie it used to be used for.
Sorcha
Sorcha is another hugely inspiring lady. She’s openly spoken about her mental health journey before, so I was so grateful to see her open up again this week. Mental health awareness is so important to her, and you can see that. It radiates through her and is a major driving force for her dream career in journalism, and I’m excited to see someone so compassionate and understanding joining the industry and making a real change.
Jade
Jade is an upcoming guest on the next episode of The C Word podcast – and I am so glad to have her on board! She’s a successful lifestyle blogger, who is so passionate about awareness of taboo subjects such as mental health and chronic illness. Her account is 100% worth a follow, because she’s changing the game when it comes to inclusive style, honest chats and positivity.
Jessica
Jessica stumbled across my #heyboo campaign this week, and I am so glad I’ve got to know her. She speaks so openly about her mental health journey, and it’s refreshing to see. Keep up the good work, Jessie!
Emmie
Emmie also stumbled across my blog through this campaign, and she has such a beautiful, calming account – I love it. She opened up and shared a frank account of how she’s feeling this week – thank you, Emmie.
Zoe
Zoe is one of my oldest pals, and I am so glad she wanted to take part this week. She shared some beautiful things she has to be grateful for, some things that we often take for granted, and I am so glad people are appreciating the simple yet fundamental things now. It means a lot.
Kate
Kate is a BABE and she was in Episode 3 of The C Word podcast, sharing with absolute honesty her experience with chronic illness. Chronic illness, much like mental illness, doesn’t get the awareness it deserves and is STILL considered as taboo by many. Kate does brilliant work to raise awareness of these taboos to break them down, and she is 1000% worth a follow.
Chloe
Chloe is a fellow Brummie and she has changed the game for body positive content on Instagram. Her style is impeccable, she promotes being comfortable in your own skin and she inspires me everyday with her content. You need to give her a follow – she posted a beautiful message to her followers – and she’s always a DM away if you want to chat.
And to end, if you want to continue the honest chat about mental health:
Please get in touch. I’ve put my brave face on and I’ve posted on my feed honestly and openly about my experience of anxiety over the last few years, and how to cope with anxiousness in a pandemic. My DMs are always open, and I’d love to continue this conversation – so if you have any collabs you’d want to work on with me to promote mental health awareness more, I’d love to hear your ideas. Let’s be open about our mental health – let’s normalise it further – and let’s support each other.
I hope this content gave you a smile and much-needed support this week. If you want to read more or catch back up on the stories, check out my Hey Boo highlight on my Instagram profile. Keep being honest about your mental health, keep promoting the conversation and things will get better together, I promise.
