She is all of us

Sometimes, the strongest girl is also the most insecure.

See, she has high standards.

She won’t settle for disrespectful or toxic relationships.

She won’t let anyone that brings her down remain in her life.

But she isn’t a hypocrite.She holds herself to those same standards.

No matter how much she accomplishes in life,

no matter how much love she gives, she wants to do more.

To be more. Because she knows she’s capable of more.

She’s insecure, because she believes in her potential

and she knows that she hasn’t reached it yet.

No one sees how terrified she is.

No one notices that she’s struggling to stay strong,

no one notices that she’s trying to keep it all together

and become a better person.

She looks like she has it all figured out,

so friends don’t think she needs any reminders of how beautiful and talented she is.

They stay quiet when she’s secretly screaming for their encouragement.

When she needs someone to tell her she’s been doing her best

and that her best is good enough.

She may seem like a superhero, but she’s still human.

She still needs support.

And those friends are part of the reason why she’s so insecure.

She’s selective about who she keeps close,

so if you’re in her life, you matter.

She feels like you deserve the best,

so she wants to give you everything.

As much happiness as she can.

But that’s impossible to do.

She can’t control the lives of others — but she tries.

She tries to make everything okay,

she tries to make everyone happy.

And it drains her. Taking care of herself is hard enough —

add that to trying to take care of everyone else —

and it’s a wonder how she survives. But she does.

She finds enough energy to make it through her days with a smile.

Because she isn’t the type to give up.

She’s a fixer. She’s a giver. She’s an achiever.

Even though her insecurities might slow her down, they never stop her.

She ignores the nagging voices in her head that tell her she’s too stupid or too ugly or too inexperienced.

She does what she sets out to do — even when she’s not sure if she can succeed.

She is the girl who will never stop trying.

You are beautiful ??

No, maybe you are not. Maybe there is just something so ugly about you that everyone around you is enjoying the company of others while you drown alone in a sea of black.

Frozen

When loneliness covers your heart

Like frost, it stays

You feel it less when days are warm

But it’s there

And then days get colder without a warning

And the loneliness that covers your heart thickens, hardens

It makes its presence known

Little by little, it makes its way through your heart

Until even the inside is cold,

And frozen

And days are never warm enough again

When Darkness Gains The Upper Hand

Kind of summertime sadness

It’s always easier to hit back harder, cut deeper, rather than put in the sometimes extraordinary effort to understand and empathize with why someone reacts the way they do. More often than not, the real reason is they’re hurt. They’re hurt to their core and possibly even reached a point of complete exasperation where retaliation seems like the only thing left they haven’t tried to express just how hurt they are.

Cut deep and draw blood. When words are no longer enough, when they’re the enemy instead of the band aid to help heal the wounds, when the walls that have been put in front of you have become terrifyingly high to climb, nobody can see the hurt. Nobody wants to. So you lash out and you kick and scream, and you hit where you know it hurts the most (even when they say it doesn’t hurt in the very least). Deep down you know it’s not the way to do things, not the solution you wanted for even a split second. But you’re so left without options, that you do it anyway. You hit back hard and with a precise target.

Because maybe then they’ll see you. Really see you. Maybe then they’ll hear what you’re saying and understand what you’re truly going through. Maybe they’ll even come to you and comfort you. You could even dare to imagine they might want to shield you from any hurt from now on and not allow anyone to cut into your soul ever again.

We hurt each other with such ease and refuse to admit it when we do get hurt. But then we strike back even worse. We stifle our words and shut down instead of reaching out and speaking out. Call me a naive idealist, call me a fool and call me a damned idiot, but I’m convinced that if we peel off the layers of hurt and resentment, the emotional and psychological baggage we’re lugging behind us, for years and even decades, what we all want – each and every one of us – is to be really seen, cared for, appreciated. And loved.

No, the idealist hasn’t died or given up.

Anxiety

Anxiety is a mental disorder, that affects many people in their everyday life. Although anxiety is one of the more ‘common’ mental disorders, it is often misunderstood and therefore wrongly diagnosed. Many people diagnose them self with anxiety without fully understanding the disorder. One thing that I really hope to get across to you in this blog, is the fact that just because you are apprehensive about a certain event it doesn’t necessarily mean you have anxiety. We all get nervous about taking exams, going in for surgery and talking to your crush. Just because we have a few butterflies in our stomachs, it doesn’t always mean we have a serious mental disorder. One of the key things with anxiety and other mental disorders is the fact that they are constant and do not go away. However they may be triggered by a certain event that makes the anxiety worse. Anxiety is hard to diagnose and spot, because feeling anxious every now and then is perfectly normal and healthy. If you are not sure about whether you have anxiety, then I suggest going into the doctors and talking it through. No self diagnose quiz on the internet will do, you have to see a professional.

The symptoms of anxiety are wide and differ between person to person. I wasn’t sure whether to put the symptoms up or not, as I didn’t want to scare anyone or make them worry about whether they have anxiety or not. I just want to say that even if you have a few of these symptoms it does not always indicate that you have anxiety.

Physical sickness (nausea) Tensing muscles for no reason Migraines and headaches Feeling numb Dizziness Faster breathing Shortness of breath Hot flushes/ over sweating Increased heart rate Increased blood pressure Insomnia Bladder problems Churning feeling in stomach Panic attacks

Continuously nervous Feeling of dread Uncontrollable fear Feeling isolated from reality Belief that people are judging you Over thinking situations Analysing and repeating events in your mind Lack of concentration Trembling hands On edge all the time Tired for no reason Stomach ache Dry mouth

Many people ask ‘How does anxiety affect your life?’ Once again people are affected in different ways, not just short term but long term as well. Anxiety never really goes away it is always there waiting for you.  As a result there are long-term problems caused by anxiety these can include insomnia. I listed insomnia in the symptoms, but I wanted to explain it properly. Insomnia is when you have trouble sleeping, whether it’s falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up. Insomnia is a condition on its own, but can often accompany anxiety. Poor sleep can lead to other problems like fatigue, relationship problems and much more. Not only this anxiety is often accompanied with depression. It’s a myth that you can not have both anxiety and depression. The two actually go hand in hand, if you feel continuously nervous you may shut yourself off from the world…leading to depression. Anxiety itself can cause people to turn to drugs and alcohol in order to try to find ‘relief’ from the condition. So a misuse of alcohol and drugs could be a sign of anxiety. Anxiety is also known to affect people’s sex drive, causing relationship problems. It can also lower our immune system, which means we are more susceptible to disease and illness.

Although we can never be entirely sure what causes anxiety, we are not completely clueless. There have been many studies into anxiety and the cause of it. One cause of anxiety is previous bad experiences. For example perhaps you have been bullied in your life or grew up with abusive parents, this may be a trigger for anxiety and stress. Our general life problems and styles could be a cause for anxiety. For example if you are a student you may have long hours of revision, stress and feel overwhelmed with the amount of deadlines you have to meet. This could in fact cause you to have anxiety, if this is the case you will need to speak with your teachers/professors. Things like drugs and alcohol also play a role in triggering anxiety. This sounds really serious and life threatening, but an imbalance of the chemicals in your brain could be causing anxiety. This leads to certain areas of the brain being more active than others, leading to a feeling of anxiety. Other medical conditions can trigger anxiety, for example those suffering with long-term physical health problems might get anxiety.  Of course genetics does have a role in anxiety. They say that if a relative of yours has anxiety then you are more likely to have it. However just because none of your family has the condition it doesn’t mean that you don’t to.

It is a process

When your heart is shattered into a million pieces it doesn’t take a moment to patch it up and be sent on your way. It takes a process. A long, tiring, hurtful, journey to piece back those broken pieces that were once what made you, you. As you begin this process of trying to figure out what piece goes where, you begin to strategize. You will have to make changes, changes you might not like.

You take a good look at a diagram of your old heart. You thought that’s how it was supposed to be, supposed to look. But as you begin to piece little bits together you realize that old diagram is out the window. You decide creating something new is the best option. This time you will be including chains and barbed wire. Dungeons where not even YOU are allowed to enter. You strategically stuff hurts and brokenness into places where you won’t be able to find so you won’t have to confront them.

It’s the days like these that’ll erode you away

as the inside of your body starts to decay.

The feelings of pain

of sorrow and doubt

leave you feeling empty

and without a way out.

 

Tranquil cries

When you raise that pen,
you mount your podium

And as you write,
you create your audience

They are struck with awe
at the fluidity of your words
as every daring word
spews onto your paper!

They are captivated with
every emotion you evoke

They read in awe;
they call it art!

But they do not know
that what they award
are the hymns
of your broken heart

That pen you wield
like an armour, like a shield
or like a sword
Not
to fight with or to defend
but to protect you in the end

With it you paint the image
they see but choose to ignore;
things they know but
cannot admit

Your pen; your loudest voice

You write with rich black ink
the colour of old wounds
and when it runs dry
you refill with tears and blood

Your pain you try to capture
every emotion hidden in a word

Your hands move tirelessly
across that paper
wishing you could someday
paint the pictures
your words dare to describe

Until the day you die;
Until time passes by
please continue to try
‘til they hear
your tranquil cry

Reminiscing

There’s a far off twinkle

Filling your eyes.

As you talk of time long gone,

And people in your past.

This is what I’ve been waiting for,

And I linger here

Listening closely

And snuggling in.

Through your words and eyes,

We traverse a lost world,

And I’m there with you.

Cheers

For the days you can’t find your own voice, it is okay to borrow someone else’s words.

Here’s to all the love you gave and deserved but never got in return. Here’s to not letting those people empty you. Here’s to all the forgiveness you gave but never got.

Here’s to the sufferings, here’s to the pain, which made you stronger and kinder. Here’s to all the people that are holding onto somebody who is already gone, who are leaning over the balcony and hoping they will fly, who wake up with tired sighs and eyes, who are surrounded by friends they no longer know, who sit in their worn-out chairs and wait for change to come and take them away from that place.

Here’s to you, who is irreplaceable, unforgettable, important, and good enough. Yes, you. Please don’t forget that or let somebody convince you that you aren’t any of the above. You deserve a standing ovation for being alive and for being you, whoever you are, whoever you’ve been, whatever you’ve done or never found the courage to do, for getting through whatever people did to you, for everything. Here’s to you, darling. I hope you know how awesome you are and how much more awesome you can be.”