Talking about, and taking action for Mental Health is something close to my heart. I believe in conversations that are honest and authentic, and that don’t shy away from the uglies of life. It’s not all doom and gloom though. I believe we are more powerful than we believe and that glimmers are everywhere. We just need to be tuned in to spot and celebrate them.
In relation to my own journey of wellbeing, there are two key events that interupted by status quo. And although at the time they were hellish, the learning and growth that I experienced was unparalleled. Firstly, I experienced a mental breakdown in 2022 following a PTSD triggering. This resulted in me being off work for three months. During that time, I started to think about the sort of resources that I needed to best support my recovery. As a result, I created a journal resource with plenty helpful tips, tools, and tricks! Read on to find out more…
Catch Your Breath
A Mental Health Journal Resource
Grounded in personal experience, research and psychological theories, I created a mental health journal toolkit as a response to ‘What do I feel I need, and what would be helpful to me?’ Structured across twelve weeks, each day explores and tracks,
- thoughts, feelings and emotions
- challenges encountered each day
- how to learn and respond to those challenges
- achievements – great and small
- the good things you do for yourself each day, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
At the end of each week there is also space to reflect on the week as a whole. In addition to this, at the end of every four weeks there are resources, information and actionable content, grounded in research, to support you in your recovery.
These pages are designed to help ground you back into a healthier mental state, equip you with resources to use in the future, and support you on your wellbeing journey.
I find myself on a continual journey of self-discovery and learning which in December of 2024 led me to an Autism Diagnosis. The second key event of my life. What then occurred in January of 2025 was the beginning of Autistic Burnout; a complete shut down. This rendered me unable to function, let alone work. However, I’m now in a place where I’m over the worst of it, and using it as an opportunity to learn and reflect.
As I get back into pondering, there will be new posts coming that explore and share experiences of being autistic, and what that looks like for me, with the acknowledgement (as with all ponders) that everyone is different, and what resonates for me, will not for everyone else.
As Glenn Close famously said, “What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” And that is what you’ll find here.
SmartPonders 