Mental Health

I went to an interesting seminar at work today. It was all about stress in the workplace and mental health. We were taught how identify warning signs of stress, how to avoid it, how to manage it and how recover from it. It was a very well done seminar and we got some great tips. The funny part was that over half of the "stress triggers" in a workplace pretty much sum up my office. LOL. Tell me something that I didn't already know.

Sitting there, listening to the instructor talk about mental health, giving stats about how many people experience mental health issues, how many people don't bother to seek help, the negative stigmas attached to it....it made me realize just how far I've come.

I remember the darkness, the crippling feels of worthlessness. Feeling that I couldn't function. I remember one very specific day in early 2009. I was still in Calgary. I sat on the floor in my living room and I just started to cry. And cried and cried and cried. I didn't think I was ever going to stop. I was beyond sad. I was beyond depressed. I was miserable. Absolutely miserable. I never, ever want to feel that way again.

And thus far, I never have. And I'm pretty certain that I never will again. Why? I've got the tools, the support  system and the wisdom to prevent it from ever getting that bad again. Bad months turned into bad weeks and bad weeks turned into bad days. And 1 bad day is easier to deal with than a whole week of bad days. The really nice part is that those bad days have been further and further apart too. My next goal is to stop worrying about when they'll come back. I'm working on it and am slowly getting better :)

I find more things to smile about everyday. I find more things to be thankful for everyday. I find more things to be happy about everyday. I like me more and more everyday. And that might be the most important thing of all.

Good Night!

Sarah