That was the backdrop to my early morning workout. So much better that grey, damp , gnarly mist.

At the end of the workout I was finishing off with 10 minutes tai chi when a couple of thoughts crossed my mind. Apart from ITS FREEZING and why on earth did I come outside in cycle shorts.

I thought about clearly looking like a complete Wally and also what my family would think if they could see me now. One of my sisters would be cool with it as she does yoga. The others not so sure. My brother would definitely mutter something involving the word ‘hippy’. My parents would have talked about the world clearly going completely mad. Their idea of a mindfulness workout would have just about stretched to putting on the kettle for a cup of Yorkshire Tea. It’s a Yorkshire thing. We have a saying here

If the country raises the threat level to national panic, Yorkshire would raise the threat level to ‘ put a mug of tea on’.

I guess we all have to find whatever works for us.

But that’s the thing. I’m not sure my parents ever really did. Too many people don’t. We still don’t talk about mental health enough. That has to change.

So tomorrow I will be outside and trying to master Tai Chi. I might look like a Wally but that’s fine with me. Trying to deal with mental health issues is so worth it.

65 thoughts on “Worth it”

    1. My family never discussed my mother’s debilitating chronic pain and related depression. Nor that treatment literally made her crazy and caused hallucinations. I was in my late 20s before being mis-diagnosed as bipolar then correctly diagnosed with depression and anxiety. I realized I had severe depression in my teens but my non-talking family ignored it as teenage angst.

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      1. My mother went to bed, when I was 9 with a nervous breakdown, and stayed there for 2 years. I went to school, shopped, closed and cooked for my Dad and 16 year old brother. In later years she was in a mental hospital, where she tried to commit suicide. I have had anxiety and panic attacks all my life.

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      2. I’m so sorry!

        I never tried suicide but lost will to live and welcomed death. After getting on meds, I had 2 really weird experiences where I disappeared from events and started walking to nowhere in particular. Part of my brain kept telling me to stop and call for help, but that wasn’t the part that had control of me. I’m extremely lucky both events turned out okay (the “stop & call” brain took control after an hour or so). Really scary to feel I had no control over myself!

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  11. “But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
    “Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
    “How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
    “You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”

    Life would be so much easier if we’d just admit and accept mental illness/disorders as normal parts of life instead of something to be feared or shunned.

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  12. Finding ways to manage my mental health is a daily commitment. On Saturday I did 3 yoga practices, all with a different focus, because I needed to. The first step, I think is recognising when you need to take care x

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  18. Nothing wrong with looking like a Wally if you are doing something that is of personal benefit. And yes, people need to be able to talk far more openly about mental health. There is NO SHAME in it!!

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  20. Absolutely a vital and worthwhile pursuit if we are to have any sense of peace in this world… wait, did I just sound like a hippie? 😉 Hugs to you 💕

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