A Shine A Day!

It's not a fact I hide that recently I have been ill with stress and anxiety and it's something I know many people also suffer from. As well as depression they are the most common mental health problems to affect anyone and they are all usually linked in some manner. I work in mental health services so the irony is not lost on me that now I am receiving mental health services but seeing this different perspective has given me a whole new view on things. Now Cognitive Behaviour Therapy isn't something I read about in theories; it's some I do as an individual, as a human being.

One of the greatest things my doctor said to me was "do something every day which gives you enjoyment". Now I'm a vintage girly and I'd like to phrase that in my own little way - do something which makes you shine.

You know that feeling you get inside when you're laughing really hard with friends, or when you've made something you're proud of, when you've had a little pamper, or just had a little time on your own to relax? I would say that feeling is shining, like Yvaine does in Stardust, a little glow from the inside out. These things do not have to be particularly extravagant or expensive and so in my own little vintage-y way over the next few weeks I'd like to do some posts with ideas for things to make you shine. These are by no means a treatment for clinical depression or any other mental illness but are merely suggestions to help people no matter what their situation may be. If you do feel as though you are suffering from a mental illness, and believe me you're not alone, then please go to see your doctor.