RESILIENCE
Issue 012
"Resilience is knowing that you are the only one that has the power and the responsibility to pick yourself up." ~ Mary Holloway
EDITORIAL
Sometimes life is hard, okay?
We are bombarded with positivity—we’re told to be preoccupied with perpetual happiness and optimism. We need to get up and seize the day and when we’re firing on all cylinders, that’s not a problem! When your mental health is suffering, it’s frankly extraordinary to get anything done at all. And yet, we do.
We force ourselves out of bed, we make ourselves face the day. It’s hard and it’s painful and getting through the simplest thing is exhausting—but we try. And that’s what we’re applauding here.
Resilience.
Resilience is the ability to keep going. It’s not about bottling it all up inside and putting on a brave face; it’s processing and dealing with your emotions and adapting in the face of adversity. Being resilient doesn’t mean you don’t feel anything when bad things happen. Emotional pain and sadness are common experiences and the people fighting to make it through every day are perhaps the most resilient of all.
Sometimes keeping going seems like the hardest thing imaginable, but in this edition, we’re highlighting the resilience shown by people of all walks of life. We’re proving that resilience is not extraordinary—it’s ordinary.
You’ll notice a botanical theme running through this edition. That’s because flowers and plants have long been symbols for human emotions and experiences: after all, ‘the flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.’
To our contributors, thank you. To our readers, enjoy. ■
JADE STERLING
Features
MOURNING THE PERSON YOU WERE BEFORE DEPRESSION
When depression enters our lives, we feel as though we’ve become a shell of the person we used to be.
Reposted with kind permission from the Blurt Foundation, the social enterprise dedicated to helping those affected by depression.
DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY: THE ECO-ANXIETY EDITION
We live in the most prosperous and peaceful time in human history—sure doesn’t feel like that!—but doesn’t anyone else think we’re barrelling towards a future of change and turbulence unlike anything we’ve ever experienced?
DEPRESSION: AN UPDATE
by Jade Sterling
The unedited, sprawling, rambling, roundabout truth about my thoughts and feelings. Or, if you prefer: welcome to my brain.
Want to write for us?
If you’ve got a story, we want to hear it!
WHAT PRETERM BIRTH TAUGHT ME ABOUT MYSELF
by Mandy Daly
Preterm birth arrived uninvited into my life and forced me to dig deep, sub-consciously or otherwise, to locate an inner strength that would serve to underpin our journey to date.
REFUGE IN RESILIENCE
There’s a Kurdish saying: “I have crossed so many rivers, I no longer get wet.” Refugees have shown a remarkable degree of both resistance and resilience to mental health difficulties from their experiences. A new study aims to explore this resilience and help others in similar situations.
YOU DON’T NEED KINTSUGI: YOU’RE NOT BROKEN
A ramble about brokenness
coming soon
Issue 013 - Grit
BLOOMIN’ LOVELy
Is a home bursting with houseplants good for your mental health?
MENTAL MONEY
When mental health suffers, spending tends to go up while income comes down, and our ability to cope compounds this.
HOW YOUR SMARTPHONE CAN SPOT DEPRESSION
Researchers at Khalifa University have developed an unobtrusive way of monitoring mental health, using a smartphone application called TypeOfMood, to effectively spot the early onset of depression.
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