Post by Jasmine R.

This #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek I'm going to make a confession.... I have cried every single day for the past month (a new personal record!) A month ago today, I lost my darling doggy daughter Lola, and since then I've been navigating grief and anxiety in a way I never expected. If you know me, you'll know I'm the bubbly, chatty and extroverted person in a room, so admitting this doesn't come naturally to me. For a while I kept up appearances, smiling when I didn't feel like it or avoiding people so I didn't have to, and telling everyone I was ok when I really wasn't. And honestly? It was more exhausting than the grief itself. The more I pushed my feelings down, the heavier they got. So I started talking. About Lola, about the moments I'll treasure forever, and about how I'm actually feeling. I've held back tears in some conversations and let them fall freely in others. Both are okay. 💝 What I want anyone reading this to remember is: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE OKAY! You don't owe anyone a brave face but you owe yourself to be patient with yourself and how you are feeling. Please just try talking to someone, a friend, a family member, a colleague, a professional, whoever feels right. Not because talking fixes everything, but because keeping it all inside never does. 💛 "You don't have to be positive all the time. It's perfectly okay to feel sad, angry, annoyed, frustrated, scared or anxious. Having feelings doesn't make you a negative person. It makes you human." - Lori Deschene #MentalHealth #ItsOkNotToBeOk