Fight For It!

A couple of months ago I wrote a blog about how I got my period back. I still smile about how ridiculously happy I was that I finally got my period back after all the years I neglected my health to serve a deadly disease.

I was stoked because that meant my body was getting healthy again. I was delighted that I did it naturally. I was thankful that it meant my body will now be receiving more nutrients out of my foods like calcium. But to be honest with you, I was probably more excited about the fact that I wouldn’t have to put on any more weight. I was at the minimum of a healthy weight range for MY body.

My partner would argue with me saying that I still had two more kg’s to put on for the sake of if I were to lose weight due to illness.

I knew what he was saying was correct as many health professionals have said it before and also just out of common sense but I felt I had reached this huge step and I didn’t want anything to rain on my parade just yet.

The next day I got servery sick. Yep, totally blame everyone who argued with me.
I got a horrible stomach bug that lead to gastro. I was literally forcing down cracker and vegemite and any foods I could stomach so I wouldn’t lose weight. I know that when I become underweight my inner demon (ED) becomes stronger so I was determined to not give in.

Anyways, regardless of my efforts I lost the weight I put on.
I had to work hard to gain it back but it took a solid 2 months.

So I started a battle with myself to gain the extra two kg’s. I fought for my health, my happiness and myself worth.

Everyone has the right to be healthy and happy. Every single person is worthy of love and acceptance.
Read that paragraph again: Everyone has the right to be healthy and happy. Every single person is worthy of love and acceptance.
For some reason I was limiting myself all of this.

I am proud to recognise now that two kg’s isn’t just weight that goes onto my thighs. Its 2 kg’s that protects me. It’s a TINY bit more of me to love and accept. It’s really not such a big freakin deal when you put your self worth first and choose to make your health your absolute number one priority.
I’m not going to lie and say that it was an easy choice to accept: to go above my minimum healthy weight for my body. For someone who has suffered from an eating disorder for most of their life that would be very rare. But it is a choice I have made. (One point for me and a kick in the ass for the ED.)

I want to really get through to you today that you have a choice in anything in life. You may not choose to become a victim of an inner demon like an eating disorder but you certainly have a choice to fight and get your health and happiness back.

Every time you look at yourself and you make a harsh comment, fight back and correct yourself by saying that you choose to see love in everything you look at.

It’s not an easy battle to fight every minute of the day but it’s certainly worth it.

“Ironing” Out The Vegan Assumptions

Hi Lovelies!

As you may have noticed, I have had a HUGE break from blogging.

Unfortunately I have had a couple of health problems and I had to put recovery as my number one priority. Therefore blogging was put on hold.

People assume that my health concerns happen to many vegans. Actually I have heard many people stop eating a vegan diet because of these health issues.

Today I want to put all of those “typical vegan” assumptions to an end and if you have come across the same health issues as me, I want to reassure you that you don’t have to change or question your vegan diet and lifestyle.

Let’s cut to the chase, after a few months of feeling dizzy, stupidly fatigued, daily headaches, nose bleeds and bruising easily than usual I was diagnosed with anaemia and very low protein levels.

A lot of people commented about my vegan lifestyle being the culprit of my health concerns and some people were really surprised considering my passion towards health and nutrition.

To be 100% honest with you, I wasn’t surprised when I was diagnosed. I knew what it was when I had all the symptoms but I just kept putting off going to the doctors because I thought I didn’t have time to go. I didn’t put my health as my number one priority.

So some say all I need to do is ditch the vegan diet. To that I say bull crap!
That’s the lazy way. That also doesn’t guarantee that I won’t become anaemic again.
When I was younger and forced to eat meat I was diagnosed anaemia. The time that I had the highest iron levels were when I first became vegan!

I became ill because I simply used my busy schedule as an excuse and also my lack of organisation skills for prepping food for the week.

Along with being busy I changed my exercise routine which also required a change in the nutrients I needed.
I began lifting heavy weights again (YAY for weights!). The past few months I have loved the feeling of getting back into weight lifting and seeing my body become stronger. Having said that, I wasn’t seeing fantastic results even though I was dedicated because I didn’t change my diet to suit my new routine. I wasn’t replacing enough of the iron that I was using from my training and I wasn’t repairing my muscles properly with the protein it needed.

So to say that all vegans are prone to being anaemic and being protein deficient would be a decent lie.
Anyone is capable of having defiencies if they don’t look at their own individual health needs that fits their body and lifestyle.

It can take around 3-4 months to fully recover from having anaemia and although I am nearly two months in, I already feel a lot better.

I hardly ever get dizzy anymore and I am seeing great results in my strength.
After months of not wanting to go on protein powders because I don’t like eating preseritives and anything that isn’t natural, I finally came across a protein powder that I am happy with.

It’s made from pea protein, coco and Stevia. THAT’S IT! It’s extremely clean with only 3 ingredients and comes with 23.3g of protein per serve!
I have been buying it from Bulk Nutrients for those interested to check it out, though be sure to see if they can post out of Australia as I am not 100% sure on that one.

As for iron, I have been loved up with spirulina and for now I am also on an iron supplement.
My health and welling is my focus before anything else these days and it feels great to have that type of respect for myself and my body.

As always I’d love to hear your feedback and also if anyone has had a similar concern.

Be kind to yourself,
Lisa xx

Why You Cant Neglect Your Inner Wellbeing

Hey lovelies!

First of all I want to shout out a huge THANK YOU to everyone who showed their support through my last post.

You have no idea how much your comments and kind words mean to me.

Lately I have been a little extremely slack on my blog posts, and today’s post will shed light as to why I haven’t been as frequent as what I would like to be.

One of the things I am currently working on is getting shit done.

Let me explain…

I am a fantastic procrastinator. When there is something that I know needs to be done but I don’t want to do it, I simply put it off.

Apart from the issue that some things never get done, the real problem is that I get so much anxiety about the tasks not getting done. I then create multiple problems within that one task which could have been rectified before any other problems could occur if I didn’t put it off in the first place!

When I’m stressed about certain tasks and issues I tend to change my focus away from it and head towards something much worse; body image.

It’s extremely common for people who suffer/suffered from an eating disorder to slip into unhealthy habits when times are tough.

Usually when you are in a stressful situation, you don’t have much control over it. By listening to ED’s voice and becoming strict with your diet makes you feel like you have at least some control within your life.

It’s important to know that it’s the eating disorder that gives you the false idea that controlling what you eat will help control other areas within your life.

For the past couple of months I have focused a lot more time and effort into my physical health, and haven’t spent enough time on my inner wellbeing.

Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely proud that I have finally reached my goal weight and got my period (you can read about it here) but I found that neglecting the inner health, there is now a build up of emotional work to catch up on so I don’t fall back into ED’s habits.

I am a huge believer that your inner wellbeing is the most important factor when it comes to over-all health. Too often people think that disease and illness come from external factors, but I truly believe that your mind is the biggest influence.

When I write on The Raw Serenity, I feel as though I am brought back to reality. I focus on how I am feeling and what is authentic to me. I tend to respect and listen to what my body is telling me and appreciate everything it has done for me. That is what The Raw Serenity it all about.

If you are a regular reader, you would be aware that at the end of last year I quite all drama in my life.

Only happy and positive people and experiences were welcome in my life. By manifesting this desire I now have a very positive network of friends that help keep negative thoughts at bay but I also find that when I need an instant hit of positivity I go straight to my Pinterest boards.

I find by just looking at my boards that I have created helps bring me back to reality and stops the negativity. I also find some pictures of animals impossible not to laugh at!

My next post is a delicious salad I recently created. It is packed full of flavours, textures and superfoods to support your mind and body.

Be kind to yourself,

Lisa

What My Period Taught Me

I’m one of those people who is a little too open and honest about personal topics. The topics that other’s would consider awkward.

So people who know me weren’t surprised when my news of getting my period (after being absent for 2 years) nearly went viral.

Now I completely understand that it’s not glamorous to talk about your menstrual cycle, I get it. But what is glamorous, is being healthy.

Getting my periods was my indicator that I was at my ideal weight .My body was absorbing all the nutrients it needed to function properly and recover from the neglect and abuse I once put it through.

I don’t agree with an exact goal weight that comes from using the BMI. Everybody is different and functions better at their own individual weight.

One of the many arguments with my doctor over the years was about getting me to my “goal” weight. Go figure! (no pun intended).

My doctor was all for the pill. In fact, every doctor I spoke with recommended the pill.

This was because when a woman doesn’t ovulate and her hormones are out of balance, calcium and other nutrients aren’t properly absorbed by the body. This then can lead to fragile, brittle bones  and one day osteoporosis.

So by going on the pill and reaching a certain weight that is based on the BMI is exactly what I was being forced to do.

I didn’t want anything to do with the pill. I didn’t want a synthetic period that hides the real issue as to why I’m not getting my own period. I was also aware that the pill takes away many other nutrients from your body and don’t even get me started on how it affects my mood.

Using the BMI as a reference often got me fixated on a certain number based on others when I should be learning to listen to my own body.

I’m glad I stood my ground and stood up for my beliefs on this one.

I have learned to trust my body and not to compare it to others. I won’t lie and say it was easy because it was painfully hard, and some days it still is but knowing that the hard work has paid off, I know now that it was worth it.

Something common among people who suffer from eating disorders is their interest in health and nutrition.

Friends and family often don’t understand this because it is completely contradicting.

Many suffers of anorexia are very knowledgeable about nutrition. Many pursue it as a career, but in the peak of their illness, the meaning of health is disordered.

Its common that suffers often started their diet with the intension to get healthier which then turned into an eating disorder.

When the results from a new diet become visible and your health and energy levels are improving it’s easy to get carried away and take it further.

Not everyone requires the same nutritional needs. This is also why I am against common weight loss diets and programs because everybody is different and requires specialised programs to suit their own unique needs.

For example, the diet and exercise program that once helped me shed a little weight, gave me more energy and helped my overall health and wellbeing became toxic when I stuck with the diet for a long period of time.

When your body weight drops below a healthy level, the fat around your brain also drops so the way you think is altered.

When all fats, including the healthy fats are completely removed from your body, you are more prone to depression. Your body won’t receive all the nutrients that it needs. Energy levels drop and before you know it your overall health is spiralling down and soon it becomes out of control.

So even when people, like myself ate extremely healthy foods during anorexia and through recovery it doesn’t mean that your “healthy” diet is healthy for you or the person next to you.

This is the one thing that took me a long time to deal with.

Through recovery I ate an amazing diet.

Friends and colleges were amazed by how many nuts, avocado’s, seeds and oils I ate every single day and said if they ate that much they would balloon.

Why anyone would say that to someone with an eating disorder is beyond me but as much as that pained me to hear those comments, my body needed those nutrients to help my brain and my body recover.

With all of those amazing healthy fats and wholesome nutrition, I put on weight but it happened extremely slowly. I didn’t balloon at all. (Though some days I felt like I did, which was all in my disordered thinking).

So now that I have reached my goal weight and on the way to being glamorously healthy, what now?

Stay tuned…

As always, I love reading your comments!

Be kind to yourself,

Lisa x

The Sweet Blogosphere

Did you know that I have never had a conversation with another vegan in person?

Well it’s true (unfortunately).

I have an incredible family and gorgeous friends, but I often feel like I am alone because we are on completely different journeys through life.

It wasn’t until I started blogging that I felt as if I was surrounded by positive people who are going through the exact same obstacles and journeys that I was going through.

This is what I love about the blogosphere; It connects you to each and every one of your soul mates.

From having no one who understands to having so many people walking in the same shoes as you feels incredible.

Maria from Little Miss Cornucopia nominated me for my first ever award! The Super Sweet Blogging Award.

It is such a great compliment and she has warmed my heart by nominating me.

So thank you Maria for your heart filled comments on my blog and also for the nomination!

Rules for the Super Sweet Blogging Award:

1. Give credit to the person who nominated you.
2. Nominate a Baker’s Dozen (13) other blogs. ( I think I’ll only be able to nominate a few)
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Answer the following 5 “Super Sweet” questions:

1. Cookies or Cake?
   I am a cake lover for sure! At the moment I’m loving my Ridiculously Healthy Banana Muffins.
2. Chocolate or vanilla?
   Chocolate because I am obsessed with Cacao. I don’t go a day without it! The health benefits of raw organic cacao are too good not to have in your diet every day.
3. What is your favourite sweet treat?
   Cacao Delights and Banana nice-cream.. I just can’t choose between the two!
4. When do you crave sweet things the most?
   The late afternoon and in the evening
5. If you had a sweet nickname what would it be?
   My nickname through high school was LuLu

Nominations for the award:

Vegan Sparkles:
This girl is a like a breath of fresh air. I love her bubbly personality and her love of delicious, healthy vegan food. Did I mention she is an awesome Aussie!

Peace, Love & Greens:
Lola is very dear to me. She’s another Aussie, wellness warrior and knows the importance of connecting with your inner self. Her comments have inspired me and kept me going. I look forward to meeting her in the near future.

This Rawsome Vegan Life:
The queen of raw foods! This chick knows her stuff when it comes to taste and she throws out the stereotype of raw vegans eating only rabbit food. She eats a huge variety of mouth watering meals. Inspiring.

A Dash Of Meg:
I love Meg’s positivity and her weekly High-Five Friday.
She encourages people to be proud of themselves and have a healthy fulfilling life.
I love her passion for health and fitness.

Celery and Cupcakes:
Jemma shares her love for health, fitness, food and fashion. One thing that really inspired me was that Jemma is always honest and overcame the guilt of not exercising for an “X” amount of time. I’m so proud of her that she has learnt to respect her body and give it more self love! Very inspiring.

I am so glad I have been able to connect with all of you and these awesome girls.

Together we can all help and inspire others to live their own authentic lives filled with health and happiness.

Be kind to yourself,

Lisa

Ridiculously Healthy Banana Bread/Muffins

Hey lovelies,

Recently I have been a little quite here on The Raw Serenity and I do apologize for that.

I have been caught up in other commitments and I will admit I have neglected my “down time” which I now know is extremely important to prioritise!

Anyways on the positive side, I have tackled some serious obstacles of mine.

I have taken on some foods that I haven’t eaten in a very long time due to listening to the lies of my eating disorder and I have been trying to remove all of the bullshit brainwashing about certain foods and diets.

The media has been telling us for years that carbs put on weight. They have made us become frightened of eating any type of carbohydrate.

Just like fat, not all carbohydrates put on weight. We need a certain amount of carbohydrates daily in order for our bodies to function correctly.

More than any diet claims there is, the claim about fruit making people put on weight irritates me the most.

That irritates me just by mentioning it, so anyways the main point is ,I am not denying my body of certain foods anymore. Instead I am listening and fueling my body with a wide variety of healthy, whole foods from every food group.

Another claim that frustrates me is that vegan food can’t be delicious and also healthy whole foods can’t taste nearly as good as the processed, refined foods.

So to argue the point, I have created ridiculously delicious and nutritious banana bread /muffins!

They have:

• No added sugar
• Fat Free
• Wholegrain
• No artificial colours or flavours
• No artificial sweeteners
• Organic

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Organic Wholegrain Spelt Flour
• 1 tsp baking Soda
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp pink Himalayan salt (or regular sea salt)
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 Almond milk (or milk of choice)
• ½ cup date syrup* ( see recipe below)
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 ½ tsp organic vanilla extract
• 2 cups over ripe mashed bananas ( roughly 5 medium bananas)
• 1 tbsp stevia

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Combine dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add wet ingredients into the bowl and mix in with a spoon or hands (don’t over mix).

Pour mixture into muffin liners or bread tin and bake for 20-25mins.

* I made my own date syrup by using two handfuls of dates into the food processer and slowly adding water until it resembled a syrup consistency

So I hate to tell you I told you so but really this recipe proves the point that healthy vegan baking is truly amazing for your health and your taste-buds.

What is one health claim that you are  often correcting for people?

Be kind to yourself,

Lisa

Mexican Taco Salad

Last month I feared eating out. In a recent post I told you how a previous dining experience became a stressful event. I can now proudly tell you that the fear of dining out is gone!

I am not apologetic for being vegan, asking for dressing on the side or making some adjustments to a dish.

I now dine out regularly which is a huge step. A bigger step is that I haven’t been getting stressed out about it (miracles do happen peeps!).

Eating vegan when dining out isn’t all that hard as most places at least have a garden salad you can order if nothing else. However I have recently had an unpleasant experience at an Italian restaurant when I asked if the risotto was vegan.

I firstly had to explain what a vegan was (she must live under a rock) and then after she rolled her eyes at me instead of writing down my name she just wrote vegan.

Her service defiantly annoyed me but deep down I know that she just doesn’t understand.

Anyways the risotto was awesome and it was the first time since I’ve had one in 7 years! Again, let me mention that I didn’t stress over it!

On Sunday my boyfriend took me to some beaches around the area that I haven’t seen before.

The beaches were isolated and so natural. There were no high rises or houses across from the beach but instead bush tracks and palm tree’s surrounding the white sand. It felt amazing to see so much natural beauty.

One the way back home we stopped into a Mexican restaurant as we were both starving.

Looking at the menu I immediately started to recreate meals in my head that I could make a healthier vegan version at home.

Naturally, raw walnut tacos came to mind as they are one of my favourite meals but I wanted something a little more authentic for a Mexican dish.

I made this meal for lunch yesterday and loved every bite. I saw a similar Mexican black bean salad on Pinterest and new it would be the perfect filling inside a raw taco shell.

Ingredients:
Serves 2

1 can organic black beans

¾ cup diced red capsicum

1.5 raw sweet corn cobs

½ sml-med red onion

1 medium ripe avocado

½ -1 tbsp lemon juice

8 cos lettuce leaves

Instructions:

1. Dice capsicum and onion and transfer into a bowl.
2. Rinse and drain black beans and pour them into the bowl.
3. Cut corn off the cob and mix into the beans, capsicum and onion
4. Place avocado and lemon juice into a food processor and mix until it is smooth and creamy
5. Serve on cos lettuce leaves

How easy is that!

Like me, everyone seems to be getting extremely busy at the moment but this just goes to show how quick and easy a nutritious meal can be.

I’d love to know your last Mexican meal that you ate and if you have tried to recreate it at home?

Be kind to yourself,

Lisa x

Black is the New Green Smoothie

Hi lovelies,

Hope you are all well!

I went to an Ethical Nutrient seminar last night for work, so I’m a little tired today but it was worth it.

I will be talking about this in a future post as I want to let you in on some new research but also the marketingbehind health products.

Today I’ll share with you my favourite “green” smoothie blend.

Green smoothies have really taken off, and for good reason!

They boost your daily green intake, they are high in fiber, packed with anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals from the raw ingredients. And lets also not forget how damn amazing they taste!

So Green Smoothies pretty much rock, but why limit yourself to green when you can have black!

Ingredients
(serves 1)

Large handful of Baby Spinach leaves

1 small frozen Banana (or half large)

½ cup of frozen Blueberries

1 tsp Spirulina

5 drops of Stevia (or to taste)

20ml Aloe Vera juice

400ml chilled water

So it doesn’t look all that pretty but this smoothie is one seriously tasty superfood blend.

I drink this every single day.

It is a perfect after workout drink as it is high in protein from the Spirulina. Plus you get all the vitamins and minerals to keep you fighting fit.

Drinking a green Black smoothie daily is non-negotiable for me.

Because I don’t drink coffee or have any caffeine this gives me loads of energy and doesn’t give me the slump within 30 mins like coffee does.

Do you currently drink green smoothies?

 

Be kind to yourself,

Lisa x

Why Vegan Parents Aren’t Selfish

I was recently asked whether I would force my kids to be vegan.

First of all I don’t have any kids nor do I even have a partner,so it baffled me when I was asked this question. Yes, I understand that I was being asked “when” or “if” I have kids in the future but to me it seems a little inappropriate to begin with as I could see them ready to pounce if I were to say yes.

So I thought the best way to answer this question was by saying that I will feed them exactly what the government has recommend because after all don’t they have our health and wellbeing as their number one priority?

Mucus from infected cows utters on their cereal for breakfast. Highly refined sugar coated muesli bars mid morning to help them fall asleep in class. 
Toxic deli meat sandwiches on processed wonder white bread for lunch and a mixture of hormones and antibiotics to go with their serve of vegies for dinner.

I was then given a frustrated look after saying this, which reminded me that I completely forgot dessert, so I explained that of course I would feed them more hormones and mucus to go with their ice cream!

This led to an eye roll and a heavy sigh (which was totally unexpected since I said exactly what they wanted to hear. You’re welcome!).

The truth is that although I have visions of a handsome vegan raw food chef on a healthy groomed stallion knocking on my door, the chances are that he will come by with a muddy truck and a steak in the back ready to turn charcoal on the BBQ.

Regardless of what diet choices “the father” eats my intentions will be the same: to nourish, educate and to support them through their own authentic life.

I won’t be seen cooking a steak for dinner purely because I don’t eat it and I gag at the thought of touching it. If my children choose to try or eat meat I certainly won’t disapprove of them eating certified organic meat if their father cooks it for them.

I believe everyone deserves to make their own life decisionson their dietary choices when given all of the information(except the certified organic, free ranged part as added toxins and hormones is something I truly wouldn’t want my children to consume).

I was told that if I only cook my children vegan foods because that’s what I wanted to eat, that would be selfish. Though, if Iwere a meat eater and cooked them steak when they preferred walnut taco mince instead, that would be fine and clearly the kids are just fussy.

I have never liked meat. Not only because of the taste but I couldn’t seem to chew it so most of it would be spat into a serviette when no one was looking. I had to try to eat it because that’s what my parents liked and wanted to eat for dinner. So although I preferred stir fried veggies for dinner but was given a t-bone steak instead, why weren’t my parents criticized and called selfish?

My parents weren’t called selfish because they believed I needed steak for iron and protein and weren’t aware of various other foods that could supply these nutrients. Eating meat was considered “normal” in our society and also because no one expects parents to make a different dish for dinner depending on each child’s preferred preferences.

So why are parents called selfish if they cook a nutritionally balanced meal without any animal products because they don’t like or believe it is benefitting their children’s health to leave out these foods? Why is it different from a meat eating family forcing their kids to eat meat because of their beliefs?

Even though there have been several studies to support feeding children on a balanced plant based diet , reporting it is extremely healthy and safe compared to a diet rich in animal based foods, there is still a stigma for the word vegan.

Recently I have seen more articles and news programs talking about the benefits of a plant based vegan diet and lifestyle. Many articles are about previous cancer suffers who have cured themselves by changing their dietary habits to vegan. More studies have also revealed hidden toxins from hormones in animal based products.

This brings hope that people will become aware of what a vegan diet actually consists of. The false claims of eating nothing but “rabbit food” and tofu will be replaced with a huge selection of foods that look and taste no different fromany other foods, but have the added health benefits of a vegan whole food diet.

Unfortunately the stigma and the false claims towards a vegan lifestyle won’t be changing any time soon.  It is slowly being recognised with more and more people taking on this beneficial lifestyle approach.

So by the time my raw food chef sweeps me off my feet hopefully there will be more awareness of how beneficial a whole food vegan diet is for children and adults that I won’t have to defend my choices of what food  I serve to my family.

 I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Lisa x

 

 

 

 

 

Stop The Stigma

I used to be unbelievably embarrassed about suffering from depression and anorexia because there seems to be a horrible stigma behind any kind of mental illness.

When I was younger and went for “sleep overs” I was so scared that someone would catch me taking my tablets or see them in my bag that t led me to believe I was different and I would long to be “normal” like every other kid.

A few years ago I thought I should stop pushing everyone away and explain to my close friends why I sometimes can’t go out and drink or even think about getting out of bed, so they could understand and hopefully be supportive.

Not everyone understood and I even had a comment thrown at me saying how I should be in a mental institution!

Suffering from depression or another mental illness is a tough battle to fight each and every day and when you incorporate the feeling of being alone and branded as “mental” it certainly doesn’t help the battle.

Talking about mental illness isn’t something common and unfortunately hardly anyone admits to suffering which is not only dangerous but it makes you feel alone in the struggle when in fact it’s very common.

One in five Australians will suffer from a mental illness within a 12 month period. I’ll repeat that: one in five Australians; but we still are left to feel isolated and embarrassed.

I think of my depression and anorexia like any other illness. I certainly didn’t choose to be this way. I don’t have it because I want attention or to hurt my family. I didn’t catch it like a viral infection.

I have it because it’s an illness and it’s the way I have been born.

Like many other illnesses, through scans and tests I have been told it’s something that I will have to manage for the rest of my life, as I have a chemical imbalance.

I now refuse to be embarrassed or labelled as “mental” for suffering from these illnesses because when I think about it, I should be damn proud of myself.

I am still here fighting for my health, I have created a lifestyle that serves me and is healing me and although there are still some days that are tougher than others, I am and I will always fight for my health and happiness.

Since opening up, many people and parents have asked me for advice and to talk to their loved ones who are struggling because they feel alone.

I am more than happy to help and support others in need and in fact I really enjoy it but it upsets me when people say “I don’t know anyone else who would understand”.

Until we use our voices to correct the stigma behind mental illness and to let people know that they are not alone, people will continue to suffer in the dark without any support.

I urge anyone who is suffering to speak to a loved one without fear of judgement because it’s very likely that they have been through it at some stage of their lives.

I would love to hear your thought on this in the comments below.

Lisa