A thank you to my insomnia

First of all, I hated you. You were the part of me I always liked to hide from people, because it made me feel different. You were the part of my life that made me irritated and lifeless, the thing that sucked the life out of my body but stimulated my mind to the point of destruction. You made me my own worst enemy.

So thank you. 

You made me realise that life continues past 12am. I saw the high spirits of drunk people coming home after a night out, hugging their friends and telling them they loved them. I got to know so many people who worked the night shift, talking to them about everything and nothing. 

You showed me the beauty of 5am, when the skies get lighter and the birds come to life. You helped me appreciate the silence which I never seemed to get. 

You helped me cry into my pillow to get rid of the tensions of my day. I get to see how beautiful my girlfriend looks when she’s sleeping, blissfully unaware of me being awake. Reminding that things can be okay. 

You gave me the peace of mind to think about where I want to go in life, whilst sucking the energy out of me at the same time. You are toxic, but I appreciate you. 

Mental health is a commonly spoke about subject, but still holds certain taboo subjects. Not many people want to display their distress, despite the fact that it’s eating them up inside. 

If you can learn to appreciate the beauty of exhaustion, the luck of witnessing the sunrise and the privilege of your friends helping you through every tough bit, you can get over this hump. 

Everything turns out okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end. 

Your mental health and education

Mental health is one of those topics that's slightly taboo, yet everyone talks about it. Most people are very willing to help others fight their inner battles, yet fail to take their own advice. Although it's easier said than done (coming from the person who would beat up their best friends depression for them, but will hide under their bed watching Netflix until 3am), your mental health has to be in top physical form so that you can thrive and make the most of university.

Think of it like trying to run a marathon on a sprained ankle. You think to begin with you're able to power through and that you can handle it. But then, you realise you've put too much pressure on it and have to stop because it's too much, causing you much more damage in the long run.
You mental health is the same. If you don't help yourself heal, you won't be able to continue and finish the race and might hinder your healing in the future.
My two main tips to help you are these:

TALK TO PEOPLE!
I don't mean just talking to your friends. I mean, talking to your university, or your parents, or even the staff at your accommodation. Universities understand  that it can be a tough transition, so they'll do their best to make your experience of university more comfortable. If you can't talk to your parents about it, then the accommodation will do their utmost best to ensure that you feel safe and sound.

SELF! HECKING! CARE!!
Now y'all aint gonna like this, but self care isn't just driving yourself into your overdraft with retail therapy. It's making sure you sleep enough at night, showering enough and exercising. It's trying to eat three meals a day and balancing your social life with studying. Yeah, Starbucks is great, but having a balanced life is better. You'll thank yourself for it in the future.

Now, that's enough patronising from me for one day. Help yourself so you can go from this-

 To this!

Stay happy, stay healthy and stay fab!

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