Earlier this year, Kelly from Kelly Diane Report blog wrote this piece on 10 things 2022 has taught me so far. I can’t believe we’re already 5 months into this year and boy oh boy. It’s been… something. Mostly for all the wrong reasons. I won’t lie, 2022 has been pretty damn crap so far.
I’ve never quite had a year like this when it comes to my mental health. Of course I’ve spoken in droves about my past anxiety disorder and how that affected me. And whilst I don’t suffer with anxiety anymore (yes – my anxiety disorder, the one that ruined my life has completely GONE. It IS possible!) I’ve never been in a more confused and messy state with my mental health.
I’ve never suffered from depression before. Even during the midst of the worst time of my anxiety disorder, I was never depressed about it. I went through years of therapy and learning how to manage my disorder and eventually eliminating it completely – it was a LOT of hard work. I didn’t have time to feel depressed, I was too busy trying to heal.
But this year. Oh boy. My head has been ALL OVER THE SHOP.
I won’t go into the details about how I’ve been feeling, it’s been a lot of things that are easily triggered by lots of other things. But I will say it’s been unbearably hard at times. Of course there’s always family and personal things going on as well and everything combined has resulted in a pretty depressive and messed up mental state for me. Yay.
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Of course when you go through hard times – whatever they might be – it comes with a lot of lessons. I feel like you probably do learn more from the difficulties in life than when everything is smooth sailing. So although we might only just be in May, 2022 has given me a lot of lessons so far. Lessons that I’m glad I got, despite how I got them.
So here are 6 lessons that 2022 has taught me so far:
It doesn’t matter how hard you try, you can’t specify a date for a new start
We all go into a new year with the hope that it’s going to be THE YEAR. We prep and plan as much as we can. We set goals and intentions and the whole shebang. But truth it, life doesn’t work that way and just because we change our calendar, doesn’t mean we can leave everything behind us. Shit will follow you into the new year, whether you like it or not.
Friendship and quality time reaaaaally matters
Last year, I made two of the best friends I could ever ask for. I never thought I’d make two such great friends at the age of 28 – we all know how hard it is to make friends as an adult! Those two have completely changed my life for the better. I’ve also been spending more quality time with people and I’ll never underestimate the power of that again.
I’ve even found super small things really beneficial, like going out for tea and cake with my parents on a weekday afternoon, ensuring I send some flowers to a friend who’s going through a rough time or sending a card to daddys to be that I know from Boomf. All those small acts of love and kindness have really helped me stay grounded and aware of what matters.
Talking about how you’re feeling is crucial
Considering I spent SO LONG at therapy, talking about how I felt, it’s surprising that I didn’t learn this one sooner. It’s like I learnt it, all those years ago then forgot. Over the last few months, I’ve been slowly opening up and talking more about how I’m feeling and it’s been hugely beneficial. Both to me and the people who spend the most time with me.
You actually have to face things – you can’t hide forever
I really don’t feel like I’m 29. I’m still very resentful of the fact that my anxiety disorder took a huge chunk of my 20’s from me and I feel like I’m incredibly behind where I want to be. I feel like because of this, I’ve hid from the reality of things for quite some time. But this year has forced me to have some discussions about things that have been very needed.
Related read: 17 Things To Do in Your Twenties for Self Growth
Change is scary but vital
Although no change has happened as of the time of writing, I know it will. And relatively soon. It’s a scary prospect but it’s so important and vital for my own growth. And for those around me. We can’t stay in the same place forever – physically and mentally.
Only you know what’s right for you
Another one that’s SUPER relevant to my life right now and it’s a lesson I’m very grateful to have learned. It doesn’t matter what the decision is, as long as it’s the right one for you. It doesn’t matter what others think, what others feel is right or even what you tell them. Only YOU know what’s right for YOU.
So yeah, so far, 2022 has been pretty shit. It’s been boring. It’s been mentally challenging. It’s been eye-opening (in all the wrong ways) and it’s just generally been fucking naff, to put it bluntly. But that’s okay. It’s crap but it’s okay. Because not every year is going to be a banger and we need to learn (sooner rather than later) that that’s the case.
We’ve been so programmed to go into a new year thinking this is going to be THE ONE. That it’s going to be life changing. That all our problems are going to be over, just because there’s a new number on the end of the year. Whilst that might be the case for the odd few people, for the majority, it’s not. And that’s life.