So, this post
has been a long time in the making! Its inspiration actually came when I was
gift hunting for the Birthday of three of my five best-friends who were all
celebrating in the same month (March!). So, I found some lovely customisable
prints on Etsy from The Design Parlour, and we decided to team up to bring you
this blog post of a chat about the impact mental health can have on friendships,
and we’ve even thrown in a huge discount code…
WHY IT’S AN ACHIEVEMENT TO MAKE FRIENDS WHILST EXPERIENCING TRAUMA
“A best friend is the only one that walks into your life when the
world has walked out”
Shannon Alder
The best friend I met first was Sophie in 2006/2007. Now, if
you’ve read, I’m NOT Disordered for a while now, you’ll know that the abuse I
experienced started in 2006 so meeting Sophie around that time was pretty
special and important. I mean, whilst the years my mental health was at its
most poorly were horrific and challenging, the time during the actual abuse was
the most overwhelming and difficult in my life. I was so full of anger and
hatred towards almost everyone who mattered in my life because no one
recognised what was happening to me and so, no one stopped it.
Meeting Sophie during that really frustrating time meant I felt a
whole lot less isolated and alone. I mean, she didn’t know about it either, but
to see that I was capable of building a new friendship whilst feeling the way I
did and thinking the things I did? Well, that gave me hope. It left me thinking
that if I could challenge those lonely thoughts and emotions by adding someone
to my life, I might just get through it. I might just survive. Sophie made me
feel stronger and more positive at a time when it felt like I had been feeling
the exact opposite for forever!
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