Does anyone else resonate with this?
Asking for support, help or even a safe space to vent used to be incredibly hard for me. My close mates knew that when I went quiet...that was my darkest times.
I am also lucky that they knew this and kept reaching out.
Now...slowly but surely I am getting better at asking for help.
Like messaging mates and saying..I need to get outside, I need to see grown ups, Can you walk with me? Can you drink tea/a bowl of margarita with me (depending on the day right :-P)
You know what changed? Well firstly I acknowledged that putting myself last on the things to look after was serving no one. It made me more stressed and certainly more isolated.
And secondly I worked out it was a gift for others, to be asked to help. No one likes to feel helpless so by giving people the opportunity to be there for you is lovely too.
I remember in the middle of a very long stint of being at home with Noah (22 weeks as it turned out) I had decided that I would have a giant spring clean..you know those moments...and I created 10 bags of stuff for the op shop. It sat in my corridor for over a week...and I thought...you know what...I am just going to ask for help.
I put up a post on facebook...veryyyyy similar to the photo actually and within 5 mins I had 13 responses and within 10 mins 2 people on my doorstep ready to get the job done. You know that was years ago...and it still brings me to tears that people were so willing to give, to help. It may have seemed small to them, but it was everything to me.
I know it's hard some days to even work out what you need....but even a "I don't know what I need but I know I need something can you be with me" text is perfect.
Give it a go
Give people the opportunity to give back the love you so freely give to others.