Post of the Month - July!

If you’re here you must be feeling like you’re being belittled, ignored, accused of lying/attention-seeking or not taken seriously. Whether that’s by a family member, friend, authority figures, mental health services or anyone else, no one deserves to be cast aside. But I’m here to (hopefully) give you the confidence to not stress about the haters.

Whether you’ve been diagnosed or not, no matter what you’re mental illness may be you deserve support. Unfortunately, there will always be those who don’t support you. But it doesn’t matter if the people around you don’t believe you. After all YOU know the truth, YOU know you’re struggles are significant and valid. Repeat that to yourself. Remember that just because someone says your lying it doesn’t make them right. They’re not you, they‘ll never truly understand the storm you’re facing. 

Shaunie we will never find it annoying . Everyone here knows that road to getter to a better place is never simple and is never a straight line . There’s always going to be bumps , twists and turns and detours and that’s okay because that’s all part of getting better.

I know it’s must feel disheartening when you feel like this and I know how it feels but know that you are strong and you are amazing.

All of us here will be here to support you regardless of how many times it is. 

Hey Everyone! 

Your favourite General Chat duo are here to give you our top tips on positivity! @Liam and I have been working together to create this reallyyyy long post  guide on how we try to stay positive. You do not need to read the whole of this post but I hope you can search through the titles to find what you may need 

Practising Gratitude - Liam 
Gratitude is a way to show your appreciation and thankfulness for the things you have in your life. Through practising this, you will be able to notice the things you may possibly take for granted or give little thought to. In doing so you will be opening your eyes to the positive things you observe throughout the day and hopefully the good will shine through the negative which is clouding your day! Check out Liam's top tip of practising gratitude: 


Being Mindful - Eleanor 
Mindfulness is a way of connecting your body with the world in a controlled way, it allows you to be present in your mind without the hustle and bustle of life getting in the way. Here are my favourite ways to be mindful: 


Expressing Gratitude and Spreading Love - Liam 
Now that you know how to practise gratitude, Liam brings you his top tips on how to express this as well as the benefits of spreading love towards others: 



Changing Your Perspectives - Eleanor 
Perspectives, in my opinion, can really make or break a positive mindset. So here is how I like to keep my perspectives positive:


Smile and Laugh - Liam
Did you know that smiling takes less muscles than it does to frown? Smiling is a simple way of showing that you are positive and to also give a little bit of positivity to others! Here are the benefits of smiling and laughing in Liam's life: 


Helping Someone Else Out - Eleanor 
Here are my top tips on how you can spread positivity as well as create it!


Cutting Out Negativity - Liam 
Do you have that one thing that is stopping you from having a positive mindset which you can't seem to shake, well here is Liam's top tips on cutting out negativity:


Finding Good in Everything - Eleanor 
Here is how I try to find good in everything:


Changing Negative thoughts - Liam 
Negativity can put a dark cloud over you day, trying to seek out positive thoughts in spite of this can help to boost your mood and improve your day! Here's how Liam cuts out negativity: 

For When You Need a Pick-Me-Up Now - Guest star @Aidan 
You won't be disappointed..... 


Que sera, sera - Liam

Heya 

So this sounds like a classic case - "Person X isn't aware of their finances, and has to end up in debt to continue an unsustainable way of living. Their solution? Either business as usual until they land in trouble, 'borrow' from a friend when they can't pay back, or simply hope for some extra money to come in. Or, they realise that they need to make a concerted effort in their lives to resolve their financial situation and go back into the black."

It's really admirable that you've decided to step in and help. Truth is, in a situation like this, your parents need to be the ones to take this seriously, not you doing it for them. Because as long as you're doing it for them, they'll go along for it, but as soon as you stop, people usually often go back into their old habits. You've made a great effort, but it doesn't really sound like they've had to change much in their lives, when it's their financial situation and routines that need sorting out! 

As much as you want to see them doing well, financial independence and awareness is very important in all of this. It's all good and well that you are aware, but they have to actively break old habits and make new ones for this to work. It's not just a tick-box exercise of 'spending less', but a change/shift of mindset on how they live and manage their money - otherwise, it's just a short-term change that will probably slip back into old habits soon. 

Personally, I'd give them advice and then let them do it. They need to be responsible for their own finances - having you do it all for them might help fix things for now, but doesn't resolve the underlying issue that they need to learn to be responsible with money and adjust accordingly.

Sorry if this sounds quite critical, but I've seen this approach taken several times before and it really doesn't work out how you want it. The onus has to be on your parents for this to work and stick x

TL;DR - they need to cut their expenses and learn to manage their finances independently. You can advise them, but they have to take the initiative and make the changes for this to work in the long-term - otherwise, you're fixing this in the short term without addressing the long-term issue of their approach to finances 

Much love