Should probably give a lactose intolerance warning on this one 😛

Ive spent this morning reflecting on how different my life is now from how it was when I was younger and I think over this past year I have been so caught up in everything negative that’s going on in our lives, I’ve forgotten about what I’m most grateful for.

So now we’re getting close to the end of our (hopefully) last lockdown and we’re all sort of getting some normality back into our lives. I wanted to write this wee somethin’ somethin’ to thank you guys for helping me, probably without even realising it, throughout this God awful past year or so.

From my first ever chat, you guys have welcomed me into the community with open arms and I am SO grateful for it because I’m really not quite sure how I’d have coped throughout lockdown without having The Mix and the you guys who make the mix as amazing as it is.

I have learnt so much from every single one of you. When I first joined the mix I had no clue about how to support my peers and I’d not step foot in support chat because I just had no clue how to help folk out 😳. Thankfully, after watching how you guys work your magic, I have learnt that we don’t need to have answers to people’s questions and the words to fix all of their issues. Sometimes just being there and letting them know that they’ve been heard and their hurt is acknowledged is enough. So thank you for having each others backs and for teaching me how to also have other peoples backs. The skills I have learnt from you guys, I use them every single day.

Watching you all be shamelessly yourselves trusting everyone else with your thoughts and feelings was a real wake up call for me. Talking about feelings was something that I’ve not really seen folk do until joining The Mix but I realise now that it’s super important to talk about whatever is weighing us down, so thank you for that too. It’s been invaluable. Especially @Aidan , I know we’ve chatted about this before (a few times actually 😛) but I’ve never actually known males to talk about their feelings. When I talk to the ‘lads’ it’s usually about everything other than how we feel and so I was keeping things to myself. I know there’s stigma around males and opening up about their mental health but I watched our ayydon do it and I didn’t think any less of him for it and this helped me to realise that no body would think any less of me for reaching out for support either. It helped me to talk and to get help after hitting a scary low last year, thank you for being so brave and awesome Aidan... and everyone else who talks about their mental health despite the worry of judgment. You’re all playing a part in breaking the stigma around mental health in general, and that’s just fab.

So thank you. Thank you for being kind, open and welcoming. And thank you for being shamelessly yourselves because you’re all wee gems. I wouldn’t change a single thing about any one of you 💛

Also big thank you to the volunteers who give up their time to help make all of this possible, for giving us a safe space to talk and make friends. And to the staff team too who work incredibly hard to make this place the best it can be . Yous have put up with my endless waffling in your DMS 😆 and I’m so grateful for it

Thanks for making this past year manageable, I wouldn’t made it through without you

Yous really are top bananas 😀