Past trauma: ‘For a long time, I truly thought I was the problem and hated myself’
Until recently, Bronagh Loughlin’s life was defined by the trauma of her teenage years. Now, having made peace with her past, she feels liberated
Agoraphobia: I became a complete recluse, and now I don’t know who I am
The Covid-19 pandemic was when my agoraphobia became very real, and I started to recognise my avoidance as a barrier and challenge
‘For the longest time, I haven’t known how I feel about myself’
External validation becomes dangerous when we solely rely on other people to determine our self-worth
Friendship: ‘There are other ways to be a good friend than being the life of the party’
Early insecurities and pressure to fit in can leave you uneasy with the theory and practice of friendly bonds
‘It’s not the phone that’s the problem – it’s how you use it’
Deleting most of my social media accounts encouraged me to live in the present and work on my confidence and self-esteem
Every drive in the car chipped away at my confidence and impacted how I felt about myself
Having a good self-esteem is the starting point for ensuring you appropriately look after and take care of yourself
Physical signs: Mental illness is not just emotional
If I am not coping well, my mental health starts to manifest and become physical as well as emotional
Overthinking: There are times I wish I could escape my mind
We can all overthink a situation, but thinking too much on a frequent basis is when it becomes a problem
Stigma: ‘I wish I hadn’t internalised so much of it’
Overthinking is like taking part in a mind Olympics; you try to protect yourself but in the end you are exhausted
It’s time to stop glamourising and oversimplifying mental health issues on social media
While some content serves an important purpose in educating people, a lot of it encourages self-diagnosis, which can be harmful
What not to say to somebody who’s opening up about mental health problems
It’s important for sufferers to be able to vent their feelings. Don’t dismiss their fears
We need to stop romanticising trauma – it has huge implications
Trauma is called trauma for a reason – because it leaves scars, bruises and stunts our growth
My counselling ended before I was ready because I turned 18
I was told a week before my last appointment that they were going to end
Let’s stop referring to suicide as ‘doing something stupid’
Whenever I heard this, it would translate in my mind to ‘they think you’re stupid, do it’
Eco-anxiety: ‘I feel useless in the face of climate change’
Negative thoughts about the environment overwhelm me, I worry I’m not doing enough