1-1-1: are you tired of being sad?
read about how to transform your life and your mindset, a good reminder about appreciating the small things, and a no bs journal prompt.
august, 2023
edition 30.
it’s sunday, august 20th. I’m writing this edition in front of a big window in my house (hello gorgeous natural light!) and listening to the howling of the wind and rain (hello hurricane in california!). noah kahan’s ENTIRE discography is playing in the background. I’m realising that I’m leaving this home in 10 days (no I haven’t started packing) and I’m getting nostalgic for it already.
if you’re from instagram, you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been super active on there. I’ve been having so many thoughts about what I’m doing, where I want to take my work, and what my impact on this world has been/should be. basically a lot of imposter syndrome and upheaval! that, coupled with my brain capacity focused on the move, has resulted in… como se dice no posts on instagram.
i do love instagram, but i love my newsletter more. so hi newsletter folks, you’re getting almost all of my brain capacity right now <3
you can expect one email from me every week containing:
one quote that has been inspiring me
one journal prompt
one piece of advice*
* = if you want to submit a question for my upcoming emails, you can find the form here.
podcast
on hiatus until september — listen to past episodes here <3
one quote
“concept: we need to stop neglecting the good things in our lives. brush off the bad things as quickly as we tend to brush off the good things. believe that compliment and remember it. notice how pretty the moon is. think about the cute dog you saw. think of a funny thing your friend said. overthink it like you’d overthink a bad thing.
don’t let little things ruin your day; let little things make you really happy. you deserve good things and happiness… so let yourself be happy.”
—flowerais on tumblr via @veronikabauerr on ig
one journal prompt
do this blindly:
grab a piece of paper and a pen/pencil
set a timer for 1 minute
write everything you observe about your surroundings
one piece of advice
“My question is, how can we improve ourselves? I mean, in the sense : I'm really unsatisfied with the mindset that I have right now. I'm entering university for my first year now, and I really wanted to know ways in which I can grow as a person and as a student. How do I bring about this change? I love your posts, and they really inspire me. But, what would be a like a process to come through with this change?” (emphasis added)
*cracks knuckles* hello and welcome to the literal inside of my brain as I word vomit a response to this question and proceed to NOT edit it <3
for some background: hi, I’m katie. I’m 23 years old and a recent college graduate about to pursue my masters (wooooo). I’ve been coexisting with depression and anxiety and ptsd for a little over a decade. I’ve been on medication, tried alllll kinds of therapy, went to inpatient treatment, and am generally just kind of obsessed with making my life something I want to wake up and live each day?? kind of a crazy concept.
if I could boil down ~12 years of trial and error into a few bullet points, this is what I would have told myself when I first started struggling:
get professional help. it’s not embarrassing, it’s not “weak,” and it’s not shameful. it will change. your. life. plus, admitting that you need help is literally the first step to recovery!!!
it’s okay to focus on you. your mental illness will tell you that you’re being selfish or that you’re just doing it for attention — shut the voices out and let yourself truly focus on yourself for a few months, years, or however long it may take. it’s OKAY. your loved ones are proud of you and they don’t think you’re self obsessed, I promise!
i hate this i hate this i HATE this but i have to say it: stop throwing yourself a pity party; the only person who can change your life is you. no, it’s not too late. no, it’s not the wrong time. yes, it should be a priority. yes, your feelings are valid. no, you’re not an awful person for feeling this way. no, they’re not luckier because they’re born into a ‘good life.’ no, no one else can do this work for you except for YOU.
find ways to consume information about self help that is enjoyable to YOU. for some people, that’s therapy (i.e. talking to a professional). for some people, that’s reading a lot of self help books. for some people, that’s watching movies or youtube videos or interviews with experts. for some people, it’s a combination of all of these. regardless of where you get your information, it’s important to throw yourself wholeheartedly into learning.
here are some of my fav books (*note, most self help books say the same information in different ways. find an author/a few authors that resonate with you and REREAD the book instead of reading everything on the market!)
have the difficult conversations. talk to your friends. talk to your family. do the shadow work. confront those ugly lies you keep telling yourself. nothing changes if nothing changes.
you are not a constant self improvement project. it’s okay to not be “working on yourself” all the time. the small moments of human-ness are as important as the deep shadow work. all of it is important. don’t let your need to constantly be a better version of yourself take away from your current human experience.
i love you. i am proud of you for embarking on this crazy journey of learning about yourself and creating the life you want to live. i’m not going to lie and tell you it’s easy, but i can tell you that taking my mental health seriously is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.
reading this back, i know it’s harsh and this delivery of information might not sit well with everyone. if you need a more gentle approach, i promise most of my newsletters are wayyyyy more chill than this one <3 i personally do well with a big ol’ slap in the face (so that’s the attitude with which this newsletter has been written) — take what resonates and leave that doesn’t.
reading updates
currently reading: beartown by fredrik backman, bullshit jobs: a theory by david graeber
finished this week:
heartstopper volumes 1-4 by alice oseman
if you want to keep up with my reading throughout the week, this is my goodreads :)
enjoyed this edition?
until we meet again,
katie
reading from Indonesia 🌿 I really like this week newsletter, it resonates with me A LOT. I got diagnosed with bipolar type 2 about a year ago (or two? couldn't remember it much tbh) but this year's depressive episode is the longest I had, turns out I still can't accept my condition and such. I'm so glad you literally write you have been 12 years working for your own wellness and it gives me comfort, a feeling that makes me don't feel alone and a push that I still have a lot of time to work on myself. Thank you so much for writing this, I do feel tired of being sad and I will try my best to befriend it in such a healthy way. I love you, too! 💖