Bloganuary prompt day two is “how are you brave?” I’m just on a pit stop on our drive home from the holidays up North with family and took a look at the prompt. I didn’t expect to be able to write it so quickly, but I have one immediately that came to mind.
Something that I have been working on to be brave is advocating for my personal needs. In a previous post, I talked about being more aware of my sensory needs and anxiety, and being convinced I have undiagnosed autism. I am a huge advocate for my clients who have various abilities and challenges, and I’ve realized over the years that I am not a great advocate for myself. This last little while I’ve become more outspoken about my anxiety, and while I’m not ready to “come out” as neurodiverse to my family, I talk about it a lot with certain friends and with my fiancée.
Yesterday I did something that I consider brave, and I set a boundary for myself for my sensory needs. I started getting a headache in the afternoon and then started getting overwhelmed. By dinner time I decided to tell my fiancées family that I would not be joining the big family dinner because of my headache. I contemplated doing it, but realized that as guilty as I felt (why do I feel guilty though?), through my whole life I would just push through and be so uncomfortable. And then I realized why would I let myself suffer so badly – my headache turned into me being able to hear lights, every sound in the house and my bones moving – when I could just hermit in my room with the lights off and my sound cancelling headphones.
So my reflection for the prompt “how are you brave” is that I am starting to be brave by speaking out about my mental health and advocating for myself. I want to be able to be 100% present and comfortable when I’m with people, and that means I need to work on knowing when I need to step away and do self care, and to be brave enough to share why I can’t do certain things ❤️
If you’re not already doing bloganuary, you can share in the comments how you are brave 🙂 it feels nice to celebrate yourself !
Be Your Own Sunshine 
Good for you for putting your needs first!
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Thank you!! I’m trying hard 🙂
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I like this. It reminds me of my need to speak honestly with my husband about my needs. To start hard conversations that I avoid. Thanks for making me think.
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I’m glad you got thinking from it ! It’s definitely hard to start those big conversations ! You’re worth it though ❤️
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Good for you on taking your own needs seriously, before you’re completely overwhelmed. Anyone who gets offended by you seeking the quiet time you need to be able to recharge isn’t worth worrying about.
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Thank you for this comment ! It’s been tough to try to explain to people because a lot of people still don’t understand anxiety and mental health stuff looks different for everyone (I’m rather friendly and outgoing, so this is confusing to many)
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