Let's Talk: Illness and the rainbow through it all🌈!

Good morning/afternoon/evening, you beautiful people! 

I missed last week's upload, as I was ill and in bed. I had a chest infection and this is my second time having had pneumonia, since age 8. 

I missed 3 exams as a result and I was extremely frustrated with myself and my body, as it was not doing what I wanted it to do, when I wanted it do it!  Being forced by my body to rest and take it easy, became such a blessing to me. 

It allowed me to sit with  myself and reflect  on this year, and my mental health. You all know that I am such a huge mental health girlie but I was so focused on showing up, especially academically. I will literally drag myself and do what I need to do, regardless of how I feel in order to show up and be a reliable woman of my word. So being dizzy and in pain and bedridden was so hard for me. 

Once I took medication and my symptoms began to clear, I started to think about my fortitude. I truly believe that mental health and physical well-being are directly related. I last got pneumonia 16 years ago and I found it really hard to believe that I actually got sick because I was doing really well or so I wanted to believe. 

To be honest this year has been very challenging for me, while God has shown such goodness (y'all the testimonies that I have, one day we'll talk!! ) , there were things that I didn't address, things that I absolutely refused to iron out and it bothered me the entire year. I realized that the very thing that you run away from is still there. You cannot truly outrun, outsmart or ignore an issue. It will show up in some way and when you least expect and bother you and take you down. 

The rainbow for me was falling sick and having the grace and time to recover before my  final exams, this year's results are so important because I will use them to apply to university. 

I now have an opportunity to iron out the very thing that I believed I should wait until a more 'ideal' time to deal with. My advice to you, dear friends is to deal with whatever is bothering you before it deals with you. It won't be easy but you will thank yourself for it. 

I also learned about the value of rest. Resting is not lazy and napping is not for just reserved for babies and toddlers.

P.S. This is my second time writing this particular post because I accidently just deleted ALL my work and the sheer frustration of it all!! But this comes with the territory of being a creative. I have definitely learned my lesson, write and save, write and save! 

I truly hope that you enjoy today's blog post, it's the last post of the month and I hope and pray that the month of October will bring blessings to you all! As we close off Suicide Prevention month, I pray that you remember how valuable and valued you are. Your worth is innate and an illness and rough life does not define you or take away your value and worth in God's sight. 

Happy Heritage Day, my beloved South Africa 🇿🇦! 

All my love❤️

Ruthy