Just sometimes you find a quote that seems to say everything.

I found one the other day.

"If you're struggling, you deserve to make self-care a priority. Whether that means lying in bed all day, eating comfort food, putting off homework, crying, sleeping, rescheduling plans, finding an escape through a good book, watching your favourite TV show, or doing nothing at all – give yourself permission to put your healing first. Quiet the voice telling you to do more and be more, and today, whatever you do, let it be enough. Feel your feelings, breathe and be gentle with yourself. Acknowledge that you're doing the best you can to cope and survive. And trust that during this time of struggle, it's enough."

These wise words were written by a young woman Daniell Koepke, who has set up the Internal Acceptance Movement. She is a recovering Anorexia sufferer and set up the movement initially to support those people in recovery like herself. Very quickly though, she found that she wanted to reach out to and support people with all sorts of issues and struggles, including depression.

The Internal Acceptance Movement is an online space that advocates self-acceptance, healthy body image, recovery from self-destructive behaviors and addictions... (it) is a space that offers support to those battling their inner demons and strength to continue fighting when all hope seems to be gone.

I think most of us recognise those inner demons.

I'm a little better now than I was for a while. I hope that soon I will be better still. But it's been a long hard struggle for me to learn that, when I'm ill, I need to rest and get better.

I won't get better if I stress about jobs undone, contracts unfulfilled, friends neglected and family unfed. The jobs will still be there to do when I am better. The contract delivery dates can be rescheduled. My real friends understand and the family have got pretty good at feeding themselves.

That wasn't always the case of course. When my husband was working in London and the children were small then I had to somehow get them fed, bathed and in bed. But I remember sleeping by the fire all day while my eldest one played by herself (having first put down the blanket and pillow for me; "Mummy lie down now. Mummy sleep."). Maybe her overdeveloped sense of independence and responsibility comes from that. Maybe not. It doesn't do any good to blame myself or my illness for its inevitable effect on family life.

We talk about it. We accept it. We do the best we can with it – and we move on.

I'm just grateful for the times I'm well. I'm grateful for what I can do when I can do it.

And I've learned to rest and get better when I can't do anything.

It's enough. It has to be enough.

Mary

A Moodscope member.