Mental Health isn’t Always obvious
- Sarah
- May 15
- 2 min read
When people talk about mental health, we often imagine something visible.
A moment of crisis. Burnout. Anxiety that’s obvious to others.
But in reality, mental health struggles can be much quieter than that.
Sometimes it looks like functioning.
Showing up.
Keeping everything moving.
Holding life together whilst quietly carrying more than people realise.
And if there’s one thing I’ve learned over recent years, it’s this:
Stress doesn’t always arrive loudly.
Sometimes it builds slowly in the background.
In the constant thinking.
The responsibility.
The emotional load of supporting others.
The pressure of trying to keep everything steady.
For me, one of the biggest challenges came through supporting my son through anorexia.
A journey I never expected our family to be on.
Like many parents navigating an eating disorder, there were periods where life felt consumed by appointments, meal support, uncertainty, fear, and trying to understand something incredibly complex whilst still attempting to function normally around it.
CAMHS appointments. Constant vigilance. The emotional exhaustion of wanting to help but often feeling powerless.
Trying to hold space for someone you love, whilst somehow holding yourself together too.
And the truth is, supporting someone through something difficult impacts your own mental wellbeing too.
Not because you’re weak.
Not because you aren’t coping.
But because you’re human.
There were times I felt overwhelmed.
Times I felt mentally exhausted.
Times where I realised just how easy it is to put yourself to the bottom of the pile when someone you love needs so much from you.
And yet, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is this:
You cannot pour endlessly from an empty cup.
At some point, you have to find ways to support yourself too.
Not in a perfect, Instagram-worthy kind of way.
But in practical, sustainable ways.
For me, that became movement.
Heat.
Breath.
Stillness.
Hot yoga first entered my life as something that gave me space.
A place where, for an hour, I wasn’t thinking about appointments, worry, work, responsibilities or what might happen next.
I could simply breathe.
Move.
Focus.
And slowly, without even fully realising it at first, it helped me build resilience.
Not because life became easier.
It didn’t.
But because I started to feel more able to meet the hard things.
To regulate stress better.
To create moments of calm amongst chaos.
To reconnect with myself when life felt overwhelming.
Mental health support looks different for everyone.
Sometimes it’s therapy.
Sometimes medication.
Sometimes community.
Sometimes movement, stillness, routine, or simply taking one hour for yourself.
And during Mental Health Awareness Week, I think it’s important we remember this:
Looking after our mental wellbeing isn’t selfish.
It isn’t weakness.
And it doesn’t only matter when things reach crisis point.
Sometimes it’s about taking action earlier.
Creating small anchors that help us cope, breathe and keep going.
Especially when life feels heavy.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this:
You don’t have to wait until you’re completely overwhelmed to start supporting yourself.
Sometimes the strongest thing we can do is simply acknowledge we need support too.
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