Today, on International Women’s Day 2021, we are very happy to be handing over control of our blog to an inspiring member of the Fight for Peace team, and creator of the @dailydose_ofsarah Instagram page, Sarah Hussain:

“Hey guys! My names Sarah, and I will be writing a bit about my experiences and how I’ve grown from them. My Instagram page is called @dailydose_ofsarah, which gives a good insight into the type of things I write about (I focus on self-development and I delve into very specific topics to improve mental well-being).

I began writing as a way to process past trauma and create meaning out of it. I write on Instagram and I am in the process of writing a book that I hope to one day publish. I have struggled with mental health for some time and I’ve began to realise that forgetting negative events in the past is very hard. But it’s much more realistic to try to take the lessons from upsetting things that have happened and use it to grow and become stronger.

One of the quotes I have on the wall in my room is ‘tough people last’, and I have interpreted this as, each time we come out of an uncomfortable situation, by choosing to pick ourselves up and keep going, we are becoming stronger each time and more equipped to deal with adversities. Also to add onto this, I firmly believe that becoming stronger isn’t about having less downfalls, but rather being able to accept and deal with the downfalls in the best way possible, and being able to look past these times.

Nevertheless I do not want to promote toxic positivity, as that is a true thing that can be very damaging. When in a depressed state, just telling yourself that it’s all flowers and roses won’t help, because you are telling yourself something that is not the truth. And this creates more confusion and you begin to fight your thoughts in the wrong way.

But rather the message I want to put out is, mental health exists, depression exists, PTSD, bipolar, you can name every mental health out there and they are all real struggles that people face. Mental health is life threatening and lives are lost everyday due to it. But as individuals we can firstly try to become aware of our own mental states and understand how to meet our own needs, as without helping yourself there is no chance of helping others. And then when we have space to support others, do it! This world needs more kindness and love to appreciate all the beautiful souls out there.

Lastly, I want to end with the message that no matter what you are going through, how hard things are, you can still achieve what you want to. You might have to apply twice, accept rejection and maybe taker a longer route but if you commit yourself to it, you will definitely be able to achieve your dreams. I always dreamed to be a doctor and I myself had to apply twice to be accepted into a medical degree programme. Keep dreaming, keep believing in yourself and never give up. And be the woman that aspires to inspire!”