Amy Roullier is a British writer and author of Silent Reflections of a Fragile Heart. Through her blog, she challenges the negative stereotypes surrounding being single, while candidly sharing her experiences with mental health, personal losses, and the complex, often misunderstood realities of adulthood.
For much of my life, I’ve felt adrift, caught in moments when I wasn’t okay, yet unable to admit it. For years, it was easier to pretend everything was fine rather than face the truth. I often felt alone, struggling to stay afloat on a sea that seemed intent on pulling me under with its relentless waves. Writing about my own mental health journey has become a way to break …
It’s that time of year again, where people get reflective and look back over the past twelve months, social media feeds go crazy with people posting their best bits (queue dramatic music backdrop to a carefully curated reel) and it seems everyone is on the ‘New Year, New You’ bandwagon. But I came here to say only this: It’s absolutely fine if all you accomplished this year was simply surviving. …
Happiness Doesn’t Start with Someone Else—It Begins When You Truly Meet Yourself. Or does it? It’s certainly not the story I’ve been told. Meet someone, settle down, get married, have kids. Happiness and joy is found through others. When I reached my mid-thirties as a singleton, the pressure of these societal goals came to a head. How could I ever be happily single, when happiness is only truly possible when not? …
Every aspect of life is impacted by mental health. Which makes it a bit silly when I think back on how uncomfortable I’ve felt admitting that mentally, I’ve experienced peaks and troughs, when pretty much every element of everyday life impacts my emotions, feelings and state of mind. So here’s my admission: Throughout moments, phases, weeks and entire years of my life, I have not been okay. It’s taken a …
I don’t know about you, but for the last few years I’ve found too much going on in my social calendar to feel really heavy. Stressful, even. I didn’t practise healthy social organisation skills, said Yes to pretty much anything and started to feel quite overwhelmed. Sure, there are worse problems to have. Having too many possible social engagements is in a lot of ways, a lovely problem. But the …
Dr Miriam Kirmayer has spent the past decade researching the science of friendships. On her website she states, “Our friendships are one of the most important predictors of our health and happiness, but it turns out we don’t actually know or talk much about how we can make new friendships, keep and support existing friendships, or even end our friendships (when necessary) as adults.” She references that what really adds …
I don’t think anyone that knows me would consider me a depressive person or someone who has struggled at times with depression. Generally I try to emit a happy persona. I mask what’s sometimes under the surface of it all. Because in truth, I’ve battled the deepest darkness, and occasionally I’ve considered suicide. I’m telling you this not for sympathy or pity, but because I think at a time where …
My mental health problems have been with me since I was a teenager, but I’ve mostly lived with them as a secret companion. Despite being diagnosed with depression in my late teens, having struggled with anxiety and negative thoughts as I’ve grown older, plus joyous recurrent bouts of depression. I don’t talk about what I’ve been through because I still feel a real sense of embarrassment at admitting these are …
Shopping stimulates a rush of happiness and dopamine, which can create an addictive habit. Maybe it was the buzz of the purchase, looking forward to that shiny new thing arriving, or the satisfaction of a good shopping spree. Whatever my reasons, that moment of buying stuff felt really good. Unfortunately the happiness never lasted long. Because there was always a new upgrade, fancier features, new styles, more things that felt …
Many a night I’ve spent hours watching videos and reels, scrolling through feeds, losing myself in the comments on social media, and googling apparent need to know there and then answers. Subconsciously, I’m aware my absent phone scrolling before bed makes me feel like shit. That it’s like self-harm for my mind. That the automatic draw to check multiple social media platforms and lose hours in that online world as …
