TWLOHA

The things that make you passionate, joyful, and loud do not make you messy or too much. They deserve celebration

“OCD is like an elementary school bully, picking on the things that make me sick to my stomach, reminding me that I am the monster I question myself to be; except I don’t get reprieve when the bell rings and the school day ends.” https://twloha.com/blog/ocd-learning-to-swim/

Hope moves when we do.

Join participants around the world for our Virtual Move For It 5k on May 2nd! As we celebrate 20 years of hope and help, we’ll be coming together in honor of those we’ve lost, for the world we want to see, and the stories we’re still writing.

Learn more at moveforit5k.com.

We might not be able to completely silence anxiety or overthinking, but we can combine it with hopefulness. As much as you can imagine the scary things, you can imagine the good things, too.

In “OCD & Learning to Swim,” author Diana Del Gaudio writes about their experience with obsessive-compulsive disorder and how they tried valiantly to manage it without external care. But it was therapy that gave them the tools and support to address it. https://twloha.com/blog/ocd-learning-to-swim/

Share this with the person who may need to hear it. None of us deserve to go through the hardest parts of life alone. 💙

Shout out to those who have learned to share their experience of self-injury without fear. You are helping others know they aren’t alone.

Your healing will rarely be all good or all bad. It's up and down, and hardly ever linear. Hold grace for yourself through every part.

“The things past me needed aren’t complex in the grand scheme of things, but patterns I continue to see in others and myself today. A lot goes back to:

Am I loved?
Am I worthwhile?
Will they stay once they truly see me?”

https://twloha.com/blog/what-id-want-her-to-know/

In a world full of “I could never do that,”

remember to be someone who says, “I’ll never know if I don’t try.”

Who you are is always changing. Create a story you're proud of.

“Guilt and shame. Don’t push them away. Learn what each one’s story is and understand what they are trying to say. Ignoring them won’t make them go away.” https://twloha.com/blog/what-id-want-her-to-know/

In a world full of “You’ll never make it,”

remember to be someone who says, “My dreams are worth taking a chance on.”

Stay to see another sunrise.

“Saying 'no' isn’t mean. The quest for liberation includes you as well, and you have a right to establish a boundary. Not everyone will accept it, but ‘no’ is a full sentence.” https://twloha.com/blog/what-id-want-her-to-know/

Shout out to those who know that self-injury recovery is not linear. Keep taking it day by day.

We need each other, often more than we'd like to admit. Build, lean on, and find healing in community.

The new Better Camo Hoodie is going fast, and we’re so glad you love it. 🤩 Make today better by shopping TWLOHA. Every purchase funds mental health resources + support.

store.twloha.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/better-camo-hoodie

“What signals trust and distrust in your body? Those things aren’t random. Respect your gut while remembering that a familiar disaster will feel more comfortable than an unfamiliar peace for your nervous system.” https://twloha.com/blog/what-id-want-her-to-know/

It can take time for it to sink in, but the truth remains that you are worthy of care and support.

Peer Support Groups - twloha.com/peersupport
FIND HELP Tool - twloha.com/find-help
Mental Health Toolkit - mentalhealthtoolkit.co
Crisis Text Line - Text TWLOHA to 741741

“I didn’t believe it when I was younger, but life is so much more than where I started. There is pain, there is wonder, beauty, sorrow, confusion, excitement, peace, magic, starlight, and sunrise, and all the in betweens. It’s a worthwhile journey.” https://twloha.com/blog/what-id-want-her-to-know/

Shout out to those learning to live with scars from their past. Your story is not shameful.

Tomorrow will always hold the possibility of something better.

“For most of us, we are doing what we can with what we currently have. We are all trying to survive, and surviving in a world that is built to break you down is revolutionary in itself." https://twloha.com/blog/what-id-want-her-to-know/

Listen closely to your body. It takes practice to figure out when our bodies need us to rest and when to keep going.

Shout out to those who recovered from self-injury when they never thought they would. You are proof of hope and healing.

In “What I’d Want Her to Know,” author Jenny Chapman explores what lessons and wisdom she would want to pass along to her younger self, who used self-injury to cope and did the best she could with what she knew and what she had been handed down. https://twloha.com/blog/what-id-want-her-to-know/

Keep believing in the future you can build for yourself.

“As an adult, you do have an option to do things differently and heal. Therefore, healing often involves learning to give yourself permission to need, to speak, and to care for your body and emotions without shame." https://twloha.com/blog/things-you-werent-allowed-to-do-as-a-child/

Your TWLOHA Calendar reminder for March. 🍀 You never know the good things that might be waiting for you in the days ahead. Keep going.