Nicola Nicola

Eight Years On.

|Trigger warning.|

The following contains adult content, adult language, my experience with physical, mental, verbal, and emotional abuse, and mental health struggles. Reader discretion is advised.

🌱

It’s been over for 8 years. And only this past weekend did I realize what actually happened during and maybe most importantly, in the aftermath.

During the relationship, I was so secretive. I didn’t let on to anybody what it was like living in that house. The hell that was daily life. I knew deep down that if my family knew what I was going through, they would have pulled up, packed my shit, and brought me home.

- this being one of the first acknowledgements of my abusive relationship with myself -__-

Each day was unpredictable in the worst way. Anger, outbursts, and verbal, mental and emotional abuse from both of them. I was living with a grenade surrounded by land mines.

When it ended, my family now in the loop, I was unable to have anyone talk badly about them. I couldn’t accept hearing the truth. It wasn’t the truth for me.

It took me *literal* years to move on. Even when I was eventually able to accept the reality of the situation. I could never understand why.

It was only this past weekend that it hit me. Trauma bond.

The repeated abuse, the daily depreciation and feeling unable to let go had me completely stuck in a loop.

This had honestly never occurred to me. Back then, I had never even heard of trauma bonding but now I am aware, it makes so much sense.

I’m now travelling down a rabbit hole of healing and accepting that I did what I could given the circumstances at the time. And that’s okay. 


Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it xoxo

Please take care of yourself, you are so important and deserve the world 🌍

As always, sending you love and kickassery 😏💪💋💖

 

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https://checkpointorg.com/global/

https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can...

 

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Nicola Nicola

Swapping One Abuser For Another

|Trigger warning.|

The following contains

adult content, my experience with mental, verbal and emotional abuse, substance abuse, and mental health struggles.

Reader discretion is advised.

🌱

I’ve replaced one form of abuse with another.

For the first time in my adult life, I am free. Totally and completely free. I was caged in for so long but now, the cage door is open, and I can leave without any worry of consequences. What a concept!

Since I turned 18, I have been in abusive relationships. They may differ in their type, but they have been abusive nonetheless. Since I ended my last abusive relationship, I have had time to myself, have found a loving partner and generally have the freedom to do whatever my heart desires. But that hasn’t happened.

It may sound ~sick~ but the unhealed, traumatized parts of me, miss the abuse. Maybe that’s too honest, but it’s my truth (and it may be something you need to hear).

So now I have created my own cage.

I began smoking. For obvious reasons, it’s terrible for my health but the potential effects on the MS? Nah.

It’s been going on for so long now that it is a full-blown addiction

- lol. not lol at all

Now I find myself in quite the predicament :

Care about myself enough to make an effort to quit smoking. Resulting in better health and slowing the progression of MS.

Care about myself enough to cut out a form of self-inflicted abuse.

So basically, it’s the same old problem = lack of self-care/worth/love.

Unfortunately, this post doesn’t hold the answers (I wish). But I am hoping that in addressing the issue, I cannot continue mentally ignoring it. 


Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it xoxo

As always, sending you love and kickassery 😏💪💋💖

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Nicola Nicola

All this sacrifice and for what? | steps to healing

In a conversation with a co-worker, they mentioned how other people at work like me. Which they then corrected to "most people". 

For the rest of the chat, all my mind was fixated on was the fact that not everyone likes me. It made me feel sad to think that there are people around me that don't like me. I started thinking - why not? what's wrong with me? what did I do wrong? I bend over backwards for others. Often ignoring my own needs to make sure they have a good day so what more can I do?! Round and round the spiralling went. When the conversation was over, I thought "I don't like every single person I know so..." which then lead to me criticising myself for being a 'mean person' for not liking every single person 100%. 

But why did I take it so personally? While I am a flawed and unperfect person taking such things so personally is a daily occurrence for me. And this is - as I'm sure you can imagine - painful and exhausting. In the back of my mind I have always had a thought that if you do good, you are owed good. It started from a young age as - Treat others the way you wish to be treated - but it then morphed into some kind of self-torture. Where, if I am not exhausting myself, neglecting myself or making sure everyone is happy other than myself, then I am a bad person. 

How can a good person be gifted with good things? Where is the penance? 

I have wanted to know for so long why I am the way that I am. That’s a pretty vague way of putting it but in truth, I have struggled my whole life with thinking the way I do, and I’ve never known why. Logic dictates that if you’re repeating a behaviour/thinking style that is having an undesirable effect on you and your life, you change it. But try as I might I’ve never been able to get to the root issue.

Heaven’s reward fallacy.

"The "Heaven's Reward Fallacy"
manifests as a belief that one's struggles,
one's suffering, and one's hard work will
result in a just reward."
- positivepsychology.com

What is it? In basic terms, it is a cognitive distortion. And a cognitive distortion is – "Research suggests that people develop cognitive distortions as a way of coping with adverse events. The more prolonged and severe those adverse events are, the more likely it is that one or more cognitive distortions will form." While I do suffer from other cognitive distortions, Heaven’s reward fallacy is definitely the one that affects my life the most – and not in a good way. I had an amazing childhood. I felt loved and had all the makings of what a child loves. However, I was witness to another person's inner struggles and suffering. While living with poor mental health is difficult, seeing someone you love more than anything go through it feels so much worse when you are a child. Things I heard and saw affect me to this day. It was traumatic and the healing is ongoing. I began to take it personally if I weren't able to pull them out of their dark times. I would feel failure when I did everything I could possibly think of to show that person love and to see it solve nothing. I think this was the beginning of a belief system starting: Give 100% to everyone around me and don't focus on myself. That's what 'good' people do. 

"Heaven's reward fallacy -
expecting all sacrifice and self-denial to pay off,
as if there were someone keeping score,
and feeling disappointed and even bitter
when the reward does not come"
- Beck 1976

Sacrifice and self-denial are old companions of mine. They have been with me for as long as I can remember. Even as a child I would struggle with thoughts that if I do x, y and z, then that means I am a good person. I have always felt the need to seek out the 'proof'. When I have been in abusive relationships there was always an undercurrent of me feeling like if I endured all this pain, something amazing will come my way. If I am still kind, understanding and loving to people who treat me like shit, then that proves that I am a good person and therefore will be rewarded positively in some way. How dangerous. In all seriousness, I have tolerated such disgusting behaviour from people just to confirm to myself that I am in fact a good person. 

Before knowing about Heaven's Reward Fallacy, there was a part of me that felt it was religious in nature. I grew up feeling that I was drawn to Christianity and would carry that out in the form of prayer, repentance and stringent ruling. Around the age of 27-29, I became less drawn to Christianity. I'm not sure why, but it just seemed distant to me now. That was followed by guilt and shame as I believed that I couldn't be a 'good person' without a God or religion in my life. I now realise that this was because I felt I needed someone/something to hold me accountable. To judge my actions, lack of and even my thoughts. To keep a scoreboard. There are things I have done/said and afterwards, I think: "why the hell did I do that?!??" or "how could I have done that??!?". And I think that comes down to 1) my lack of connection with myself and/or a higher being and 2) not to seem like I'm playing the blame game but, Heaven's Reward Fallacy had skewed my view on absolutely everything that I have had no freedom to be just a 'normal', flawed human being. 

"No amount of self-improvement
can make up for any lack of self-acceptance"
- @antiloneliness

I have given so much of myself away for a belief that doesn't even sit right with me. 
In truth, I don't give to receive and I don't expect others to go above and beyond for me. Doing the best you can, trying to be a good person is enough, surely? And to be honest, wouldn't we say that if someone is striving to be their best self, isn't that reward enough? They can look at themselves in the mirror and feel pride and happiness in the knowledge that they are the person they want to be. As people, we aren't perfect - far from it! and that is okay. It is something that I find very hard to accept. I hold myself to an excruciatingly high standard where perfection is achievable and what I allow as the bare minimum. Heaven's reward fallacy has made me my own worst enemy. Making me believe that my good enough, isn't good enough. 

I feel that I really need to allow myself the awareness and understanding that trying is more than enough. Nothing and no one is perfect and doing my best is perfectly acceptable. I can only imagine what my life would look like if it weren't controlled by guilt, shame and punishment but having spent my whole life up until this point living this way, I feel I owe myself the opportunity to live life minus the obsessive belief that I don't deserve any good in my life without massive self-neglect. 

Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it xoxo

As always, sending you love and kickassery 😏💪💋💖

 
 

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Nicola Nicola

Withdrawels | steps to healing

For months – I mean months, I had been in so much pain. I hid it all away from everyone. Making my family worry is something that I never want to do so I bottled it up. At times the lid would start to lift off but then I would screw it back on tight. I begged to have the strength to let him go. To be able to move on with my life, move forward. It had gone on for far too long. I pleaded to the universe to give me the strength I needed to let go. He was an ongoing reminder of all the pain I had (and still was) enduring. I hadn’t had the strength to completely walk away and remove him from my life. While I had had enough, the discomfort was familiar. The turbulence was habitual. It was part of my everyday life. It was routine at this point. For about two years of my life, the mind-numbing misery was pretty much the only thing that was consistent. It was a constantly open wound. 

Then one day, he was gone. I would never* see him again.

And while this feels somewhat peaceful, somewhat calming, I am also feeling empty. Upon reflection, I have come to realise that it isn’t him that I am missing, it’s the suffering. The constant rollercoaster of emotions. Leaving an abusive relationship is much like withdrawal from a substance(s). Seriously. Look it up.

~ Image is a clickable link to the article ~

Hopelessness? ✔

Feelings of failure? 

Shame? 

Guilt? 

These are feelings I felt throughout the relationship and since it ended. None of which are positive, helpful or aid me in my healing journey. 

So now that this huge part of my life is gone, is it any wonder that I’ve been feeling a lil’ funky? Nay. Believe me, when I first read that leaving an abusive relationship could cause withdrawal much like that of giving up an addictive substance I was floored. There was finally an answer to the question that had been plaguing me for so long: Why do I miss the relationship? It isn't logical to miss it. But it was never him or the relationship I missed, it was the chemical imbalances that that relationship had created. And I had been exposed to them for so long that the lack of them felt almost unbearable. 

What happens now? 

It feels as though I am re-learning how to just 👏 live 👏 my 👏 life 👏. To live life without having to feel like someone else’s emotions are my responsibility. Without having to be ten steps ahead of another person in order to feel that something bad won’t happen. In order to feel safe. Learning to live my life without the perpetual abuse, the unceasing cycle of destructive behaviour and abandonment of self. 

I am beginning the process of unlearning a lot of behaviours. Working through which parts of me are me and which are now disposable. Growth isn't easy, - understatement of the year - it is painful and uncomfortable. I am now starting to learn how to hold myself accountable for my choices and trying to be conscious within myself. I feel that I found myself so lost and consumed in that terrible situation and relationship(s) was because I had never truly tried to be within myself. To feel into my soul and find what resonates and what doesn't. 

When I started findingnoo, one of my main goals was to be able to find all parts of myself. To get to know me better and create a beautiful, loving and accepting relationship with myself. To become understanding and have an unbreakable bond with me. In being in this relationship and others, I have put my life on hold. I have put my recovery on the bottom of my list and have created an existence where I am of service to everyone but never have the time for myself. 

At this time I am feeling a mixture of hope and anxiety. I feel like I have been freed from prison. I served my time (even though I didn't need to) and I can now live the life I was always meant to live. And I will do what I always planned to do: document my healing journey on here and other platforms in the hopes that I can help anyone who is or has been in a similar situation. 

Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it xoxo
As always, sending you love and kickassery 😏💪💋💖


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*You know, never say never but the likelihood that I will see him again? V e r y low. 

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Nicola Nicola

Confronting My Abuser | steps to healing

|Trigger warning.|
The following contains adult content, my experience with mental, verbal and emotional abuse, mental health struggles. Reader discretion is advised.
🌱


I don’t know what came over me. It was a normal day, I was doing what I do as I always do it but something was different. I was suddenly filled with courage, anger and with determination. I spoke my truth. 

I laid it all out in front of him. I told him how he had made me feel. I explained that I had given him everything I could possibly think of: money, my body, my love, my attention and nearly even my life. And it was still never enough. I let him know how all of this made me feel, how it still makes me feel. 


Throughout I had a swirly feeling in my stomach. Saying these things that felt so overdue, out loud, to him… It was surreal. It felt like word vomit but in an articulate, calm and - somehow - polite manner. He, on the other hand, seemed nonchalant and as if he weren’t hearing the words coming out of my mouth. His lack of response/reaction to the horrors I was sharing completely stunned me. 


When we were seeing each other, he often seemed like he couldn’t care less about me and my feelings but he still managed to shock me by his lack of displaying regret upon hearing the pain he has caused me. Since being apart I have often blamed myself for everything that happened. I would remove all blame from him and make him seem to be innocent. 


In the past, I had said many of these things to him but it felt like this time I had conviction. Every word had been processed over and over in my mind. It was as if this was a scripted speech. I had been feeling like something had to give. I wasn’t sure what needed to be done but I knew it was something


Afterwards, I almost cried. Not from fear or regret. Tears of joy. I was, and still am, incredibly proud of myself. I stood up for myself in a way that reflected who I am, a calm, caring and respectful person. There was no ill-will or bad feeling on my part, I just needed on a soul level to shed. I needed to shed that part of my story and begin my journey to healing. 


🌠I was fortunate to be able to have the safe space to do this in. I wouldn’t recommend every person in a similar situation do the same. If you aren’t in a completely safe place and in the right mindset it could be very dangerous.
Please be mindful.🌠

Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it xoxo
As always, sending you love and kickassery 😏💪💋💖


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Nicola Nicola

Coming Home.

 I remember the goal.

The goal was to get well enough to be able to get a job. To push the OCD back and far away enough to be able to have a 'normal' life. Well, I achieved it. It took blood, sweat, guts and too many tears to count but my god did I do it. I looked OCD in the face and told it to fuck off. I mentally listed everything it had taken from me. The opportunities I had missed, the life I had been unable to live. I sat one day flooded in tears saying aloud “I hate you. I HATE YOU”. I had blocked the hoover with tissue that I was too afraid to pick up. I had to practically dismantle the thing to sort it out, which lead me to think that it would have been so much easier and less time consuming to have just picked the stupid tissue up in the first place. I was filled with rage. And for once it wasn't aimed at me, it was aimed directly to the correct culprit, the OCD. Having that thing to directly place the blame on became my bullseye. Something to aim towards – or in my case, head directly away from. The OCD became my enemy. It had deprived me of so much that how else could I have looked at it? That mentality worked in my favour. With consistent, hard work I was able to turn my life around. I actually began living again.

"My story is not a sad story; it's a real one.

It's a story about a girl who fought through a storm she thought would never end."

-hannah blum

Within the first three months of starting my job I was unhappy. I felt like I had no time for myself, no time to work on myself. I feel that a person needs to be constantly working on themselves. I believe that who I am is ever evolving and my education of myself will never be finished. Working ate into my 'me' time. I felt like I was growing further and further away from myself and as a result, my recovery. I never believed that getting the job would be the last piece of the puzzle but I never expected it to cost me anything. I never thought it would take pieces of the puzzle away from me. Over the last two or so years since I've been working, I have been in and left an abusive relationship, been diagnosed with symptoms of eupd and feel like I have grown further and further away from myself with each month that has passed. Even when I feel there is something to aim for I have looked the other way and in doing so have worsened my relationship with myself.

I haven't re-focused.

Even though I have three whole days off a week all to myself I still haven't made the time to get back to my recovery. Each day I push it to the back of my mind. I fill my free time with watching true crime videos on YouTube which, lets face it doesn't exactly bring a person joy. Or I listen to sad songs that remind me of bad times. Or I isolate myself and sit in my room ruminating my negative feelings rather than focus on the good in my life. I think when I had a clear enemy to focus on it made it (somewhat) easier to push forward. The OCD was a cut a clear opponent with whom I was eventually able to defeat. Now I feel aimless. I think about it all the time. I can't find the goal. It feels like there's a big bullseye looming over me but it's just out of reach.


I think I spent so much time worrying that I have no goal that it completely eluded me... Me. I'm the goal. Working on myself has never felt like work. It has filled me with pride, motivation and enthusiasm. The first day I walked out of my house when I was home alone gave me a feeling of complete euphoria. I was on top of the world. When I am working on myself I am driven. Coming home to myself is a direction that feels more than right. It feels familiar and exciting all at the same time. I am back on track to findingnoo. 

"I have traveled through madness to find me"

-danny alexander

Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it xoxo

As always, sending you love and kickassery 😏💪💋💖


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Nicola Nicola

Waiting for an apology that will never come

|Trigger warning.|
The following contains adult content, my experience with mental, verbal and emotional abuse, mental health struggles. Reader discretion is advised.
🌱


I spoke to him.

My ex-abuser.

I told him about that one specific time and how what he did to me would constitute sexual assault.

He looked at me blankly.

No apology.

I described what he did to me that day.

Somehow I managed to describe it without the gory details.

Giving just enough information to jog his memory.

He couldn't remember.

No apology.

All he added to the conversation was that I had freaked him out by saying that I could have reported him for what he had done.

He didn't ask how I am/how I've been dealing with it etc.

No apology.

Since what happened I have been plagued with flashbacks.

Now when I think of him it is one of the first thoughts I have.

But for him? He didn't even remember it happening.

No apology.

For months I have been in a prison. Remembering that day and many others when he would be abusive.

I'm still able to be brought to tears when thinking of that year of torment.

Him on the other hand? Doesn't even recall how he treated me.

No apology.

His life has continued on as normal.

He is still on the same path in his life.

All of his plans and relationships haven't been tainted.

He isn't looking for red flags when surrounded by others.

He's happy.

He is still the whole person he was.

His family haven't had to see him breaking down.

No apology.


There is a huge blank space within me and I feel like that part of me is still there in that hotel bathroom. Too jarred to produce tears. Feeling afraid and weak. I believe when I left the hotel room that day, I left a huge piece of me sitting there. She has been trapped there all this time. In a constant loop of not knowing what to do. Feeling used and broken. I can feel her sitting there alone. Crying. She can't find the key card to exit. Her stomach is in knots. She can see his marks on her body. She's showered but still feels incredibly filthy. Empty stomach. Mind full of dread and disgust. The guilt I feel for leaving her behind is intense. But how do I go back and rescue her only to tell her that I have continued to make the same mistakes? I imagine reaching out my hand to her and her cowering away from me. And I honestly cannot blame her. At every point I chose him over me. I put his needs first. I created a world in which I was invisible to everyone – including myself.

I have overwhelming feelings of pain and anger towards myself. After everything he put me through, it's me who I'm mad at. 

It's my apology to myself that I am waiting for. Even to this day. 

Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it xoxo

As always, sending you love and kickassery 😏💪💋💖

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Nicola Nicola

Guilt / My Companion

For the majority of 2019 I was in an abusive relationship.
In December of that year I - reluctantly and somewhat unwillingly - walked away. Throughout our time together there had been flags of all kinds of colours. Which I pushed to one side every time. The way in which he spoke to me, about me and how he treated my soul and body wasn't okay. To put it lightly. But he kind of reminded me of someone. Me. The words he would use, the lack of consideration for my thoughts and feelings. His callousness with my emotional well being, the body that I live in and my mental health. It all felt familiar. Close to home. I feel on some level he was able to see what little regard I had for myself and used that as his benchmark. It makes me assess other relationships I have had and how there is a common under current to how I am treated.

Since then I have been on the journey working on healing. I have had racing thoughts, endless questions to which I have largely been trying to push to one side. However, this past week I have been pestered and left wondering...
How many times is God/Source/The Universe,
going to bring someone into my life
 - that reflects my own toxicity back at me - 
JUST for me to ignore it?

I have been sent living mirrors. People who have as little regard for me and my feelings as I do, several times, for me to then simply be ignorant to the message.

Looking back at my life as a whole there is a consistent pattern. I believe that if I put up with anything and everything I have in a way 'paid my dues'. If I have been badly mistreated that means something amazing will come my way. Maybe if I allow myself to be treated like crap then I will be rewarded. It's like I'm working off a debt that doesn't exist. AND If there isn't someone in my life treating me badly you best believe that I will personally fill that position. I have been a willing and active participant in my overall mistreatment. All because I believed that I deserved to be struggling, miserable and filled with guilt.

"Self betrayal is a coping mechanism learned in childhood when we betray our own needs, emotions and desires in order to gain love or approval from a parent figure".
-the holistic psychologist

I actually thought the other day: why am I punishing myself? What have I done that I need to make amends for? I had zero answers. That isn't me saying I'm perfect, I've never made a mistake in my life or that I'm some kind of angel because - p-lease 👀  - Perfect doesn't exist, we've all made mistakes but punishing yourself? Achieves nothing. Sure, if, for example, you hurt someones feelings : apologize and move forwards. What more can a person do? I literally walk around as if I owe the world an apology just for being here. I feel like my existence is a burden.

Over the last few months I have given myself a bit of space and it has provided me with some clarity. In a video I watched the other day, the speaker said that you may be in an abusive relationship with a toxic person but you are toxic too... To yourself. Man did my jaw hit the floor. In truth, I feel that the guilt I feel is valid but perhaps not in the way I have always believed. I feel guilt over allowing myself to be used, abused and neglected by others but mainly, by me. I feel that I do owe an apology but only to myself. The pattern I have been living my whole life is toxic, it keeps me very small and makes me a doormat in every way imaginable. How could this serve anyone?? I'm living proof that it doesn't. Not at all.

"a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc.,
whether real or imagined".
-guilt definition

In all honesty I think I used to 'blame' it on the beliefs I had with regards to religion. If I am the nicest, purest, kindest, un-selfish person in the world then surely I will be in Gods good books. It sounds a little ridiculous and sad to me now realizing that this is how I have lived my life. From as young as I can remember I have always stifled my complaints, my needs and qualms with regards to others and the world. Truly believing that if I ask for nothing I will be rewarded everything. And that isn't in a manifesting kind of way. Eg: I will exude positivity and positivity will return to me. More like: Asking for anything is bad, needing things are selfish. If I am as selfless as can be, only good can come of it. SPOILER ALERT that's a crock of shit. Anything but good has come from living this narrative.

I have lived each day as if I am locked in a prison cell.
I am the prison guard, the prisoner and the warden. All of whom are keeping their eyes on me, making sure I tow the line. The slightest resistance to feeling that I deserve better/more and I am reprimanded. Whether by removing enjoyable things from my life, creating a severe depressive episode or by isolating me from anyone and everyone. I am fully prepared for when I need to be punished but I am never ready to do the opposite. To have an understanding that life is what I make it and by continuing this seemingly never ending loop, I am, each day, reinforcing that the way I think is correct and that there is no need to change it.

"I'm a black belt when I'm beating up on myself,
but I'm an expert at giving love to somebody else".
-demi lovato

My belief system has kept my world small, tiny, even. Resulting in me never striving for more. Never having goals or aspirations. I am left feeling like I don't really know who I am. Who am I without people pleasing? Who would I be if I were able to remove the unnecessary guilt that I carry with me constantly? What kind of life would I be living if I didn't always shun myself for daring to reach out my hands and ask for more? Without my guilt who the hell am I? I wish I could tell you. Stripping away all of the trauma, the programming, the laws that I force myself to live by, what could possibly be left? I feel like I cling to my guilt as if it were my best friend. It is knitted into who I am. The thought of losing a part of yourself is kinda scary - even when it is a negative part. Take one step out of your makeup routine and boy will you notice it. Take away a piece of yourself? Who knows what ramifications will occur. 

I just want to be happy. I feel like I have managed to rule out so many possible 'reasons' for my guilt but have yet to settle on the root cause. 
If I dare to ask for more for my life what will happen?
Lets see.

Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it xo

As always, sending you love and kickassery 😏💪💋💖

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Nicola Nicola

Piece of the Puzzle

So I was today years old when I found a rather large missing piece of me that has been bugging me for a really really long time.

My OCD has been playing up big time lately. Over the past year it has been creeping quietly back in but the past month or so it had been particularly bad. So I did what I always do.... Research. I took to YouTube and searched. The first thing that popped up was a video that was a therapists thoughts on how OCD is really PTSD. It kind of felt like something clicked in me. It made me start thinking about the possible link between my disorder and my (undiagnosed) PTSD and how it made a whole lot of sense to me that they could be connected. I let it steep in my mind for a couple of days and then we arrived at today.

Today was my second day off in a little while where I have spent time alone. I started my day as I begin most.... Watching Tiktok for an obscene amount of time

- trying to correct this habit as i'm not 12 and have adult responsibilities -__-

and I came across a video of someone talking about the 'fawning' response to trauma. A little while back I read up about different responses to trauma and I discovered that I fall under the fawning category. Seeing the Tiktok video made me pause. Could there be a link between my current OCD struggles and the trauma I have faced over the past year?

So this afternoon I pulled out my laptop, made a tea and grabbed some snacks and began further researching. I googled fawning and from there I learned a whole lot about myself. I read an article all about what fawning is and how it manifests and how it may project itself. With every sentence I read it was like reading my autobiography. Every word was like the writer was able to read my mind and had put it into words. Things that I have struggled for years to verbalise were right on front of me. For example, I used to think I was 'just' a people pleaser but it goes much further than that. I constantly ignore my own needs to conform to what I believe others expect of me.

What hit me was this: While I may react to trauma with the fawning response, I am always in the fawning state. It never stops. I believe it has woven itself into me. There are connections between my OCD and the fawning response.

Fawning is brought by the attempt to avoid conflict and trauma by appeasing people.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – compulsive behaviours can help you avoid difficult feelings. An obsessive-compulsive behaviour pattern can occur when your flight response becomes engaged.

So what now? A gigantic piece of my puzzle had just slotted in, but how do I adapt? How do I give myself the reassurance that I am safe. That it's okay for me to have a different opinion on things. That I no longer need to be living in a fawning state. I am not on this planet to conform to what I think is acceptable to everyone else. I need to give myself permission to be myself and accept who she is.

Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it xo

As always, sending you love and kickassery 😏💪💋💖


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Nicola Nicola

Losing You To Love Me.

On the 27th June 2018
- woah that's not even last year at this point
I uploaded a video to my YouTube channel titled “New Beginnings : A Heart to Heart”. In that video, I shared some struggles that I had been through over the last few years and a recent sense of freedom I had been feeling. I had been shutting off the past by not allowing myself to accept how it really was and by doing so, never had an outlet for those darker times.
At the time of that video, I had been full steam ahead with my recovery. I was watching Tony Robbins seminars and in doing so I learnt a whole bunch about myself and the mechanisms I have. I was really taking care of myself, mind, body
- not so much, but i was allowing myself to eat what my inner self was craving with some salad thrown in there
and soul. Regularly checking in with myself. Being more open with others. The middle part of 2018 was spent being the most scheduled I had (have) been on my channel since its creation in 2011. I was constantly thinking of new content and was in my element. I was seeing my friends more often and was allowing myself to be freer with speech. At this point, I had also beaten my OCD way back and I was able to do things that I had only ever dreamt about. Picking up my little sibling and playing with them. Reusing my teacup without having to scrub it to within an inch of its life. Touching door handles.
- yes really
I had come so very far. Being on that side of recovery felt amazing.

When I uploaded this video it was kind of a fresh start. I wasn't erasing what had come before but I was preparing my platform for what would be coming in the future. I re-branded and changed my name to FindingNoo. People that are close to me call me Noo and I also tie it a lot to my younger years and searching and connecting to my inner child has been and always will be a part of my journey. All of the things I had achieved up until that point were propelling me forward. I believe a large part of me was sick and tired of focusing and living in the past and wanted me to look to the future. I wasn't ignoring where I had been, I was just taking it for the lessons it taught me and moving on my path.

In August 2018 I got a job. Elated doesn't begin to cover it. For years in therapy when asked what I wanted for my future the answer was always the same: I want to be well enough to work. Getting that job made me feel like I was flying. I felt incredibly proud of myself and how hard I had worked on my journey. I couldn't wait to have my dream become a reality. Little did I know that what I thought would be a dream, became my nightmare. Looking back I can see all of the flags along the way. After just a month of working, I had decreased my hours quite substantially. I also noticed that I couldn't switch off. On my days off I would be thinking, talking and dreaming about work. Speaking of days off, I slept my way through them. I couldn't stay awake. So it never really felt like I had had time off because I had done nothing with my day(s) and then all of a sudden I was back at work. I think the over-sleeping somewhat helped with my physical tiredness but over time the exhaustion I felt on a soul level wasn't being catered to.

Sadly me being at work resulted in me doing very little work – on myself. Over the course of the year and a half of being employed, I got progressively worse and worse with regards to my mental health. All of the progress I had made was chipped at bit by bit. I'm not saying that I'm back to square one but let's say I've had several setbacks. By the time it came to my attention that working was having a detrimental effect on me it hit me like a tonne of bricks. I have been signed off by my doctor several times and currently, I have been off of work for 6 weeks at this time. As a Capricorn sun, I have a strong work ethic and am drawn to structure but in the hopes of achieving that outwardly, I sacrificed myself and my needs over and over again.

The thought of leaving has been something that has been spinning through my mind. It has literally been tormenting me. I have nightmares about it. It's as if even my subconscious has been screaming at me “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WOMAN PICK YOURSELF FOR ONCE!!”. I pride myself on my strength, my determination and my ability to roll with the punches. But running into fists is a completely different thing. I've had to stop and really think about what it is that I am doing. How does it make me feel? What am I gaining out of this? Could I be happier? I have taken my time to really find what I really want moving forwards. I am so incredibly happy to be working, to be working where I am and having achieved all that I have to date. I am choosing myself and am going to continue to while working.

I think when I began working I wasn't fully prepared for all that would be coming my way. While others may not even have to think about switching off when they get home from work, it is something that I find difficult. I struggle to differentiate between 'work life' and 'everything else life'. For *literal* years I have said that I need to prioritize myself, to choose myself and over the last year and a half, I have to be honest, I haven't really tried to. I never really have. But now that I know a million percent that this is the kind of life I want to be living - working while prioritizing myself and my mental health - I feel ready to  r e a l l y  try my hardest to make it a reality. 

When posting that video in June 2018 I was really looking forward to the next chapter in my life. It appears to be continuing to learn self-growth, healing and a crap tonne of love. I'm hoping as a result of this I will be back to connecting with myself which will mean returning to blogging and YouTube. Can I get a woohoo?
- inside im crazy happy right now
Trying to be everything for everyone else kinda left me out in the cold.
I'm now sitting inside with a cosy blanket and a nice warm cup of tea. I'm ready to patch things up and keep moving forwards.
I'll bring you along the journey with me 😊💖


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Nicola Nicola

my biggest relapse>>my biggest breakthrough

Staring at a blank page. There's so much I could write. Like how I got signed off work, how I've never felt so low, how I had the worse relapse to date and how I almost completely lost myself.
Or
I could tell you about what I learned from it all... And that's what I'm gonna do.
Too often I dwell on the negative. I let it control my feeling towards a situation and then completely take over - usually resulting in me relapsing. But this time feels a little different. While being in the dark scares me beyond belief, when I was in it, I understood that it wasn't going to last forever.

There has always been a part of me, a part of my mind that seemed to be out to 'get me'. Any time I would evolve or start feeling good it would tear me down. It created a feeling of hate in me. I despised that part of my brain that was constantly betting on me to lose. If I was feeling motivated and positive it knew all the tricks to bring me down. I was resentful. I dreamed of how far I would be if only that part didn't exist.
This part wasn't small either! My brother suggested it was like the relationship between Golem and Smeagle. A very nasty voice that would engulf me in darkness and make me believe that I was all alone.

Over the last few days or so I have been feeling more myself. Clearer. Calmer. Happier. I've been trying to lift myself out of the place I've been for the last 2 months. I always get to this point but the darkness, that part of my mind, always comes back and takes control - or rather, I let it.
I was having a pretty standard day today and while doing something that required no brain power, my mind wandered. And all of a sudden it came to me.
What I realized was that the part of me that I have always blamed for dragging me back, loves me and is scared. I think it is trying to protect me.

Cards on the table, last night I just finished watching something and it sparked a tremendous thought process in me.
Part of the story line was the mother wants to protect her children from the dark world and in doing so attempts to do the unthinkable. She loves them more than anything and just wants them to be safe. (I'm not condoning this behaviour in the slightest, it just allowed me to have an insight into my own thinking)
It hit me on so many levels. It also made me think. In doing so I made a connection between what I had seen and my relationship with myself.

I think part of me will always think back to my lowest points. Where I was unable to go out, didn't leave my room for months, restricted any and all socializing I had. I think of those times often and I think when I improve or step towards a healthy future, that part of me reminds me of where we were. I thought out of malice, like "you don't deserve it" or "you're not good enough".
But I don't believe that anymore. I think when I am moving forwards, my mind reminds me of the bad times as a way of supporting me. Like "this could happen again, have you thought this through?" and "be careful". Trying to teach me how to use past mistakes or problems as a way to learn and keep going. It isn't a negative voice at all. It's an encouraging one.

I have always been looking after everyone which has at times left me feeling secluded. But I never would have thought that there was someone invested in me, watching over me, caring unconditionally: Me. I have been fighting for years to find a way to build a relationship with myself and all along there has always been a solid foundation inside me.
At times when I have felt completely alone, like no one in the world understands me, I had me. And I believe that maybe why it seemed to be so aggressive was because it was screaming out for me to listen to it. "I'm trying to help you!" "I'm trying to love you dammit".

It's hard to believe that that part has been supporting me all along. Not an enemy, very far from it. I think that the scared little child created something to give her strength. Someone who had the ability to do what she couldn't, a safe place to be. That part has come in very handy over the years. Looking back at every moment of fear or worry or stress, there it was. Offering me a place where I could be vulnerable, frightened. I often don't outwardly show my less attractive emotions, which in turn can leave me feeling ostracized. But when I'm sat alone, crying or feeling hopeless it is that part of me that wipes my tears and picks me back up. She has never left me. Has been a constant every day.

It astounds me to think I ever thought of it as a negative part of my life. To think that I felt it was restricting me sounds crazy to me. I am beyond grateful. If it were another person I would feel forever indebted to them, while I do feel that, I think the only way to show true appreciation is to give that part of me room to grow. Nurture it and allow it to nurture me.
I am so sorry to her. While I may have thought she was a nagging, evil witch she was only trying to help and guide me. The foundation upon which I stand. The foundation isn't hate. It isn't plotting against me.
I am promising to accept her into my life and into my heart. I can only dream of the wonderful things that will come out of this relationship 😭💗

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Nicola Nicola

2am. tears, realizations and hot chocolate.

It's 2:28 am and I am laying with my head in a tear soaked pillow. I have been crying for approximately 40 minutes. About what? About everything. Literally. When I get into this loop, everything comes to my mind. I think about all of the bad choices I have made. I torment myself thinking that no one cares about me. I bully myself about my weight. I compare my life to others and show myself how little I have accomplished with my existence. I go over and over and over why they haven't text me back in 4 days. I cry as silently as possibly so as not to wake my mum and brother peacefully sleeping. I gasp for air as my lungs feel as though they have never been so empty. The tears stream down my face. I clutch at my arms, my face, my blanket; anything that I can reach. I think of how today had been an okay day. How I was laughing with my brother just a number of hours ago. How I was singing and dancing to Little Mix in the shower. How I was cuddling my Pip cuddly toy while watching a movie with family earlier. What happened? This is how it is. Every day. Granted, I don't have a crying session like this every day but the drastic changes in mood? Yeah, that's every day. And I'm getting help "urgent" was the word I believe the doctor said but what do I do for now? When I'm up I'm so unbelievably high it's wonderful but kinda scary at the same time. When I'm down it is pretty unbearable. So now what? Well. I've been typing this up for about 12minutes, the tears have stopped but I have a bad feeling that I am no where near sleep. I'm going to go downstairs, make myself a hot chocolate and then get back into bed and either watch some Sophdoesnails on YouTube or Dancing On Ice... kinda feeling like watching a bit of Ashley Banjo may be the cure I need tonight. I guess I kind of self soothed by writing this down - something I haven't done for MONTHS.
Well, the hot chocolate is calling. toodles! Xoxo



- the one edit i am making is that i watched the perfect man on netflix. which was a fantastic decision, as always ✌
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Nicola Nicola

Realizing That I've Slipped | Update on my Mental Health

So. I have been working full time for a month now and in some aspects, a whole lot has been going on whereas in other areas, a whole lot of nothing has been happening.
One day at work last week, I looked in a mirror and was taken aback at what I saw. Across my face all I could see was neglect.
Work has been tiring. No big surprise there! But I have drifted away from myself.
I work 12 hour shifts several days a week and I noticed that even on my days off, I feel lethargic, uninspired and to be honest, sad.
In a lot of ways I feel used up. Emotionally drained.
I mean, of course I'm a little worn out,
- bish i've been working really hard 😂💪
but it feels like it's more than that.

But when I actually paused for a second and gave myself the time to really think about it, I realized that over the last month I have done little to no self care. I haven't been checking in with myself. I get up, go to work, get home, eat dinner and go to bed. And that is my routine for half the week. I have had pretty much no time to do the things I enjoy. I end up having to choose between things like : see my friends or film and edit? Get an early-ish night or hang out with family?

I haven't been able to find the time to film videos or write blog posts which has made me feel like something is missing. I love filming, editing and writing so for that to not be a part of my week has been very hard. 

Yesterday was the first time in about two weeks that I did 'full glam'. It isn't all about the makeup, but makeup makes me feel like who I really am and not having had that in my life for some time, it has left me feeling unlike myself. As soon as I had done my makeup yesterday I felt completely different to how I have been feeling. I felt like a million bucks!💲💲
Taking all of this into consideration, is it really that surprising that there has been a disconnect?
Looking after myself and my mental health is a crucial part of my life and when I am not practicing that, I can feel the difference and it's a huge one.
As my family and friends have said to me this week, my mental health and happiness is what is important. I seem to have ignored that fact. Having only been working for four weeks, I am already placing my job higher on my list of priorities than myself and that is not okay with me.

I have spent much of my life putting myself at the bottom of my list. Over looking my mental health and my needs. Prioritizing anyone and everyone over me. Over the last year or so I began to learn to see myself, to hear what I really feel and think. I refuse to slip back into old, self destructive, damaging habits. I couldn't be happier that I have gotten to a place in my life and recovery where I am able to work, but I am not going to let my previous behaviors prevent me from looking after myself, my mental health and making sure I'm my number one priority.

Please don't think I am complaining about work. I honestly feel so proud and thankful that I have the opportunity to have a job, I am just struggling to find the middle ground with it all. But now that I realize that I am unhappy with the current circumstances, I feel like I am now able to really think about making some adjustments to have the best of everything. I believe we all deserve that 💗

I want to thank you so much for stopping by and for reading my post. I hope you're all taking really good care of yourselves 😊💞

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Nicola Nicola

All The Deets On My Mental Health

As this blog is a mixture of a bit of beauty and a bit about my life, some things that I'm sure will be about neither.
I do tend to waffle :D
I thought I would write a post talking about my mental health. Kinda like an introduction to what my life is like living with mental illness'.
It makes sense to me that I should share with you the details as I'm sure I will be talking about it quite a bit on my blog/channel.


Ok, so I've got OCD. I was diagnosed in 2014, and it really isn't all about being overly organized and washing your hands all the time
(although, I am guilty of both of those!).
At that time I was working in a shop and I was getting more and more stressed.
I was crying everyday, panicking and I wasn't even able to switch off when I got home.
I was checking and re-checking everything. It was taking up so much of my time.
Even when I had checked something for the 5th time I still wasn't convinced.
literally didn't trust my own brain.

Something wasn't right.
My family had seen everything that was going on and urged me to see a doctor.
I was diagnosed and in some ways it helped to know what was going on.
Unfortunately I had to leave my job within weeks of being diagnosed.
It had continued to worsen and the whole situation became more than I felt I could handle.


The best way for me to describe it is the same way a lot of others do and that is to break down the name itself :
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Having OCD involves having obsessions. For example, I will feel dirty. Literally dirty.
It may be because I have touched something I think may be dirty or sometimes, I just plain feel it.
I panic. I fear contaminating someone/something so I try to find a way to deal with this situation.

Which leads us to the compulsions.
Performing physical and/or mental 'rituals' in the hopes of relieving the anxiety.
In this scenario, I would then want to quickly find a way to wash my hands, if I can't do that for whatever reason, I will use hand sanitizer.

That brings us to the 'D' - Disorder.
OCD is a mental disorder and not something to be taken lightly or romanticized.
"The illness affects as many as 12 in every 1000 people (1.2% of the population) from young children to adults, regardless of gender or social or cultural background. In fact, it can be so debilitating and disabling that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has actually ranked OCD in the top ten of the most disabling illnesses of any kind, in terms of lost earnings and diminished quality of life." *link*

Unfortunately, I have obsessions and compulsions from a few different 'types' of OCD.
In the beginning, my main compulsions were centered around checking.
Whether it be plugs, windows, the correct orders at work, making sure I haven't said the wrong thing... The list goes on.
Ever since then, my checking has minimized; due to the fact that I am at home everyday and don't go out and mingle with people very much
(reducing the amount of plug checking, talking to people etc.).
My contamination OCD has progressively gotten worse. I don't like being touched, touching other people or their belongings.
I am not scared of germs, I am concerned that I may be dirty/contaminated and that in touching someone/something I will make them ill.

During my first round of C.B.T, it was brought to my attention that I have a heightened sense of responsibility.
To me, anything and everything is my fault. I feel it wholeheartedly, it's not just a passing feeling.
I have a hard time believing otherwise.

I also suffer with anxiety. Talking in general and interacting isn't easy for me.
I worry a lot about what I say and that I may hurt someones feelings or offend them.

Amidst everything, I struggle with lack of self care.
I am not a priority and I don't treat myself with the love and respect that I feel everyone should.

Recovery whilst feeling this way is incredibly difficult to say the least, but I am trying to persist.


Phew!!
So that's pretty much the ins and outs of my mental health.
With each of the above mentioned issues I struggle with, it has been a learning curve.
Since being diagnosed, I have looked back and been able to see that some illnesses have been with me for quite some time, under the radar.
I wasn't always as constrained as I am now and that gives me hope for the future :)

This year I have begun to learn how to live with my mental illness' rather than be controlled by them and that is a huge deal to me.
Baby steps.

I would love to be able to raise awareness and in any way help others - even if that is just by showing that fellow sufferers are not alone 
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