Kate Allan - You’re Strong, Smart, and You Got This: Drawings, Affirmations, and Comfort to Help with Anxiety and Depression

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Copyright 2020 Kate Allan.

Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of Mango Media Inc.

Cover Design: Kate Allan

Cover Photo/illustration: Kate Allan

Layout & Design: Elina Diaz

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Youre Strong, Smart, and You Got This: Drawings, Affirmations, and Comfort to Help with Anxiety and Depression

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2020933917

ISBN: (print) 978-1-64250-120-9, (ebook) 978-1-64250-121-6

BISAC category code: SEL004000SELF-HELP / Affirmations

Printed in the United States of America

Introduction

When I was twenty-five years old, a depressive episode stopped me in my tracks. I struggled to find purpose or meaning in anythingmy brain seemingly refused to produce the positive feelings of connection, creation, or victory. And even worse, my never-ending internal monologue continually repeated how much of a disappointment and a failure I was.

What changed? While browsing a blog, I came across the art of rubyetc. She had an amazing way of illustrating depression struggles with humor and honesty. And I realized I wasnt alone.

With encouragement from a kind and helpful therapist, I began writing my own affirmations and doodling cute little animals in the hopes of trying to find compassion for myself. Though I didnt feel I deserved goodness, I was determined that for every shame, disappointment, and negative judgement I thought and felt, I could find a kind counter thought. I theorized that kindness and colorful animals could help me heal. And you know what? They did actually help. My depression has never lifted entirely, but I have learned the battle is only half as painful when Ive stopped shaming myself for it.

So, after several years of writing and drawing affirming animals to help me get through, I created this book. Youre Strong, Smart, and You Got This is my attempt to accumulate all the lessons Ive learned and philosophies Ive adopted in order to live a fulfilling and productive life, despite depression and anxiety. I wrote each chapter to my younger self, with confidence that if I could invent a time machine and present this to a younger Kate, she would not have felt so alien and hopeless.

I obviously do not have all the answers, but I have come a long way. And my philosophy is, if I find something that helps, I want to share it. We all have our messes to navigate our own way though, right? I hope that in sharing mine, you, too, will feel less alone.

Dear Past Kate,

I made this book for you. Since I didn't get a chance to read anything like it when I was your age, I wrote it instead. Within, you'll find several short letters that I know will help you with a lot of your specific struggles. Oh, and drawings, too. Please: Never. Stop. Drawing.

When you're feeling overwhelmed, when you're afraid of not knowing what's ahead, when you feel like you're just not good enough, when you hate yourself, when your relationships don't quite feel right, and you feel like you don't belong anywhereplease READ THIS. No matter what problem feels insurmountable right now, just remember: You're Strong, Smart, and YOU GOT THIS.

Love,

Future Kate

Hello Younger Me,

You are trying your hardest, but it never feels like it's quite enough, does it? There's always some sort of disaster looming ahead, right? Well, as an older, more experienced version of you, I can tell youthis feeling never really goes away. I'm sorry, I know that's bad news.

But, you know what? You will get better at dealing with it. You'll learn to view your days in segments of timeyes, you may have an upcoming test you could very well fail, BUT it's only an hour out of your entire day, and afterwards you can drink some tea, play a video game, and chat with a friend.

And that hitch in your chest that continually keeps you from properly breathing? You will come to learn that when you exhale fully, hold your breath for a second, and THEN inhale, you can calm that hitch quite effectively.

Also, when your mind is full of those loud, confusing, stabbing thoughts? You will learn that when you write out all the things that HAVE to get done in your day, you then can focus on the important things and effectively block out all the mental noise.

And the most important thing youre going to learn, little nerd? You are going to mess up, a lot. And youll learn that, over and over again, you will come out the other side completely intact. In fact, with every difficulty you face down, you will actually become stronger, more resilient, and even more capable than you were before.