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Life update

Hi everyone! It’s Jess AKA the Extra Ounce. You may have noticed I haven’t posted in a couple of weeks. So I thought I’d give you a bit of a life update as to why that is and where I’m at. So I moved into my apartment at the start of the month. Which was exceptionally full on because we had a week between signing … Continue reading Life update

theextraounceApril 25, 2019April 25, 20191 Comment

Who am I?

Hi folks! I’m Jess.

I’m a mental health advocate from Melbourne, Australia. I work to destigmatise mental illness as a Peer Ambassador with SANE Australia and as a speaker for batyr.

I have just completed my Honours in Psychology. I also work as a research assistant and NDIS educator.

I have lived experience of Anorexia, C-PTSD, Bipolar disorder and Anxiety.

I love to write poetry, sing and play footy. My best friend is my greyhound child named Holly.

On Instagram

I do this all the time. It’s like rubbing salt in the wound. Sometimes it feels good to feel bad? I think you’ve got to let yourself feel things. And music is a great avenue for this. Anyone else guilty of this? ⁉️. . If you got something out of this post, please consider buying me a coffee at the link in bio. ☕️. . Image description: A meme. The image shows a person washing their car in the rain. The text above reads “when you deal with being sad by listening to sad music”

Had a conversation about this with Steph from @batyraus the other day. Sometimes letting others look after us is the ultimate form of self-care. It involves letting go, relinquishing power and allowing yourself to be vulnerable. Letting yourself be held sometimes can be so crucial for healing. When this is a decision made by the self, it definitely counts as self-care.💗. . If you got something out of this post, please consider buying me a coffee at the link in bio. ☕️. . Image description: An orange background with white text that reads “Sometimes self care means letting someone else take care of you.”

New blog about taking up space as an abuse survivor. Link in bio. 🙌. . “I was going to write a blog about my experiences of sexual abuse. But as I started to write it I realised just how difficult it is for me to take up space spritually and emotionally as a survivor of abuse. I kept worrying about what others would think. What repercussions there may be for the abuser in question. I even worry about the use of the word “abuser” and how that might make them look, even though that is exactly what they are. And it just makes me think about how I have been shrinking myself my entire life to protect this person, and I don’t know how to stop. So that’s what I am going to write about.” 🌱. . Image description: A photograph of Jess sitting down on the ground during a bush walk in New Zealand. They are smiling and look very relaxed and at peace. light blue text to the right of the image says “taking up space. New blog. Link in bio.”

CN: trauma flashback and suicidal thoughts mentioned, no detail. Edit: This image is not centred cause I made it on said packed train. 😂 If any of you asked me if you as a mentally ill person had the right to ask for a seat on a train, I would tell you “hell yes, you do!” And yet as I stood on my crowded early morning train this morning, having trauma flashbacks and suicidal thoughts as people’s bodies brushed against mine, breathing heavily, loosing balance due to medication side effects I felt I had no right to ask for a seat. Maybe it’s because it’s easier to advocate for others than yourself. Maybe it’s because of my own internalised ableism. But a part of me felt Ike I failed all of you by letting myself suffer in silence. 👎 . If you got something out of this post, please consider buying me a coffee at the link in bio. ☕️. . Image description: A blue background with white text that reads “Sometimes I feel like such a hypocrite.”

🎨 @janellesilver CN: suicidal thoughts and self-harm mentioned, no detail Here’s my situation: earlier in the week I was offered a great job. Now my current organisation is counter offering. I have two amazing advocacy organisations fighting over me. Outwardly, my life seems great. But that stuff doesnt erase how much I am try struggling right now. I haven’t showered or brushed my teeth in two weeks. J has to physically help me undress because I can’t move properly due to depression. Ive been self-harming a lot. Suicidal thoughts follow me everywhere I go. I am really struggling, folks. So remember not to judge a book by it’s cover. 📚. . If you got something out of this post, please consider buying me a coffee at the link in bio. ☕️. . Image desciption: a light blue background with pink triangles on it. At the centre of the image is a green “Hello I’m” badge. The lined area of the badge reads “Managing to be fairly high functioning right now but I’m really not doing as well as it might appear”

One of the things I find hardest about working in an office is the constant diet talk. Everyone compares lunchs. I now eat outside of the office so I don’t have to eat lunch with anyone as I find it quite triggering to my eating disorder thoughts. Recently one of my colleagues has cut carbs and they won’t stop talking about how hungry and miserable they are. And I’m just thinking “you don’t have to feel this way”. It’s very frustrating. I could use some help. How do you set boundaries around diet talk? ⁉️. . If you got something out of this post, please consider buying me a coffee at the link in bio. ☕️. . Image description: A dark pink background with white text that reads “diet culture is everywhere”

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