One of my closest friends sent me an Instagram reel that essentially said the opposite of triggers are glimmers, and glimmers are moments that strike you and  ignite hope. The more you look for those moments and log them, the more hope you’ll find. The concept has been on my mind ever since.

Now, let’s not get it twisted. Triggers are very real and extremely serious for people struggling with mental health challenges. To say to people “look on the bright side” is not helpful. In fact, I’d suggest those words never come out of your mouth in response to someone’s mental health struggles. Trust me. It’s not helpful and I don’t think it’s helped anyone ever.

What I do love about this concept is that the human brain is wired to hold onto moments of negativity. It can be difficult to instead hold onto the moments of hope and joy, especially in the midst of a mental health challenge or grief or other stressful situation. And as someone coming out of a depressive episode, I’ve found it really important for me to catalogue moments of hope, to remind me why I keep putting one foot in front of the other. So I took some time to write a list of my glimmers.

It included:

-Spending time in nature with amazing friends (I laughed all damn day)

-Finding out I can rock a good sun hat

-Singing “Thinking Out Loud” at the Ed Sheeran concert holding my friend’s hand while serenading her

-Seeing my mom’s surprised face when I told her I was flying down to be with her on her birthday

-Finally watching the movie “Inside Out” and strongly identifying with all of the emotions

-Laughing with my coworkers about the wild (and deeply dark) tv shows we watch as we made donuts for the weekend

I’m going to keep the list open and running because it’s a good exercise to help the mind hold onto moments that keep me going. Will you try it too? If you do, and you feel comfortable, send us your list! If you want us to share your list (with your name or anonymously) let us know! We will feature it on our Instagram. You might just spark a hopeful moment for someone else in the process.

With love & a glimmer,

Mal