Kintsugi Technique

I tick many “Boxes”. I suffer from depression, I have anorexia, I am from a divorced family, and I am a single mum, these are the stories that I have told myself for so long as well as have been told. So, I classify myself as broken.

Most people have a history of some sort. From the minute we are born, our outside influences affect us and from that moment we begin to take on many shapes and sizes. I never felt like I was alone, many of my friends or colleagues appeared to have suffered in some way growing up or were now experiencing issues with family. I didn’t feel alone but I did feel like I couldn’t be fixed. I believed for a long time that all I was worth was to be thrown away. Trying to convince myself and others that I was worth something was exhausting. Then, I discovered the Kintsugi Technique, a Japanese technique in which you use gold to mend a broken vase. So I thought, how about metaphorically putting myself back together with gold, allowing me to be more beautiful with my broken pieces? From that moment on, that’s how I started to see myself. Recognising what was broken, embracing it, and allowing it to represent who I am.

Know your worth!

Work at being kind to yourself. It’s okay to take a step back and regroup
Observe your mental responses to the situation you are in. If something is going downhill, stop and evaluate
Recognize how far you want to fight. If others are not respecting your worth, consider taking a pause
Think about what you are fighting for and why. Is the reason you started fighting still relevant?
Hard work is necessary to achieve what you want. Be aware when hard work turns into unnecessary fighting

Has something you’ve made or done not turned out the way you planned? You might label it as a mistake but are you sure it’s not better than the original plan? This drawing was supposed to be a fish, keep drawing and see what you can create.