Hello, and welcome to Striving to Coexist! I’m Lily, and I’m so happy that you’ve found your way here.
Feel free to explore this site in any way that you think you will enjoy the most. For me, that’s clicking on all the buttons and links and getting lost down rabbit holes, but I know that varies from person to person.
I created Striving to Coexist with the hope of building a trustworthy and helpful online resource for anyone struggling with their mental health – in any way, shape, or form. I’ve been progressing through my own mental health journey for nearly a decade now, and through that time, I’ve found myself redefining the way I view and understand my mental health, along with the way that I work to improve it. This shift in mindset, along with the skills, tools, and tips I’ve learned along the way, is what I’m here to share with you.
I struggled for many years, unsure of how to make progress that would actually stick in the long run, while also having no easy access to good resources that I could turn to whenever I needed. The small steps of progress I did make often felt overshadowed by the uncertainty and unwanted chaos going on inside my head. If you’re in that same boat, or even just floating nearby, I hope this site helps you feel less alone and gives you some of the help you need to move forward in your mental health journey.
The name Striving to Coexist reflects a core belief of mine that I want to share with you through this site: improving your mental health isn’t a battle to be won, but instead it’s a journey towards healthy coexistence, guided by compassion and resilience. Your mental health will always be a part of you, and that will never change. What does change is how well your mental health treats you, how you treat it, and how you learn to work with it rather than against it.
This means that even if things feel impossible right now, your situation can (and will) improve, and you will eventually find yourself accomplishing what you currently think is out of reach.
I know that can be so hard to believe, especially on those really tough days when all of your efforts seem to amount to nothing, and you just feel trapped and unable to change. Know that it’s okay to struggle to believe, as long as you still continue to push forward. Your efforts are indeed doing something, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Slow and unseen progress is still progress, and one day it will stack up enough for you to see it clearly.
This site is not made to be a replacement for therapy and professional help. However, I do know that circumstances can prevent access to those services, or even just restrict your ability to use them as much as needed. I hope that if that’s the case for you, this site can help show you where to start or continue on your journey to coexist with your mental health. That it will succeed in helping you until you can access those services.
If you’re already in therapy and taking advantage of professional help, feel free to use this site as a supplement and a resource to use between appointments. And if you have the ability to take advantage of professional help but haven’t yet, I strongly encourage you to take that first step: talk to someone you trust, and work together to find the support you deserve.
It will be hard, and it will be a long journey. But one day, you’ll look back at where you are now and realize how far you’ve come, how much progress you’ve made, and it will all be worth it.
I’m giving you my best wishes, support, and online resources as you strive to coexist with your mental health. I hope that this site will help you learn how to thrive in life, instead of just working to survive.
If you’re wondering where to go next, feel free to click around randomly or head to the topics section. On the desktop, it’s on the left side of the screen, and on tablets or phones, you’ll find it near the bottom of the page.
Happy exploring, my fellow striver!
