Olivia’s Story

I lost my mom on the 15th of July 2017 to breast cancer, and only three months later my dad was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He died only two years later on the 16th of June, 2019.

Most of the times I try to remember my parents in a good way, with all the good times we shared together, but lately I’ve been also giving in to the need of remembering the hardest times, the years that led to their deaths. By remembering I mean really allowing those moments to come back to life and to hold them tight instead of pushing the pain away. I’m not gonna lie, it’s been rough, mostly because I thought I’ve been through that once and I only wished to forget about everything. But that’s not how healing works when you’re grieving. So I am slowly learning to dive into those memories with all my senses and find ways to bear the immense pain they bring forth.

Time flies, but grief dictates its own rules and pace, and I truly feel like I’m still right at the beginning of everything. At the beginning of life, of my healing journey, of learning how to live a totally new life without my parents. It’s like reprogramming my brain.

So on this World Mental Health Day, my message is to give yourself permission to be where you are and to own that. Maybe to start again from that, but only if you’re ready. Listen to yourself, to your own grief. It will talk to you whether you’ll listen or not.