by Gwen Eslee
Image credit: Lorna Robertson
I want to tell you about a hair. Yes, a hair. Some of us have more than others, but we have all at one time or another had a hair.
Once upon a leg, a hair was used to being cut back and re-growing and then being cut back again. However, one day, after a particularly bad cut-back, hair didn’t feel like growing back. He turned in on himself and felt like giving up. None of the other hairs noticed that he was not growing back alongside them. They were all looking to the sky and putting all their energy into growing. “Well,” thought hair, “if they don’t care, I don’t care.” Hair just couldn’t find the energy to grow and so he didn’t try to grow with the others.
After a few days, hair was still not feeling like himself but decided that he should try to grow and get back to normal. But he couldn’t tell which way was up. The more he searched, the deeper he spiralled into the darkness and away from the sky. The other hairs began to notice that a red bump was appearing where hair should be, but they didn’t know what to do to help.
It was at this point that the owner of the leg, where hair lived, began to try and treat the red bump of the ingrown hair. First, some exfoliation scrubbing, then some tweezers attacking, next some very expensive cream. In the end, it was a simple tea tree oil application and a bit of time and patience that helped encourage hair out of the dark spiral and left him feeling more like himself. He soon felt much better and things went back to normal. He vowed that if he ever felt unlike himself or sad and wanting to give up again, he would act quicker and ask for help.
So, my question to you is this: do you have something in place to support you through tough times or recognise when you are starting a dark spiral? What’s your tea tree oil? It could be speaking to a friend or family member, or writing it down, or taking some exercise. Lots of people use different coping mechanisms to help them bounce back and re-grow. The key is being prepared and recognising when you don’t feel like yourself. It’s always ok to ask for help.
Gwen Eslee
Gwen aims to see the positive side of life and tries to lift up those around her by being supportive and offering an optimistic viewpoint. Having experienced bouts of depression since her teens, she has found that writing has become an outlet to express emotions and organise her thoughts. The mind can be a dark place, so she hopes her writing can bring a little bit of light to anyone experiencing some time in the shadows.
“Never apologise to others for their misunderstanding of who you are.” – Unknown
Lorna Robertson
Lorna is a 2D artist for The Football Pools, currently based in Elgin. She graduated in 2016 with an honours degree in Animation where she specialised in background art and concept art. In the past she has worked in art education and a bit as a freelance illustrator (along with many other less exciting jobs). Lorna is trained in Animation (both 2D and 3D) as well as digital illustration and has skills in script writing, storyboarding and editing. She was also originally trained in fine art and has skills in traditional drawing and painting.
