Looking Back at 2016
- Mike Douglas
- 4 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Lately, social media has been filled with throwback photos and captions reflecting on 2016. Apparently that's a decade ago! 2016 seems somehow both yesterday and a lifetime away.
As I scroll through old pictures, I find myself pausing, not just at the images, but at what sat quietly behind them. 2016 was complicated.
On the surface, there were genuine moments of joy. That was the year I attended my first Mental Health Bloggers Meetup in Manchester. It was the beginning of feeling part of an online mental health blogging community that truly got it. I was running regularly, discovering what my body could do, and meeting new people who would shape parts of my life in ways I didn’t yet know or understand. And yet, behind the smiles were some of my darkest moments.
2016 hosted some of my worst experiences with mental illness, specifically depression; negative thoughts, behaviours, and internal battles that consumed far more of me than was visible. It’s a reminder that photos rarely tell the full story. But also the life safer and changer that (for me) the mental health online community became. There I learnt it was ok to share, to listen to not know the answer and just support each other. I learnt about myself, depression and other illnesses and lived expercences. Some similar to mine, others different. Walls, barriers and stigmas (while still there) seem much lower and less established than in the 'physical world' and existing relationships; which enabled much more open, real and insightful conversations. It's there I really found space and permission to be honest with how I felt; not just with others, but also with myself.
So much has happened in the time since 2016, that year feels both incredibly recent and impossibly distant. The struggles didn’t magically disappear; they still exist. But they are managed now. Maintained. Held with more care, more understanding, and more support than I had then.
Looking back (how has it been ten years already?), what I feel most is sadness and empathy for the version of me who was doing the best they could; struggling with an illness they didn't know about, that consumed everything and essentially broke that (former) version of my life.
Alongside that sits deep gratitude for where I am now. For growth. For survival. For the quiet strength that carried me through, even when I didn’t realise it was there.
This trend might be about nostalgia for some, but for me, it’s about honouring the journey; and the between moments.
2016... was ten years ago! Wow.
Blogger's note: This post does not include sponsored content. None of the services, projects, campaigns or charities mentioned have seen this post before it is published, nor have they instructed me on what to say. The views, experiences, thoughts and insights expressed in this post are my own. The links included are direct web links and are not affiliate links.
Additional links and signposting:
Samaritans - Listening service
Anxiety UK - Anxiety and Stress
Local Minds - Find your local Mind (mental health service)
Mental Health UK - Burnout
Mind - Self Care for depression
Stress Management Society - From distress to de-stress
