Amy Roullier is The Authentic Optimist. Part time writer, full time pro at oversharing. With a no BS approach to conversations around single life, mental health and wellbeing
Hi, I'm Amy. Part time writer, full time pro at oversharing. Optimist at heart, realist by nature.
I began The Authentic Optimist in 2021 as a form of self-therapy, via writing about surviving single in my thirties, before getting to single perfectly f**king okay (mostly). Wrestling at times with my emotional and mental health. Healing from hurtful experiences. And generally trying to get to a place of okay with myself. Thank you for taking a peek at my site!
We all need connection. We want to be included, to be liked, to feel part of a community, connected with others, validated in our actions, life choices and who we are. But in this day and age of social media and the internet, are we really achieving that connection in the way we hoped for? I’ve been wondering this a lot lately. If you’ve read any of my other blogs, …
You might be contacting because you seek forgiveness. You might be contacting because you want to test the waters as to whether I would consider forgiving you enough, to take you back. However I am empowered by the act of no action. The ability to let you pass on by without any need to see what you want this time. There is no need for regret. As I feel only …
No-one seemed to mind when I was single at sixteen, eighteen, or twenty one. Single at thirty five though, that shit gets people questioning what the heck is wrong with you. And that single stigma only seems to heighten with age. Because there is something about being single, especially once you reach your thirties and beyond, that feels off. Like you are going against the grain. ‘Still’ single. Rather than …
However, no-one is going to applaud you for being single, nor celebrate your wins in a way they do for others. Yep, you heard me right. All in all, it’s fair to say that society can be extremely fixated on conventional accomplishments, specific expectations and mainstream milestones. Ones often intertwined with some aspect of partnership. Milestones like weddings, moving in with a partner, getting engaged, starting a family, or beginning …
I’ve been in my fair share of situationships over the past seven years. Apparently, they are on trend. Lucky me, hey! Not really, because the most painful thing about those situations, has been them waking up ready for a label, but not with me. Was I merely the warm up before the main event? The one who got them there, got them ready for commitment, ready for something more, but …
Is cooking for one worth it? Absolutely. Although I definitely didn’t feel this way a couple of years back. As someone who lives alone, I was one of those people who hated cooking and to be honest, didn’t think it was worth all the effort of laying out the cutlery, spending half an hour whipping up an exciting meal, and then tackling all the washing up, just for little old …
Why am I still single?. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve asked myself this question. Often accompanied with the following: Am I not a nice person? Deserving of love? Have I not endured and suffered enough frogs? Am I too bossy? Too confident? Should I be less opinionated? Is it the way I look? Where I live? Am I not pretty enough? Perhaps I should be more …
I know body acceptance is a thing. That I should love my body for all that it is, and not over-ride how I look now with how I hope to look one day. But that shit is hard. A few years ago, I became very aware that this vessel has to get me through another forty plus years. I hadn’t treated it that well up to that point. So I started …
Is journaling good for wellbeing? I had not anticipated how valuable journaling would become to me. How this place for me to write my deepest thoughts and feelings, to explore my emotions and figure out a bit better, who I am. Would improve my mental health, increase my self-awareness, help me to move on from past trauma and make sense of experiences. Journaling became my form of self-therapy. A meaningful way to process. And I’ll be forever grateful that I chose to start doing it once again.
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