Have you ever felt like no one understands you, or felt that you don’t even understand yourself? I have. And I’ve felt alone. I have felt like I was doomed to live a life where I got up every day and pretended I was fine. Doomed to put on my smile and face the world that couldn’t possibly understand what I was going through. Because my experiences, fears, sadness, and anxieties were my own, right?
Wrong. The people around me felt alone. Doomed to live a life where they get up every day and pretend they are fine. Doomed to put on a smile and face the world that couldn’t possibly understand what they are going through.
When I started meeting and talking to those around me, it seemed we were all living the same life. A life of masking our anxiety, depression, addiction, ADHD, relationship problems, mania, fears, loneliness, delusions and absolutely frantic need to appear “normal.” And you know what? FUCK THAT.
I can say with 100% certainty that I felt better knowing that I was not in this struggle alone. Not because I wanted others to struggle, but because I felt seen. Understood. NOT ALONE.
I no longer felt ashamed of my mental health. By talking to people who I could relate to, I found a sense of belonging in a world I was trying to hide from. I found hope meeting people who overcame their struggles with mental illness. I realized we are all mental in our own way.
So talk about your mental health. Talk about the good. Talk about the bad. Because I can guarantee you will find someone who understands. Someone who is living it too.
We are all mental. But not alone.