The Big Taboo
Let's talk about mental health. For so long everyone kept their battle a secret and private. For so long it was a huge taboo subject; but now more and more people have openly started discussing their
mental health with the world thanks to social media.
I used to keep my battle private as well, then I was diagnosed with PTSD, and publicly posted about it,
I heard crickets but it never stopped me from talking about my own battle. Some days I just take time for me, other times I just need a couple days to just regroup. I'm learning to understand my triggers and I am learning to understand how to take mental health days when I need to and I shouldn't feel guilty about doing so. Today is not that day. Today I have decided to take to social media to discuss it with all of you.
I used to keep my thoughts private as well and just journal them. But I love that I can talk about it now
and feel no shame. I love that so many people are talking about it now. It’s truly okay to not be okay
sometimes. You don’t have to hold it all in, you don’t have to be strong all the time. Please talk to someoneyou trust, seek out a counselor/therapist. Go on medication if you need to. Trust me, you are not alone.
As you all know, I’ve been facing some really big and horrible mental health challenges recently. The
past few years have really beaten me down, but I am coming out stronger and healthier mentally because I talk about my feelings now. After months and months of therapy have really helped but it’s also shown me I still have so much more to work on. Thankfully I have found such a wonderful therapist who truly cares. He won't let me fail and he helps me work on the things I need to in order to recognize how to heal.
Something I also used to struggle was speaking up and standing up for myself. I used to let people walk
all over me because I was afraid of confrontation and avoided it at all cost; so instead I shut down to
keep the peace. Instead that did nothing but cause me more grief and more depression and anxiety.
I spent a major portion of my life trying to make everyone happy, even if it meant sacrificing my own
happiness. I still do most of the time but it's just who I am. I'm also learning to accept help and ask for
help as well. It's a good feeling. But at the same time, this is definitely something I must continue
working on to continue to heal.
I often wonder, and the thing is, I'm always so worried about pleasing everyone and live my life to makeothers so happy, am I truly living life? I mean, am I truly living MY life? Or am I just living MY life to please others around me? I am truly am empath and filled with empathy that I forget how to live my life for me. I need to learn to do that again but without sacrificing who I truly am meant to be.
We only have a limited time on this earth. Sometimes you’ve got to just let go. You’ve got to leave people where they are and say a prayer. Maybe God is taking them through a journey you know nothing about. Maybe your time in their life is over and you need to part ways. Maybe you just need to distance yourself, but be there for them when they need you. Understand what I am saying?
Sometimes people are placed in our lives for a reason, what that reason is we may never know. I no
longer question why friends leave my side. I just remember the joy they have brought me for the time
they were in my life. You can’t change anyone. You cannot force anyone to stay in your life either.
The only person you can truly control is the person staring back at you in the mirror. Make that person
the best version you can be!! But give yourself some grace, always. Give yourself the love you keep
trying to give everyone else and your mental health will heal. I promise you.
The last couple of years have been extremely challenging, but you have survived. We have survived, and we will continue to survive. Lean on your friends, your family, your therapists. They are there for you.
For today... that is enough. That is all you can do. Remember to look in the mirror daily and remind yourself that you are enough, and you can't pour from an empty cup.
Take care of YOU first, both mentally and physically.
I'll never stop talking about my mental health, because if it helps one person seek out the help they
so deserve then I have succeeded. Please, don't feel alone or less of a person. We are all in this
together.
Much Love
Maria
* thoughts and comments expressed above are mine*
|
|
Comments