06/05/2021
As month winds down I’d like to put this out there for the sake of anyone needing to hear from another sensitive being that awareness of and attention to mental health is nothing to be ashamed of. I’m not one to share about my mental health challenges mostly because I never know what to say, how to say it and then there’s fear of judgment. I’m so complex, like many of us, and it’s never been easy for me to share vulnerably. I struggle with burdening others or being known as a 'debbie downer’. Let’s be real, I’m already socially awkward AF. 😅 Being in my head can be a really lonely and chaotic place sometimes and permission to be in that space can be elusive — honest to goodness, if it weren’t for my ever-evolving mindfulness practice, I shudder!
The perceived stigma of mental health issues has followed me around since I was a child diagnosed with ADHD, depression & anxiety at age 7.
I have always had a deep awareness of being sensitive
& different — I’ve often navigated my life from a place of lacking wholeness & belonging in the world. It’s heartbreaking to even put that into words. As an adult I have learned to step into the world from a place of strength, even if I was pulling that strength from reserves that were empty. I’ve also experienced a lot of trauma (some ongoing) in my life that I’ve only started unpacking in the last 5 years, and wow - this s**t is hard! But just as often as there are moments of pain and struggle, there are beautiful moments reminding me that being alive is better than the alternative. Yoga helps, meditation helps, therapy helps, friends & family help, awareness helps, writing helps, dog snuggles help, music helps, dancing helps, nature helps, seeing others share on social media helps & memes (sometimes help), but nothing is a total fix or a cure all. I’ll be living with this for the rest of my life and that feels heavy but not as crippling as it used to because our culture is shifting and normalizing discussion of mental health. That helps so much!
👇👇👇 continued in comments.....
(📸: .of.yoga)