Mental Health Awareness Month

May 2022, mental health awareness month hits different this year. We are traveling again, masks mandates have been lifted in many places, and we are somehow supposed to start living "normally" again.

Right. What is normal? I can't seem to remember at this point. The impact that COVID, lockdowns, financial strain, and the loss of so many lives have had on us has been felt across the globe like a domino effect toppling over our wellbeing and leading to significant mental health struggles.

Due to the stigma surrounding mental illness, and a lack of resources, people are left alone to deal with thoughts that can already feel intensely isolating. During a time when as humans, we were in crisis, and our disagreements, in some cases, even escalated to violence, why did the topic of conversation never shift to the one thing we all had in common? Our minds were unwell and, in many cases, still are.

I am not ashamed to admit that I take prescription medication for depression. For at least the last 2.5 years, I have carried a hefty weight on my shoulders, and my doctor and I felt that it was time to take advantage of what modern medicine has brought to mental illness, a safe way to manage the symptoms. I am not weak because I made this choice. I am not "crazy," I am self-aware and have a healthy perspective on when to ask for help. The rest I work on with a therapist. I am not magically 100% better. But I am at a place where I feel like myself again.

I hope you will speak up if you have struggled or are struggling. It's only natural to feel lost when the world as we know it has been shaken up forcefully and put back on the wrong shelf like a gift shop snow globe on clearance. If you feel shame now, please know that you can instead feel the freedom and power of prioritizing your mental health. It gets better. Hope is not lost. Put yourself first and ask for the help you need. A healthier, happier future does exist, and when you're ready, it will be as beautiful as you dare to make it.

What do I want for my upcoming 38th birthday? Better mental health resources, less stigma around mental illness, more honest conversations, and world peace. Is that too much?

How can you help? Speak up honestly about your experience with mental health struggles or illness. You might be the voice someone else needs to hear. I'd bet my right leg on it ;)