It's Mental Health Awareness Month...Let's Get Personal
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s a time of renewed purpose and remembrance of why I do what I do as a therapist and mental health advocate. I have spent my fair share of times hopeless, folded over in defeat and loneliness. I know exactly what it feels like to want to end it all. By God’s grace, I’m still here. And whereas I feel like I’ve lived lifetimes since my darkest night, I still see that fragile desperate girl so clearly. I’ve come to love her and hold her—the space between us is liminal.
When you and I have the luxury of perspective, our vision is more defined and in alignment with the truth of who we are. It’s kind of like being 30,000 feet up, looking down below to a distant terrain with toy like homes, buildings, lakes and other signs of life. We can see life for what it is as opposed to feeling stuck in the weeds of it—enmeshed with the sticky mess of our thoughts, feelings, and projections of what is happening around us.
Everyday we have the opportunity to choose alignment with our higher selves—our divine essence. Interestingly, small children are incredibly in touch with their divinity. As we “grow up,” we lose touch with this inherent goodness and beauty. Some days we are able to access this virtue, aligning with the truth of who God made us. Other days this remembrance feels impossible.
The days and months when it feels difficult to connect to the greater story of our truth are the days we often fall victim to tidal wave-like depression, anxiety, and other all-consuming emotions. These days seem to defy our ability to make sense of the world. I’m no stranger to these days that often turn into seasons.
We know in our head what is true, but the belief in our heart is weak.
In these seasons, the work is simply this: to learn to hold ourselves with care and compassion, minute to minute, day by day. This, and to reach out to a safe person who knows how to listen—not prescribe.
This is the passage of self-compassion through the dark night of the soul. Though it feels never-ending, it is not final—no feeling is.
As a therapist and client very familiar with these complex and despairing seasons, I can confidently stand in the gap as you or someone you love navigates these waters. If the last four years has given us a gift, it is the normalization of seeking help for mental health and emotional distress. It may be time to receive this gift, reaching out for extra support as you sit in space of chaos and fear.
This post is for anyone who feels like putting one foot in front of the other is next to impossible. Take heart, dear one, this too shall pass. As Mr. Rogers said, these are the times to “Look for the helpers.”
Please reach out if you need help connecting to extra support right now, and I encourage you to share this email with anyone you think needs it.