It’s OK. You’ll Make It.

It’s #WorldMentalHealthDay.

And time to remind people that it’s OK to have anxiety, depression, PTSD, bipolar depression, schizophrenia, or any other mental illness. You’re OK. You are not your disease, just as anyone suffering from a physical ailment is not their disease.

It’s a part of who you are, and it’s what makes you beautiful, different and special. Does it sometimes seriously suck? Oh hell yes. I’m not going to go on about my *seriously sucky days* but I feel you. I hear you. I KNOW THIS. I am a suicide survivor — I know how it feels to have that abyss follow you around day by day, I know how it feels to suddenly not be able to breathe for seemingly no reason.

And yet, you’re still making it through. Do not be ashamed to talk about it. We NEED to talk about it in order to get more funding for mental health clinics in low-income areas or rural areas with little access to assistance. We NEED to talk about it so communities that feel like it’s a “weakness” KNOW that is is NOT weak to seek help when you need it.

Your brain LIES to you. You are NOT your thoughts. You are the person behind those thoughts — and they are not you. Medication is not failure, nor is seeking assistance to quiet those thoughts and learn to cope.

COVID-19 has been rough on us all, and I’m so proud of the people I see slogging through it, talking about their mental health, working through it and sharing their coping mechanisms with others. The world is experiencing not just a pandemic of physical disease, but the mental disease that comes from suffering such a massive blow. That is why I am sharing this message of love and hope and courage. (I need it myself, to be perfectly honest.)

Take care of yourselves, dear humans of the world. Remember to breathe. Breathe in the good shit, breathe out the bullshit. Look for the beauty in the world — it still exists, even if you’re quarantined in your home. The birds sing and rains fall.

May you find peace.