I would like to take this opportunity to share my personal journey with mental health. I am 26 years old and for more than half of my life I was exposed to various mental health diagnoses as I grew up- just about everyone in my family has had mental health issues. Myself included, sisters, mother, & grandmother. Significant instances for me while I was young were times when I had realized both my older sister and mom had thoughts and intentions to self-harm which I now know are forms of suicidal ideation. I grew into a deep depression at the time and I myself dabbled into self harm because my mom who I lived with was going downhill for a good few years-at a rapid rate- in regard to her mental health state. This eventually led to me having to move out with family and friends to be able to finish my schooling, including going off to college. I still have a wild visual of my mom where I literally saw her as.. not herself. Leaving her body, and morphing into some other state.. a soul who needed help. This is one of the vivid moments I can recall from my most intense memories. I was just living through it and going through the motions, not knowing what was right or wrong. My mom still needs help with her mental health, meanwhile I have finished my first half of my grad school program.
I figured it’s time to share my story with others because mental health is such a passionate topic for me. I will continue to proudly be an advocate for those who may need me, for myself, and for mental health in general.
Each day it is important to be aware of our mental health state, to reach out to those we think might need it, and to spread the word about mental health so that we can continue to break down the stigma that mental health is not as important as physical health. Each mind matters, remember that if that is all you take from this short story I have shared with you. <3
I would like to end this short but impactful story of mine with some encouraging words and quotes that will hopefully help anyone reading this like they have helped me over the years.
~Life is tough, but so are you
~It’s okay to not be okay (One of my favorite tattoos!)
~You are not alone
~You matter
All of the quotes above are inspired from my mental health internship I was involved in during my undergrad studies at Cal state, Chico. I would say during these four years and this specific time in my life, I really grew a strong passion for advocacy in this field, learning about the stigma surrounding mental health and asking for help when needed, as well as having the hard conversations that can be so easily avoided with others surrounding topics of mental health issues, suicide prevention, and other hard topics.
