Today is September 10th, 2023.
Today is also “World Suicide Prevention Day”
Today I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed all day but I just couldn’t quiet the guilt or intrusive and racing thoughts which quickly led to an eruption of emotions, including lots of tears.
So I pushed myself to get up and go for a hike today because I knew it was the one thing that would help quiet the guilt, anxiety and intrusive thoughts. But had I chosen instead to stay in bed all day, that would’ve been perfectly okay too.
This is me. I struggle every. single. day of my life with “treatment resistant Depression”, severe anxiety, panic attacks and both active and passive thoughts of suicide, but I refuse to allow anyone to ever make me feel ashamed for having a mental illness and I will keep doing all that I can to continue spreading awareness and “Creating Hope Through Action” (this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day theme). Since I began sharing my mental health journey so openly some 6 years ago, I have made myself a promise to never stop sharing my story, to never stop educating those who are willing to listen, to never stop helping others understand how it feels to live with a mental illness; to feel broken, ashamed, hopeless or suicidal and I have made myself a promise that no one ever feel alone in their own struggle because no matter what, you are worthy and it’s okay to ask for help.
So go ahead and reach out to someone in your life today (even those who smile and laugh the most) and let them know that no matter what they are going through right now that you love them, you are there for them (even to just sit with them in silence) and that they are enough.
Opening up conversations about mental health and suicide saves lives; Every. Single. Day.
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YouAreEnough 