Tag: meghan markle

IF SOMEONE TELLS YOU THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT SUICIDE; BELIEVE THEM 

As most of you probably already know by now, Meghan Markle revealed to Oprah Sunday night during their interview together that while she was pregnant with baby Archie she considered taking her own life (in case you missed my latest blog: The Life Of Royalty Isn’t Always A Fairy Tale, please go to: https://youareenough712.wordpress.com/2021/03/08/the-life-of-royalty-isnt-always-a-fairy-tale to catch up).

I always try to hold on to my belief that we as a society are making progress in the area of mental health and the stigma attached to mental illness but today it just feels hopeless. 

Instead today I am feeling both sickened and angry over the amount of criticism and skepticism that I have seen on social media or read in the news over the past 24 hours bashing Meghan’s shocking revelations. 

I have seen comment after comment in many, many news feeds by people stating how it is not possible for someone as rich or as famous or as successful as Meghan to ever have anything to be depressed about? 

I have written so many blogs about how mental illness does not discriminate. Do they need to be reminded about Robin Williams and Kate Spade or so many others who had fame and fortune who have died by suicide because I’ve got plenty of blogs in the archives all about these tragic losses? 

But what truly makes me most sickened and angry from all of the ignorant comments I have been reading is how many of these same people are calling her a liar. 

If someone tells you they are thinking about suicide; believe them.

These comments can be very detrimental to someone like me who struggles with daily thoughts of suicide. This blatant disregard for empathy could very likely cause someone reading those comments to follow through on their ideations believing that if they were to tell a loved one or confidant that they are thinking of ending their life they wouldn’t be heard or maybe they will be met with judgement instead, pushing them further to the brink.

If someone tells you they are thinking about suicide; believe them.

Let them know you are listening to them, show your support for them, encourage them to keep talking, ask them the difficult questions, follow their lead, suggest they seek professional help or find them the help yourself if you fear they are in immediate danger and most importantly let them know you will continue to be there for them.

**If you or someone you know is in crisis please reach out for help immediately to a trusted friend, confident or loved one. There are also many online resources to help guide you. You are not alone. I am always here to listen❤.

#youareenough #youarenotalone #endthestigmatogether #itsoktonotbeok #yourmentalhealthmatters #startaconversation #dontsufferinsilence #mentalillness #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #advocate #blogger #author #theroyalfamily #meghanmarkle #suicideprevention #suicidalthoughts #suicideawareness 

The Life Of Royalty Isn’t Always A Fairy Tale

I’m pretty sure that last night’s interview between Oprah, Prince Harry (can I still call him that?) and his beautiful wife Meghan was met with great controversy and so many mixed emotions but I am here “on record” to tell you that I have adored Harry (I’ve even voiced it several times in my blog) and have been rooting for him ever since he was a little boy who tragically lost his mom. 

My adoration for him has only grown stronger and stronger over the years since he began living his true authentic life and even more so once he started opening up about his own mental health struggles and becoming an advocate for change.

I had been really looking forward to watching the 2 hour special with Oprah all week long and it did not disappoint. I thought the interview was both genuine and very real and it further validated for me what I had already felt about the royal family as an institution. I hung onto every word that both Meghan and Harry spoke but of course it will come as no big surprise to anyone which segment of the interview stood out most in my mind for me. 

Last night Meghan so bravely revealed to Oprah that not long after she married Harry she began to contemplate suicide and felt as though she just didn’t want to be alive anymore.

As Meghan’s thoughts of suicide grew stronger and more intense she knew that she couldn’t fight her urges any longer on her own and needed some help. Asking for help when you are feeling suicidal takes great strength and courage, even for a “Princess” but when Meghan reached out to the royal family for help, pleading with them to send her to a hospital she was boldly told NO because “it wouldn’t be good for the institution”. My jaw dropped to the floor. 

No one should ever be made to feel as though they are not worthy of living their best life or that their feelings are not validated and my only hope after watching Meghan tell her story last night is that millions of other people understood her message to the world as well. 

Too many of us are afraid to speak up when we are feeling as though we don’t want to live anymore. Meghan did speak up and although she didn’t get the response she deserved at first, she persevered until she did. 

Asking for help may look different for everyone but it is not a sign of weakness and even though she felt like a burden to her husband she knew he would listen attentively to her and with great compassion and most importantly without judgment. And boy was she right!

Whatever ill feelings some people may have of Harry for seemingly abandoning his duties as royalty he did what any good husband and great father would do for their own family. He did what he felt in his heart was right and what he had longed for someone to have done for his own mother all those years ago when she felt just as unprotected as Meghan did by the same institution who also denied her the help she too so desperately begged for.

No matter what comes next for the couple and their growing family, Meghan has definitely found her Prince Charming, Harry has definitely found his Princess and I have no doubt that their fairy tale will have a happy ending.

*If you or someone you know is in crisis please reach out for help immediately to a trusted friend, confident or loved one. There are also many online resources to help guide you. You are not alone.
 

#youareenough #youarenotalone #endthestigmatogether #itsoktonotbeok #yourmentalhealthmatters #startaconversation #dontsufferinsilence #mentalillness #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #advocate #blogger #author #theroyalfamily #princeharry #meghanmarkel #oprah #suicideprevention #suicideawareness 

Prince Harry: Becoming His True Authentic Self

PRINCE HARRY: BECOMING HIS TRUE AUTHENTIC SELF

I saw a quote recently which has really stuck in my head ever since. It read: “The best weight you will ever lose is the weight of other people’s opinions.”  I know that it’s difficult for most of us to not care what other people think or feel about us but I also know that it can take a toll on our mental health and wellness too.  We as human beings instinctively want to be accepted and need to feel desired by others but by allowing their opinions to matter more than your own intuitions is essentially giving away all your power to become your true authentic self.

By always looking for the approval of others instead of trusting your own judgment will without a doubt lead you down a path in which you will one day wake up and find that you have become a shell of yourself because you were always trying to be a “People Pleaser” and had lost the power to be your true authentic self amidst the need to please others. 

This week Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle sent an important message out into the universe (through Social Media of course).  Ok so maybe they went about it in the wrong way according to the Royal Family and of course all the trashy Tabloid Magazines but I read their message through an entirely different lens; a Mental Health one that is.  

Prince Harry has been very open about his struggles with Mental Illness and is a huge advocate and philanthropist for Mental Health.  We have watched him grow up in the public eye and although he was born into Royalty, it has seemed as though for many years now (long before Meghan ever entered the picture) that Buckingham Palace may not have been the home he would have chosen for himself. 

Maybe he had no choice but to obey the opinions of others for so long, knowing just how powerful his family was but now that Prince Harry (not sure how much longer we can call him that!) is married with his own child to love and protect he has recognized that the opinions of others have weighed him down far too long and he is ready to take his power back (well sadly he never had his own power) in order to discover his true authentic self.  

I say kudos to him for bravely stepping away from the comfort he has known his entire life and being able to finally say “I Choose Me”, and whatever path this journey takes them from here on in, I know that it will be one of true authenticity and growth which are both key to good Mental Health and Wellness. 

FYI: Baby Archie has spent the last week right here in Toronto with Meghan’s best friends Ben and Jessica Mulroney if anyone cares to get a sighting of the Royal baby!

#ichooseme #trueself #authenticself #othersopinionsdontmatter #yourmentalhealthmatters #selfcare #selflove #mentalwellness #mentalhealth #youareenough #itsoktonotbeok #princeharry #meghanmarkle #royalfamily #royalintheirownway #advocateforyourself #brave #courage 

Please continue to follow my journey at https://youareenough712.wordpress.com 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.