I don’t keep it a secret that I struggle with my mental health. I am open about the half a dozen pills that I take every day to keep my self sane. But sometimes even regular medication is not enough to keep the darkness away. Some days, even still, my bipolar disorder wins out – either making me hypomanic, where I try to do all the things, and don’t sleep; or sinking me into a deep depression where even taking a shower or brushing my teeth feels like a gargantuan task.
Today is World Mental Health Day, and so you will see all sorts of posts asking you to reach out and share how you are feeling. Telling you that if you would just let people know, things would be better. That’s all true, and there really are people who would help you if they knew what was going on, but you and I both know that sometimes the reaching out is the hardest part. We don’t want to burden people with our depression, or our anxiety, or any other level of feeling that makes us feel insane or crazy.
But I am here to tell you that depression and anxiety and bipolar and any number of other mental health disorders thrive in a vacuum. They take hold and the more shame you feel about them, the more they feed on your mind. So please, please, please consider sharing how you are feeling. I KNOW it’s hard, but sometimes the best things are on the other side of hard.
Kali J Desautels 
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