Mental Health Awareness week

- You are who you choose to be. Not a single choice, but a culmination of the big and small. Although just because you chose something once, doesn't mean you can't choose differently now.

- I suffered silently for 20+ years. I thought that being anxious, exhausted, and empty was the default. Sometimes it even felt like the high. Part of me feels like having to put on a facade for the first 2 and half decades of my life is what made me a great actor, but that might just be me trying to attribute a positive outcome to a bad situation.

After a while, I told myself that I wasn't meant to be happy. That my life is a karmic justice I can't comprehend but must deserve. I was worried that if I tried to fix it, to fix myself, I would be punished more severely than I already was. "Maybe in another life" was something I thought constantly. THAT is when I'll have paid my penance and can try being happy.

I wish I could say there was a grand moment or magic phrase that "cured" me, but that would be a lie. I'm still working on a lot of it now! But every little step has made a difference. If you feel like there's no hope, if you feel like there's no point, or you feel like nothing you can do will work, I understand and I see you.

There is light for you out there. I encourage you to talk to someone honestly. You don't have to go into it expecting to "fix" everything. Sometimes just being honest with how you feel can make a world of difference. Every little step counts, I promise you.

Use this week as an excuse to check in with people you care about or as a catalyst to reach out to someone if you feel lost. It's never too late and there's no such thing as "too far gone."