"Do not tell her, it will cause her to respond irrationally."
"Do not tell her this because she will get all emotional."
"I’ve never experienced anxiety."
"She needs help."
Mental Health. When put together, these two words become powerful. Quite frankly, the topic of mental health has become a quite touchy and complex matter to discuss with anyone - whether it’s friends, family, coworkers or strangers. So, what does the term mental health mean to you? Let's analyze the two words: Mental = Psychological. Health = Well-being. Put those two words together, Psychological Well-Being. Have you ever felt judged by people who suggest that “you need to have healthy mental health”? What if you were to challenge yourself, right now, to do whatever you must do to acquire and maintain optimal psychological well-being from this point forward? How would that make you feel? Would you feel less judged by others? I will let you soak on that thought for a bit.
For many years, I have struggled to maintain, sustain, and cultivate healthy psychological well-being. Sadly, mental health is a stigma and taboo in this world. When I’ve heard people judgingly exclaim, "(Person's Name) needs help! I am sorry for saying that, but (person's name) needs help!" regarding someone else - I literally flinch. It makes me extremely sad to recognize the harsh judgement of others. However, I do not show my sadness as a response through my facial expressions. I keep quiet because I know that usually, those types of conversations can become heated and turn into arguments OR the person may simply think that I am just too sensitive. Nope. Not worth discussing. Guess what I do instead - I stay quiet and reevaluate my friendship and fellowship with people who make those types of statements.
I recently shared a wonderful conversation with a friend whom I have known since I was 17/18 years old about individuals' psychological well-being. We both concluded and lovingly agreed that every person on this earth experiences or will eventually experience some sort of psychological challenge. It could be seasonal depression. It could be anxiety. It could be a trauma-related depression. It could be post-traumatic stress disorder. Fill in the blank - it could be anything! There are 7.5 billion people in this world and 7.5 billion people have or will have some type of psychological challenge --- and that is totally okay.
Truthfully, I sought professional counseling during my college years. I even used medication for depression. I was also admitted to a mental health hospital for 2-3 days. I experienced anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and psychological dissociation. Did the occurrences/experiences make me a wicked person? No. Does my story make me less of a person? Heck no. Or a hypocrite? Absolutely NOT. I took care of myself and I valued ME. I invested into myself to find my petals and I learned how to be my own friend.
Reader, I want you to know that I see you. I can resonate with you trying to find and become the best version of yourself. This is another reason why Lily of the Valley was born and another reason why I am a life coach.
If you are reading this and currently experiencing psychological challenges, just know that you are not alone. It is OKAY not to feel okay. I hope that you will peruse my other blog posts because they just may inspire you to start the journey of becoming the best version of yourself. Feel free to send me an email, and I will personally respond to you. You are the lily of the valley, so keep on thriving, my friend.
LOV Wisdom: To create optimal psychological well-being, it starts with only you. Do it for you. No one understands who you are internally. No one will do the transformation for you. No one will find your best version of you. Only you can do that.
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