The Outcome is Freedom
The most difficult challenge I face with mental health is the constant struggle of trying to be strong and suppressing all of my emotions. I, myself am bipolar and I struggle with both depression and anxiety. The fact that my skin color is Black makes these problems 10x worst.
As a Black woman from the hood It is instilled in me to have strength, never show weakness and always look good. But these things are hard to maintain when you struggle mentally in silence. So on a day to day basis I constantly have to remind my self positive affirmations such as “you can make it, you got this, you’re smart, you’re strong.”
On one hand it seems like that will help you get a great start to a great day. But what do you do when underneath those positive thoughts you have negative thoughts telling you, “you can’t make it, you are not enough, you are not where you should be in life?”
This is what I call the seesaw point in life where you feel up and down at the same time. At this point, I normally would just jump-off and run, but running away from your problems don’t help. Suppressing your problems and acting like they don’t exist is even worse. Holding everything inside only builds up a boiling point that will eventually burst out in a destructive way.
So I learned the healthiest way to deal with mental health is to actually deal with it. Accept that something is wrong and that is okay. Allow yourself to feel that every feeling you’re experiencing is normal. Allow yourself to express everything openly no matter what the viewers think. Being true to myself was the best thing I could ever do for my mental health.
As far as coping goes, there are many different techniques, which I choose to PRAY. Without God I’m nothing. After all the trauma and heartache I’ve been through, I would be lost in the mind without GOD. Secondly I choose to look at my blessings and not my failures. If we change our focus from the bad and more towards the good , we then have a better OUTLOOK and in return receive a better OUTCOME.
Lastly, what I can’t change or fix I don’t fight it, I simply let it GO! I choose to be free because I’ve always felt in chains since the day I was birthed. Being free is a choice and I choose to live my life chain-free. Free from mental health stereotypes, free from judgment, free from my own sick thoughts, free to be me the best me I could be. Freedom is being able to take in a breath of fresh air and releasing it, opening your eyes and seeing everything for exactly what it is and for that I am truly grateful to be the free me!