Depression. It’s like being sucked into a black hole or to wear black sunglasses that’s impossible to take off. In the darkest of darkness there’s no light, no hope, no plans for the future. Nothing will ever be better and I could as well commit suicide, everybody would be better of without me.
Eating disorders. It’s like nothing else matters any more than a sick obsession to be skinny. Numbers on a scale defines my worth as a human being. All methods are allowed and I both hate and love food at the same time. Everything will be alright, everything will be better if I just lose some weight. I will be so skinny!
Psychosis. It’s like my whole world view suddenly is questioned and everything I thought about the world is now turned upside down. Strange things are happening around me and I begin to hear voices. They’re terrorizing me 24/7 and life is a nightmare. You know how nice it is to wake up from a nightmare and realize that it’s just a dream, but that never happens in a psychosis. It just goes on and on and the extreme pain and stress that I’m living with has no end.
I have survived these three mental health problems. Many times. And with survived I mean literally, I’ve been close to death in many different ways. It’s more or less a miracle that my heart is still beating. Did all this make me stronger? Or did it make me more vulnerable? Well … both.
We need to have the courage to talk about mental health problems without judging each other. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, it can happen everybody, it’s just about where your limit is. If enough bad luck and stress is thrown your way then you’re sooner or later going to have some mental health problem. After some time your brain will sort of give up and your heart will fall into pieces. The question is only where your limit is – will you have mental health problems after your pet dies, your partner leaves you and you get fired from work at the same time? Will you have mental health problems after several years in a war zone? Where’s your limit?
Sometimes people break. That doesn’t mean you can never fix us, that doesn’t mean that we deserve to have a mental health problem tattoo in our forehead forever. There is a way out of mental health problems, people heal with time and a lot of work with themselves and their situation. Let us tell you about our story or our present lives, listen without judging or giving advice, just listen and try to understand.
We are not victims, we are survivors. Maybe we are vulnerable in some ways, but we are strong in other ways. We have survived nightmares that you can never even imagine, give us some respect please! Maybe we could open up a discussion about mental health problems in social media? #survivor
Love and bliss/Glittergirl <3