Struggling is NOT the Same as Failing

Earlier today, I penned this Facebook post, and have been subsequently asked to make it a blog post so that it is shareable off the social media platform. People often wonder why I have such a focus on mental health, and it’s because I live these challenges every day, so I am able to have empathy to other people who are fighting against their own brains. I hope that by putting this out there, it helps some of you realize that you’re not alone in what you’re dealing with. Cut yourself some slack - Struggling is NOT the same as Failing.

I have PTSD, which is an anxiety disorder. I'm having trouble focusing and becoming unable to fully function. I'm unable to not find new worries. I'm on edge and agitated. I can't sit still, and I'm exhausted from doing nothing. I can't keep to task and I'm simultaneously desperate to help and paralyzed with not knowing how. Everything I'm doing to help seems useless in the big picture.

I have and am taking my meds. I have an amazing support system. So why am I sharing this very personal stuff? I want you to know that even with my well-cultivated meds, my amazing service dog MoonMoon, and my outstanding support network, I'm struggling massively at times. If you're struggling without any if the support I have and it's making you feel overwhelmed and weak and worthless, I want you to know that anxiety is a lying liar who lies. You are allowed to feel things and you're allowed to be human. It doesn’t mean you're weak- it means you're alive and that you care. And if it gets to be too much, reach out for some help. People care about you, and above all else, I want you to remember that you matter to them.

#inthistogether #multifamilystrong#pandemic2020 #mentalhealth #realtalk

I'm usually better at regulating my mental health than I have been lately, and I couldn't figure out why this was so hard, and it seems stupid now in hindsight, but it's because this is all not normal. None of it. Not one bit. And we're all trying to recapture normalcy right now in whatever little bits that we can, but the truth is that we can't. We have to build our new normalcy for this, from the ground up. Whatever we had 3 weeks ago is gone now. Maybe we will get it back, maybe we won't. Maybe we want it back, maybe we don't. But for now, we have to build, and encourage each other's buildings as well. There's no right way to do this, and we all just need to remember that we are human, but that we're human together, even if we are isolated.