Good afternoon!
I want all of you to take a moment and look at the people around
you. Ask them: “Are you okay?” “How are you doing?” “Are you really happy?”
Most of them will probably say “I’m okay,” or “I’m fine.” They might even say it
with a smile on their faces. But behind those words, and beneath that smile, they
may be carrying their own pain, suffering silently, holding on to their own
struggles, thoughts, emotions, and sometimes even questioning their own
existence. They try to cling to a small flicker of hope just to keep going and to
move forward. Maybe they’ve decided to stay silent, afraid of being judged by the
very people around them.
Mental health struggles are not a joke. They are not something to be taken lightly
about. They are real, and they can happen to anyone, even the person sitting
besides you right now
In today's society that we live in, speaking out about mental health struggles is
often seen as seeking attention, being dramatic, and sometimes just acting. We
are told to “just get over it”, “deal with it on your own”. Not until something tragic
happens. Then these very own people will suddenly act concerned, saying “Why
didn’t you just talk about it?” “Why did they do it on theirselves?” “You can just
talk to me”. But the truth is…WE DID TRY. And what did they do? They labeled
us attention seekers, dramatic.
So most people just choose to suffer in silence. Being eaten alive by their own
thoughts, being consumed by their own thoughts, dying little day by day just
because of this so called “judgement of the society”.
mental health struggles aren’t just for adults. They affect teenagers, they affect
children too. We’ve been taught to always say, “I’m okay,” even when we’re not.
We’ve been taught to always be strong and feel okay. Even we are not. We often
make jokes like, “ Oh gosh, I’m mentally exhausted,” “I cannot take it anymore,”
“Let’s just sleep”. But deep down, a lot of us are just hiding our pain, covering it
with a smile, searching desperately for a reason to keep moving forward and
to keep going.
Maybe you’ve experienced it yourself…Lying awake at night, staring at your room
ceiling, wondering “When will I be okay again?” When will this end?”
Coping with our mental health struggles is mentally and physically challenging.
It’s not just about pretending that everything's fine, it’s also about giving yourself
time to pause and breathe, to feel and validate your emotions, and to take one
step at a time, no matter how small the progress is, no matter how small that step
is.
It’s hard talking about a person's mental health. Even us, we find it hard to talk
about. We might find it awkward or confusing because sometimes we don’t fully
understand ourselves, emotions, or what we are feeling.
But here’s the truth, it will always be a struggle talking about it, coping up with it,
even doing the smallest step/goal so challenging and hard to achieve. But along
the way, there are things that we can do to make it enjoyable or make that
smallest progress into a big progress.
We can start by taking care of ourselves, sleep if you need to, eat if you need to,
do your skincares, exercise, take a walk, and other things that keep you active.
Do your favorite hobbies, go meditate, paint, journal, read books, or other
hobbies that keeps you grounded and focused.
Talk to your trusted people or go to the professionals.
Put boundaries on the negative things, it can be the people around you, the
environment, your own thoughts, or even the social media.
And most importantly, reminding ourselves day by day that WE ARE ALREADY
MORE THAN ENOUGH, even on the days we feel like we are not.
Remember that you are not alone in your journey. Keeping it all inside will only do
you more harm than good. It’s okay to cry, there is no shame in crying. There is
no shame in sharing and showing your feelings, your emotions. You’re not a
robot; you are a person with real emotions. Let it out and breathe.
Showing what you feel does not make you weak. You are human afterall, and
humans are meant to feel. You don’t have to carry everything alone, someone
out there cares, someone out there is willing to listen.
You are NOT a burden, you are worthy of love, help, and healing. You don’t have
to be strong all the time or keep it all bottled up inside. Just being you is already
more than enough. Always remember that taking care of yourself is not a
weakness, it is about fighting for yourself to keep going, to keep moving forward,
to heal, and to find the strength to live and see another day.
