A Love Note to You on #MentalHealthDay

I was going to start this by saying that I’m sorry for always talking so much about #mentalhealth but then I caught myself and audibly had a lil chuckle.

Because why would I ever apologize??

This stuff is super dupes IMPORTANT and I am more than willing to hold the gauntlet any day.

For a good portion of my day today, I laid on my couch, hung out with my cats, and held ice packs over my swollen eyes. A direct result of having yet another sleepless night where I tossed and turned, anxiety taking hold of the steering wheel. Life has been kind of heavy and hard as of late, and when it gets that way, I have a difficult time turning my brain off. I worry, I contemplate, I try to quiet the thoughts of defeat, failure, fear, and uneasiness that run circles in my mind. It’s a whole process, really. Maybe you can relate?

Have I been better? You’re darn tootin. But I also have never been stronger.

That’s a funny concept with mental health. It sometimes appears to others that you’re living a perfect life, thriving – when in reality you’re completely falling apart. On the other hand, it can appear to them that you’re suffering – when actually you’re fighting and flourishing. It really can be both.

The truth is, despite it all, I love this big ‘ol beautiful jumble of a brain that I have. She is clever, she is strange, she is painfully empathetic. She would give the shirt off of her back to a complete stranger if they needed it more, she loves anything and everything she comes across. She has felt a lot (thank goodness for writing) but most importantly, she has fought.

She has fought for who she knows she is. For the person she knows was handmade by the wittiest, most sovereign of artists. She has never given up. And deserves to remember those things. YOU deserve to remember those things.

Even — and especially when — your brain is convincing you of the opposite. In the deepest part of your spirit, you know who you REALLY are. Please keep showing up for them! For us! We are all worth that.

On #MentalHealthDay (a day that should be every day tbh), I wanted to remind you that taking care of yourself is productive and a priority.

Check in on yourself, on your loved ones. You only have one head and one heart and they beat and think in only the most uniquely you way possible. Be sure to give them a lil TLC.

And if you ever need to chat, about anything, I am always just a text, DM, phone call, and surprise drop-in with coffee and donuts away.