Mental Illness scares the crap out of most people including me & I have one!

Mental Illness scares the crap out of most people including me & I have one. There is such a sigma attached to it but the truth is that people with a mental illness are just like everyone else.They have jobs, they go to school, are sons & daughter, they are parents, husbands & wives but they just have a much harder time dealing with things than the average Joe.

Usually they don’t bother anyone with what’s going on in their heads cause they are ashamed to talk about it.

We are all so good at hiding it. Normally we are the outgoing ones who are the life of the party but deep down we are dying inside from putting on a front to hide what the truth really is. We are the ones who are always there for our friends & give the best advice but we are also the ones who don’t take our own advice, something we should do. We are the ones suffering in total silence.
So one day I had a light bulb moment “Why should I hide what’s going on with me?” I didn’t do this to myself. I went through years & years of trauma so I shouldn’t be embarrassed about this.

I made a decision last year to tell my friends that I suffer from Complex PTSD because it was so stressful hiding how I was really feeling all the time. Its like a full time job putting on a front for others who don’t know the truth.

I use to lie about having prior commitments when I was invited to social events, it makes me uncomfortable being around large groups of people I don’t know. It was becoming an on going issue & I needed to do something about it.

Once I told my friends what was going on, I was happily surprised with their response. They were all so supportive & understanding. Now I don’t have to lie, I just tell them the truth & they completely understand & they don’t even ask for a reason why. It feels good that now I can be totally truthful & not lie to my loved ones.

And the best part is now I can make a call or send a text when I’m not feeling the best & get the support that I desperately need.

Now when I do hear from people & they ask “How are you doing” I don’t lie, I tell them the truth “I’m having a terrible time, my anxiety is really bad at the moment & I’m struggling” Now that I’m able to do that I get the understanding I need.

Look they will never understand what you are going through as they don’t have the same issues as us but I guarantee that they will try their very best to be there for you like I know that you have always been there for them.

In saying that, if you do approach your friends & they aren’t supportive & understanding then I’m sorry to say but they aren’t true friends & you don’t need them in your life.

I had a bad experience. Once Id told a “friend’ what was going on she totally turned on me & the friendship was lost. Its really sad when that happened because you trust them with your deepest darkest feelings & they use it against you. But as I said that okay cause we don’t need people like that in our lives.

Life is hard enough living with Depression, PTSD or CPTSD without having supportive & understanding people around you.

If you don’t have a mental illness but have a loved one that does, pick up the phone & ask them how they are doing, send them a text saying you are thinking about them or drop over for a coffee & a chat. Small things make life easier & knowing that people care about you makes the world not seem so stressful.

If you do have a mental illness, please don’t suffer in silence talk to your loved ones or find a local service so you too can have the support you need.