Mental health is hard. Really hard. When it feels like your body and mind are betraying you, it’s easy to find yourself questioning who you are, what you’re doing, and what this even is all for. We work overtime to navigate through these issues. On some days just getting out of bed can feel like a major undertaking.
Now imagine not only having to work on anxiety recovery or depression recovery, but having to do that work while also knowing that the world often doesn’t even recognize you as valid or worthy of being here. You start every day not thinking about exposures or podcast episodes or a recovery plan, but by thinking about the fact that you are being actively rejected, marginalized, ignored, excluded, ridiculed, or even attacked for being who you are. Exposures will have to come later. You have to figure out how to navigate all that first.
We speak often about how the stress of life can make recovery more difficult. When the world throws crap at us, we can feel like we’re back to square one. When we are trapped in unhealthy situations, we struggle to find the room needed for recovery. For our LGBTQ+ friends, just existing can be one giant unhealthy situation. Someone that does not conform to “accepted” gender identities or sexual orientation standards probably feels like life itself is an abusive relationship. There’s no room to work in. No space left for recovery and mental health. No space to breathe.
I love this community. You all contribute to making this a space full of empowerment, encouragement, inspiration, and compassion. I hope for that. You make it.
So if we are to make this space, we must make this space for EVERYONE, especially people that might otherwise have no space. This has to be a virtual place where anyone can come and feel like they work on recovery without fear of being banished or judged simply for being who they are. Everyone must be welcome here.
Mental health is hard. Mental health is even harder when you’re fighting wars on multiple fronts. Let us be a kind shelter from that other war. Let’s help give our friends the space they need to breathe and maneuver.
I know I’m preaching to the choir here. I’ve seen nothing but love and acceptance and kindness from you guys and I am hopeful that what I’ve seen extends to everyone that needs a mental health tribe to belong to. But as I was writing tomorrow’s edition of The Anxious Morning I caught myself being accidentally exclusionary in my thinking, so I write as much as a reminder to myself that I have work to do as anything else. Part of that work is not remaining silent when these issues come up, so here I am.
Thank you for being excellent humans. ALL of you.
Hey it’s Monday and that means that today at 2 PM Eastern I’ll do my “Recovery Monday” livestream on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Come join in!
71. Why ALL Must Be Welcome Here