A Picture of Poor Mental Health

In the last two months, I have planned five different successful events: two holiday craft fair fundraisers, two visits to senior homes over the holidays, and a community sleigh ride night. I have started publishing my community newsletter. I have been an ambassador for my volunteerism. I have set up Christmas trees four times. I have completed all of my Christmas shopping and wrapping. I have applied and successfully received grants for my day job. I have expanded my role at work to areas I love. I have dabbled in starting to drive again and have even started my own savings towards a new car. I've maintained a weekly social outing. I have also managed to reach out to friends I haven't seen in a while to catch up.

This is the picture of somebody who has poor mental health.

By all means, I am succeeding. I have found ways to do well for myself. This doesn't mean I don't have days I have to consider a write off because my energy has vanished. It certainly doesn't mean I don't need to continually work on my mental health. I have a therapist, whom I speak to daily. Without her, my mental health would consume me as it has before. With her, I manage it. Life goes on, as they say, and with it, I continue to pick up my socks and chip away at it. However, a human's mental state is so fragile and cannot be something that once 'fixed' always remains that way. What took 29 years to reach out for help for will not fix itself over night.

Not everyone with poor mental health walks around with a neon sign that labels it as such. Please, reach out to those you love and let them know, whether they show they are down or not.