My Mental Health Day Story

So, my friends, a little story of mine shared for World Mental Health Day. 

As expressive as I can be with paint, so often on my own journey, I have held back talking about my feelings and thoughts, as I've felt afraid of rejection or worried about burdening others with my load. 

But I am learning what a gift it is to share our life with loved ones ... 

A couple of weeks ago I'd been really struggling with an ongoing bout of anxiety and finally had a huge cry and let all my feelings out to my husband, who had no idea what was going on with me ... because I'd been trying to shield him from my 'stuff'. I thought that I should process my struggles alone or I would make life harder for others.

Instead, I was making things harder by struggling alone.

He reminded me that he's my husband and he wants me to share my Life with him. He suggested that from now on, whenever I have the thought 'I shouldn't talk about that', I could reach out and share that with him, just to let it out - and know that we are a team, here for each other.

So, I've started doing that and I cannot tell you what a difference it has made. I see now how rich life can feel when I accept and share myself as I am, when before, I felt so bottled up with unspoken words, that I struggled to feel or share love freely. 

I read recently that Those who cannot cry freely, cannot love freely either; and I see now what is meant by this.

It feels so wonderful to open myself up to loving myself and being loved, warts and all, because we are all human here and we all get our turn to support and be supported. What a gift.

So, here's my heart, opening outward to all of you here, my  friends and family, saying sometimes I struggle and sometimes I feel gratitude and sometimes I feel inwardly rich and sometimes I don't and sometimes, I'm somewhere in between ... Yet I am me, it's all part of my package and I am learning that this is not just okay, it can also be a wonderful blessing.

As I learn new ways to manage my mental health experiences, a path has opened up for me that regularly gives me the choice to grow and learn and experience richness and most of all, open myself up to Love more and more every day, shared with people like your beautiful self. 

Wishing You Inner & Outer Kindness on World Mental Health Day. Here's to sharing ourselves more openly.

All my Love,

Chrissy x

Heartful work in progress.