An open letter to those with mental illness

 

Guest blog by Lindsey Frazier

 

 

Dear reader,

 

I am so terribly sorry that you suffer from mental illness, but know that you are not alone. I, too, know the stigma that comes along with having mental illness and I know just how hard it can be to cope with on a day to day basis.

 

Please don’t think that you have to limit yourself because of your disease(s), that’s not the case. You can acheive anything that you set your mind to! Don’t sell yourself short, ever. You are a beautiful human being and I know that you are capable of thriving.

 

I’ve been to the depths of Hell and back, I’ve had lows that would scare the pants off of you, but that’s okay. The lows you have will help you appreciate your good days. And when you have a couple of good days, you’ll feel on top of the world! If you work hard enough, you can even learn to manage the outcome of your days. Imagine how great it would feel to turn around a bad day!

 

I know how difficult it can be to do the simplest task, such as get out of the bed or take a shower. Sometimes you just want to sleep forever because you feel like you can’t do anything. It’s okay to have those days, just don’t stick with them.

 

Anxieties about everything can be normal, don’t think you’re alone. There’s plenty of other people who take minutes, even hours, to muster up the courage to complete a phone call. It’s not always as simple as some people make it out to be.

 

Mental illness is something that people don’t want to talk about because they feel ashamed of it, but I’m here to tell you not to be ashamed! Be proud of who you are and what you’ve overcome. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you aren’t capable of doing something.

 

Stay strong and keep fighting.

 

For more information on Ascent, visit Ascent.org or Rise2Recovery.com for a new addiction-recovery and mental health podcast. Our guest blogger’s website can be viewed here.