The Things We Don't Say
TO: __ABCD___
FROM: __EFG__
SUBJECT:The Things We Don't Say But Wish We Did But Can't Manage to Get Out of Our Mouths... okay, you know what? I'm just going to start the email...
Hey!
Dear ABCD;
I'm so sorry I haven't gotten back to you.I've just been overthinking every single word you sent in that last message. And to be honest, I've been a little depressed and anxious lately. Everything seems to be happening at once and, as it turns out, I apparently don't have great coping mechanisms. You know how life gets. How have you been lately? I heard you were really upset after your AP test last week, and just wanted to tell you I'm proud of you for getting it over with. You worked really hard for that, and I hope you are feeling better. I've been doing okay. I haven't eaten in awhile because I want to look good for summer, but I think it's an okay sacrifice. Teddy had to get a few teeth pulled at the vet, which was sad, but then I bought him some puppy ice cream. He's feeling much better now. Hey, so I haven't seen you for a bit (which is fine, I know you're busy, I've just been feeling kind of lonely lately. You know, the kind of Friday night lonely when you realize you are watching a movie by yourself when you could be out with friends? Yeah. And then you start wondering if your friends are even missing you?), and I was thinking maybe we could catch a movie soon? There are a few good ones coming out this month. But... if you don't want to, that's cool, too. I just don't really have anyone else to hang out with. Cool. Thanks so much! Oh gosh, he probably thinks I'm rambling. Am I annoying him? I hope not. And again, I'm sorry for not getting back to you last time. I really wanted to, I just never know quite what to say. See you soon.
Love from... no, no, no... Sincerely.... sounds too formal...
- EFG
Mental Health looks different to everyone. But there is one thing I fervently believe holds true across all individual definitions, struggles, and triumphs concerning the subject: silence. We don't talk about the things that hurt. We don't tell people we love them often enough. We suffer alone, perhaps because we're scared of judgment or because of the social taboos surrounding vulnerability, and it is damaging. It is isolating. No one likes being trapped inside their own mind, mulling things over, evaluating and reevaluating. No one enjoys beating themselves up. Thinking about what they should or shouldn't have said. Imagining what they did and shouldn't have done. Wondering how things could've been different.
Everyone has mental health, in the same way everyone has physical health. We all have minds that need to be tended to. We all have our mental blocks, our struggles, and our insecurities. Let's put it this way: every mind is a garden. And in every garden, there are beautiful flowers, vivid colors, and bees spinning lazily through the air. But there are also weeds and pests. Among the abundance of life, there is decay. No garden in the world is exempt from weeds. No mind in the world is exempt from pain. It is nearly impossible for a single amateur gardener to weed an entire garden by themselves. It would take absolute ages. The gardener would probably get sunburned or hungry, and would be miserable by the end of the whole ordeal. And by the time they had rid the garden of every weed in sight, new weeds would already be growing in the corners. New bugs would be eating away at the leaves and petals.
It's much easier to take care of a garden when there are multiple people to help out. The work becomes far less tedious, each individual extends a hand, and, if the gardeners are lucky, a good conversation or an outbreak of singing may occur.
Likewise, it's much easier to take care of a mind, of mental well-being, when we let each other in. Life is tough, and lots of the time, you can't just go it alone. You have to ask for help. You have to make the conscious decision to say the things we typically don't. Of course, this is simpler said than done. I get it. Heck, even writing that fake email up above was hard for me. I'd type something out, delete it, and then proceed to laugh at the irony of the situation. See, I didn't even want to write a fake sentence that sounded vulnerable.
But this vulnerability, it isn't impossible. It isn't wishful thinking. I'll even give you the first steps; think of it as "Vulnerability and Bravery 101 with Maya:"
Number One: Tell someone you are struggling. Reach out. Ask for help.
Number Two: Watch you garden grow.
Take care of yourselves, beautiful humans. Summer is right around the corner.
Love,
Maya
Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash, Photo by Linus Nylund on Unsplash,
Photo by Erda Estremera on Unsplash,
SUBJECT:
Hey!
Dear ABCD;
I'm so sorry I haven't gotten back to you.
- EFG
So... it's Mental Health Awareness Week.
Everyone has mental health, in the same way everyone has physical health. We all have minds that need to be tended to. We all have our mental blocks, our struggles, and our insecurities. Let's put it this way: every mind is a garden. And in every garden, there are beautiful flowers, vivid colors, and bees spinning lazily through the air. But there are also weeds and pests. Among the abundance of life, there is decay. No garden in the world is exempt from weeds. No mind in the world is exempt from pain. It is nearly impossible for a single amateur gardener to weed an entire garden by themselves. It would take absolute ages. The gardener would probably get sunburned or hungry, and would be miserable by the end of the whole ordeal. And by the time they had rid the garden of every weed in sight, new weeds would already be growing in the corners. New bugs would be eating away at the leaves and petals.
It's much easier to take care of a garden when there are multiple people to help out. The work becomes far less tedious, each individual extends a hand, and, if the gardeners are lucky, a good conversation or an outbreak of singing may occur.
Likewise, it's much easier to take care of a mind, of mental well-being, when we let each other in. Life is tough, and lots of the time, you can't just go it alone. You have to ask for help. You have to make the conscious decision to say the things we typically don't. Of course, this is simpler said than done. I get it. Heck, even writing that fake email up above was hard for me. I'd type something out, delete it, and then proceed to laugh at the irony of the situation. See, I didn't even want to write a fake sentence that sounded vulnerable.
But this vulnerability, it isn't impossible. It isn't wishful thinking. I'll even give you the first steps; think of it as "Vulnerability and Bravery 101 with Maya:"
Number One: Tell someone you are struggling. Reach out. Ask for help.
Number Two: Watch you garden grow.
Take care of yourselves, beautiful humans. Summer is right around the corner.
Love,
Maya
Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash, Photo by Linus Nylund on Unsplash,
Photo by Erda Estremera on Unsplash,
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