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THE BLOG
 Each
email, text, tweet, and favorite that we have
received over the past three weeks is
encouragement and validation that we made the
right decision to openly discuss depression and
our individual struggles with it. We know that
we aren’t alone.
I applaud my friends for using my personal
website as an outlet and a speaker through which
their voices are heard. I thank you for being
open-minded and allowing me to digress from
“normal” Coach Shimmy.com material and
supporting us by reading the posts.
You’ve heard from Lindsay and Meghin. Now meet
Doshia...
"The Why”
By Doshia Woods, Tulane University
May has a few distinctions and celebrations that
are synonymous with the month. Mother’s Day,
Memorial Day, Cinco De Mayo…and wouldn’t you
know it, Mental Health Awareness month.
In our society we have long wrestled with the
proper use and acceptance of those struggling
mentally. We struggle to talk about it; we
struggle to be there for each other; we struggle
to express ourselves. We all know someone that
knows someone that suffers from: depression,
bipolar, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder),
anxiety, and a whole host of other mental health
issues. We struggle for various reasons:
PERCEPTION: Cases where people should
seek therapy and they don't. The fear of others
knowing your struggles paralyzes you. The idea
that somehow you're not as competent as you used
to be. “You're soft,” creeps into your mind and
literally freezes you. Your world collides
between hurt, disappointment, frustration,
rejection & sadness because the pain is building
a barrier around your core. I've experienced
those feelings myself. Not wanting to tell
anyone my deepest hurt. Not wanting to tell
anyone how I was abused. Not wanting anyone to
know that PTSD is real. The flashbacks,
nightmares, guilt, shame, and blame affected me.
It did and still does. What will they think of
me now and who will possibly love me? PTSD is
real. Traumatic events happen in life but how
will you let it affect you? Some days are better
than others but don’t allow yourself to suffer
alone, sitting in silence and drowning in your
own thoughts. Therapy helped me, gave me an
outlet and provided me with tools to coexist
with that part of myself. Therapy allowed me to
understand the reality of who I am, what I went
through, but most importantly, WHAT I AM CAPABLE
OF! I survived. I am a survivor and that
perception fuels me.
VULNERABILITY: This is what stops most of
us from going into the water & feeling free to
express ourselves. We get to the edge, but can
we really handle being vulnerable? Do I have the
courage to speak on these internal emotions?
Does the fear of “others knowing who I really
am” scare me more than speaking about them? We
seek help for almost everything else in our
lives. If you’re learning a sport you hire a
coach. If you have an ailment, you find a
qualified Dr. If you’re struggling in school you
Google a tutor. Yet, when it’s time for your
mental needs you do nothing. You attempt to
handle this on your own. Small problem, you’re
not educated in that field. I don’t know the
first thing about knee surgery so at the end of
my freshman year in college I didn’t attempt to
perform that procedure myself. After years of
suppressing my past and working hard to ignore
my pain, I sought help. I went weekly, slowly
peeling back the layers of my life; the
different abuses and adversities that revealed
why now, in my adult life I react the way I do
in certain situations. One of the toughest, yet
best decisions of my life. Be smart and
selective about whom you choose to be vulnerable
with. Know your friends and your audience. When
you do develop the courage to talk about your
mental struggles, seek those friends who show
empathy, compassion, sympathy, and are good
listeners. I have a core of friends I know I can
turn to on tough days and I am blessed to have
them in my life and thankful for the time they
make for me.
I highlighted a few reasons why I struggled
talking about mental health. We all have our own
reasons, fears and excuses. Your life is worth
sharing and worth living. Writing poetry has
provided an outlet for my feelings and pain.
I’ve also developed an interest in yoga,
meditation, running, (and a LOVE OF FACIALS!),
to care for myself. Taking time for me and
giving myself the freedom to feel whatever it is
I feel. I do these things in order to invest in
me. To invest in what I have to offer the world.
To invest in my own happiness. Love yourself
enough to love yourself unconditionally.
THE WHAT NEXT...
National Suicide Prevention Hotline:
800.273.TALK
National Alliance on Mental Illness:
http://www.nami.org
Mental Health America:
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net
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