Overcoming

We all struggle

I saw a Facebook post I never thought I’d see today. Someone very close to me who perhaps has had the most challenging ordeal with mental illness of anyone I know said she was actually considering getting off her meds because she’s been consistently in a good place for six months due to a treatment that has seemingly cured her. And I can attest…she seems cured after 30+ years of extreme torment.

Words cannot express how overjoyed I am for her as I struggle to hold back tears. I want to respect her privacy but this is a person I’ve seen go through the darkest of dark times over and over again for decades who seems to have finally found happiness. Nothing can possibly describe the admiration I have for her to have finally overcome her incredible struggles and finally found joy in life. I am moved beyond any words I could possibly put on this page.

We all struggle on our lives, some more than others and some more publicly than others, but we all do. I think many people take for granted that being born one way or another, whether one race or another or rich or poor, etc. does not guarantee an easy life. It really rather bothers me. I was born a white man into a well to do family and if you knew what I’ve been through, I don’t think many of you would be jealous. And no, I’m not going to go into it as it’s not something I advertise on the internet. But my struggles have been very similar to my friends in fact because we’re related and they’re of the same genetics. I figured these specific ones out around 2014 while it’s taken her longer so as I said I’m overjoyed to see her finally reach peace.

All of this is to say, we never know what inner demons someone is grappling with which is why I try to go through life treating every stranger as if they might be going through hell, because I remember when I was and how often people would make I worse when a little kindness would have made my days so much better. The US has a severe mental illness problem only getting significantly worse at an ever increasing speed, especially among young adults, as we are forced to deal with more and more challenging situations on a day to day basis, so the better we treat each other, and learn to treat each other the way we would want to be treated, the more we can help society heal together.

That’s all for today. Unbelievably happy for my family member and so proud of her. Always remember you never know how much someone may be struggling and treat them with as much kindness as you can. Have a great weekend.