Healing’s messy…& the more we learn abt childhood, abt things like ACE’s- adverse childhood experiences….the more we learn abt stress & trauma, the more we realize that adulthood’s abt a healing PROCESS. Even in the most healthy upbringings – life threw challenges at us & it impacted the way we think/feel/function – for all of us. It may be to diff levels, but there’s no way to compare & accurately measure those levels.
I don’t think we go from this place of affected – to then “healed” where everything’s fine & dandy & we’ve come back from what impacted us, & now “have arrived” & get to coast.
Much like physical health’s a constant battle – the foods we eat, drinks we consume, movements we take/don’t take: everything from being a couch potato to running marathons, MH is a constant battle too. Even those of us who’ve taken a proactive approach to healing from things from the past: life doesn’t stop happening. We continue to face new stressors & the possibilities of new traumas – bc we don’t get to choose the events of how life plays out.
For so long there’s been a movement of openness abt the physical health work ppl put in: before & after photos of weight loss, flexing at gyms after a hard workout, the boxing routines w a trainer. There’s even those showing how they’re overcoming obstacles like having to wear a colostomy bag…or what the healing process was like after a car accident.
I get that MH can be a sensitive topic. Sadly – the stuff from the past, impacting the present & future, hasn’t been normalized yet, as an EVERYONE thing. But the info shared in the last post from Daniel Bard – MLB pitcher openly sharing he’s starting on the Injury List bc of his MH, even tho there’s not a formal distinction in the MLB scoresheet for that: THAT is Healing Loudly.
And while it’s not for everyone, it is something I’m going to be conscious of & encouraging others to do more of. It builds off of the ethos of: SameHere & “5 in 5”…everyone goes thru it & the more those of us comfortable sharing, do it loudly…even when that means taking time off, the more we normalize help seeking for others to come: #HealLoudly