Wanted to thank my friend Stephanie for the inspiration for this post. She shared a REAL and RAW message the other day that I was so proud of her for. Both her picture and her words – just exactly how she felt in the moment. Depressed. Tired. No make-up. Close-up. Bags under her eyes (as she pointed out ;)…I don’t want to get in trouble here). You could see the pain in her eyes, and she shared the WHAT: What was bothering her at that point to lead her to feeling that way.
Stephanie is pretty introspective, so I assume she knows this, but while she’s in pain, there is SO much that she did in that post that is healthy, that will help her heal, and help her find joy in the next day and beyond.
Until this “Crazy” thing came about, I knew nothing about social media. When I first came across the term “unfiltered” in the body and hashtag of a post, I literally thought they were referring to water. Now I better understand the meaning. And in an age where so many try to represent the white picket fence life, I want to say thank you to those who post pictures and words that are unfiltered.
First, it helps OTHERS realize not everything is roses. But as Steph realizes, it also makes YOU feel better. Sounds counterintuitive bc we are taught at a young age not to put our “shit” out there. But, what you may think you are saving in image bc of f-ed up societal norms, you will give up in drained emotional energy and pain. It’s not worth it.
Since we’ve had this page up, I can’t count how many DMs we’ve received where ppl just need an outlet. Please continue to do so, we are here for you. If you’re so inclined, let us know you’d like to share your story w the community to help others. But regardless of who and where you share, please do this: Share. Don’t let silence give your suffering (on any level) any strength, by holding it all in.
We are living through a time where talking about unification is less popular and more risky than talking about divison