Wait, what...I’m mental??

i have to say I’ve been thinking long and hard about this post. Mental health has been on the forefront of the worlds minds. People who have been affected and inflicted with mental health issues have been out and pondering their current state of being. Friends and family members have been reaching out and taking a self assessment of who they are and are they ok.
I am someone who has struggled with some form of anxiety and depression since I was about 11 years old. I’ve been medicated, shrink’ed, psychoanalyzed, hospitalized, and hit with more to deal with constantly. I have had doctors look at me and say with my life experiences I could have turned to alcohol and drugs but I chose to work and how to tell a person to stop working is harder than dealing with those substances. Most recently I have been lectured and scolded and almost mom shamed for choosing to breastfeed my preemie twins with my history of mental health issues. Yet I still function. Sometimes with more gusto than other times but I function.
Now back to my thoughts, recently we have been faced by prominent people who suffered in silence and we saw that all the money and opportunities in the world cannot make a person happy on the inside. These tragedies affected me deeply. People who live with these disorders feel them more than most. We have to look into ourselves and examine how we feel. Are we up to par? Do we need a Med adjust? Do we need a check in? Could this be me?
I look at myself as a survivor. Someone who fights like a bull against myself mostly. And with every hit I am brought back to the reality that I am a survivor. My partner is a survivor. We cope in different ways. We strive to be our best for our children. But yet I struggle and he moves on which is what he does.
So here I ask, are you ok? Are you in a place you equal our your inside and outside? Do you need a mental health checkup? There is help. Reach out to your village! I have a mental health friend that I love to bits and we check in on each other when we know we should. Do you have that? Can I help you find that? Death is a permanent solution to what could be a temporary problem. Sometimes the problems are not temporary but how else can we or will we cope.
Ok that’s my soapbox. I wanted to put it in writing. Here are some resources if you need or want...no pressure! Remember I’m an improperly medicated breastfeeding mama not an expert! Read my other posts on specific afflictions I’ve dealt with.
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National Alliance on Mental Illness - NAMI
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
National Institute on Mental Health - NIH