Blog #1-“Where do we Begin?”

So here we go!  This is the first attempt at a blog and I’ve not been entirely sure where to begin.  The task of being an “expert” has always been daunting to me, and I prefer to be held with a little less esteem. So please understand that while I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor in mental health, that does not make me an expert on your life.  The bottom line is this.  We all are hurting in some way or another.  Many of us suffer in silence out of either a fear of being seen as weak or inept at managing the stress of living this life.  Some of us stay quiet because we don’t even fully understand the pain ourselves.  So, we keep it bottled up, all the while feeling the degenerative effects of the pain as it whittles away at the will and desire to keep going.

This pain I’m speaking of manifests itself in ways unique to each of us yet holds many common threads of experience.  Finding someone with a similar thread to ours often gives us strength and hope that maybe we aren’t as isolated as we feel.  Maybe there are those out there that understand.  If someone understands then maybe I can share.  Maybe they can help me articulate and process this “pain” that I carry silently.  I honestly believe that the heart of every mental health professional should be connected with the suffering of others and being a source of support as a person explores the recesses of themselves they’ve been apprehensive to share.

The purpose of this blog and those moving forward will be to explore the different threads of experience we all have to identify a source of connection for those who may feel lost and alone.  I hope it’s a place that can provide a hub of not only knowledge but also a means of connection and understanding. 

A few days ago as I struggled to find a starting point, I reached out to our audience on social media.  The feedback I received what extensive, varied, and poured in extremely quickly.  This is an indication to me that despite the growing awareness towards mental health struggles in our world, there is still a gap of understanding that prevents solid connection.  Blogs have become a dime a dozen and I feel that it would be nice to do something different. 

Instead of just centering the blog on education where I, as an “expert”, provide different diagnostic information regarding a particular mental illnesses or treatment strategies, I will also use it as an opportunity at times to illuminate the personal experience of some as they deal with the particular topic relevant to the week.  This will be done completely confidentially with the identity of the individual protected.

Sometimes its not enough to read a list of symptoms to get a true understanding of what it means to suffer the pain of mental illness.  It can at times take a glimpse into the internal experience of a real person to understand how it affects their thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and actions.  I hope that this approach will not only give a greater visceral understanding of the struggles of an individual, but also create a place of validation for those who share a similar thread of experience.

Some weeks I will attempt to articulate my own experiences with anxiety and depression and how those battles have lead to my pursuit in this field.  I am a very imperfect person and I hope that sharing some of my own experiences transparently will demonstrate that mental illness is no respecter of persons and in some way, directly or indirectly, touches us all. 

I will also use certain entries to illuminate the secondary experiences of loved ones as they attempt to provide support to family members.  A loved one can suffer many mixed feelings as they help their family member or friend keep their head above water while battling the many secondary complications that arise as a result of their diagnosis.

Sometimes I will reach out to the audience as I did last week to identify new topics and answer questions you have.  I must be honest and tell you all that its quite unnerving to step out into the public eye and I ask that you respect those of us open and brave enough to share our stories.  We all struggle with something, and we all have a source of pain which we have not yet been able to soothe.  I hope you’ll tune in regularly as we explore the world of mental health in a real and personal manner.  We will figure out the regularity of the topics as the interest level is gauged during these first few.  Stay tuned and thank you for your interest.