So many of my clients, mostly the adolescents, feel they are misunderstood. More so because they are teens and teenagers are just weird as is- who likes a teenager? Ha. But the truth of the matter is, many of us are misunderstood. We are misunderstood because we have been taught that if we are not perfect, if we are not strong, if we are not good at everything, if we struggle with something, we are not good enough.

I am here to say- to everyone- You are good enough. You are important. And you are worthy of love, acceptance, and all the good stuff that makes you tingly inside.

I bring this up because so many people I know suffer from some sort of anxiety or depression. As I have written about in the past, I, myself, suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, and that presents in many different ways. Do I feel misunderstood? Absolutely. And I am an adult who is able to effectively communicate, most of the time, without frustration, what I am going through. The frustration comes, as my clients said it best, “when people just don’t get what you’re going through and think you’re looking for attention.”

This is the worst thing  you can do to someone who is suffering with some sort of mental illness. And I hate to use the word mental illness, because I know I’m not ill. I’m not sick. There’s nothing wrong with me. I am enough. I am just different than you who does not suffer from flashbacks, who does not panic or have an anxiety attacks in the most inopportune moment, who does not struggle to get out of bed an brush your teeth not because you are just tired, but because getting up really does feel like you are climbing a mountain. Some people seem to think that the only way someone will understand is when they go through it themselves, and that doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to go through depressive episodes, you don’t have to go through flashbacks, you don’t have to have a schizophrenic break, you don’t have to have a panic attack, be afraid to come out of your home, have rituals, wash you hand 297 times a day to understand and be sympathetic of someone who does. You just have to be kind.

Kindness goes a long way. It shows acceptance, and until we start accepting, as a society, that mental illness is a real thing and people don’t do it for attention, that’s when people will feel comfortable enough to seek help.

If you think mental illness means someone is weak, think again. They go through each day suffering and still put one foot in front of the other. The people who can do that are the strongest ones I know.

Be unafraid to accept, to learn, and to love. Be unafraid to be kind.