Without privilege, how would your story be different?
On mental health, privilege, and compassion
The first time I wrote about my own struggles with mental health was just after Robin Williams died by suicide.*
It was written before I reached middle age, before I truly understood my chronic illness and how my stressed out, over-achieving, selfish, unconscious, people-pleasing lifestyle was harming my physical and emotional health.
It was written before I started practicing mindfulness in earnest, and before I started making major life decisions about things that were not in alignment with who I am as a person and who I came here to be.
It was written before I started to (Capital H) Heal.
I could have never started my journey to (Capital H) Heal without the loving, untiring support of family, friends, doctors, and therapists.
Which is to say, I could have never started my journey to (Capital H) Heal without the many, MANY privileges I’ve been afforded in this lifetime.
Recently, Akusua Akoto told me her story and trusted me to write it. It means so much to me, on many levels. I hope it means something to you, too. Because without community, without the support many of us have been provided through our privilege, our stories might look different.
It’s a story of perseverance. And it demonstrates the power of creativity and its role in helping people heal.
If you read one thing today, let it be this.
*It was first reported that Robin William’s death was related to mental health, which is when I wrote in the story linked above. Post-mortem, his family learned that he had been misdiagnosed and was suffering from pathologies associated with a rare disease called Levy body dementia.
Image by Akusua Akota. Akusua is a poet and spoken word performer. Connect/see her work on LinkedIn or Facebook (Akusua Akoto).
