“More Than a Month: Living Through It, Healing Beyond It”

 💜 Trigger Warning: Mentions of abuse, suicidal thoughts, and mental illness

To the person reading this blog post — thank you for being here.
Before you go any further, ask yourself this:
How are you really doing today?
Rate your mental state on a scale of 1 to 10. There’s no judgment — just a moment to check in with yourself.

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Mental illness doesn’t clock in and out. It doesn’t just show up in May and leave when the month ends. It’s every day. Every breath. Every fight to keep going when you feel like you can’t.

I know because I’ve lived it — and I still do.

In middle school, I tried to unalive myself. The pain from abuse I couldn’t name, the ache of missing my mother, and the weight of being misunderstood nearly took me out. I was unhoused at one point, and I remember thinking about running into a moving car. That’s how heavy it was. That’s how invisible I felt.

Rejection, abandonment, being misjudged — they’ve all played a part in my mental health. Sometimes I was rejected for what I did, and sometimes for just being me. I became a people pleaser to try and avoid more rejection, but it only made me lose more of myself. Being unseen hurt just as much as the labels people threw at me — "crazy," "too much," or worse, being ignored completely.

But I kept fighting. Through every breakdown and setback, I found tools that helped me slowly rebuild:

• University for Parents – gave me a safe foundation to start healing.

• Viewpoint Health – provided access to therapy, case workers, and mental health support.

• Families First – connected me to deeper counseling and support groups.

• Partners in Change – free life coaching that helped me reframe my future.

• Journaling and blogging – gave me space to process, speak, and heal through my own words.

• Spiritual grounding and faith – kept me rooted when everything else felt like it was falling apart.

• Community and mentors – reminded me that healing doesn’t have to happen alone.

I want to also say this: Men deserve safe spaces too.
We have to stop expecting men to bottle everything up and “be strong” all the time. Strength is in vulnerability, too. Our brothers, sons, fathers, and partners are hurting silently. Let’s create spaces where they can open up without shame, where they can breathe, cry, be held, and heal.

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I’ve learned that I am gracefully broken — but still whole. I don’t have to hide anymore. I choose to share my story with people I trust… and even with those I don’t, because my truth is no longer something I’m ashamed of.

My goal is to become a certified peer specialist, to help others find their light like I found mine — even if it was through the cracks. I want to create safe spaces where others feel seen, heard, and understood. Spaces where stories are shifted, not silenced. Where we stop judging and start loving. Where healing is possible.

A Letter to My Inner Child

Little one, I see you —
hiding in corners where the world felt too loud,
where love didn’t come easy,
and silence was your only safety.

You were never too much.
You were never a burden.
You were brave long before you had words for it.

I hold you now with arms wide open,
no more shame, no more hiding.
You don’t have to earn your place —
you were always worthy.

Let the tears come if they need to,
but know this too: joy belongs to you.
So do soft mornings, safe hands,
and dreams you once tucked away.

You are healing.
You are growing.
You are transforming — not despite the cracks,
but through them.

Little me, I’ve got you now.
And we are walking home — whole,
gracefully broken,
but lit with purpose and light.

We are the story
we were once afraid to tell.

Now, how are you feeling?
Take a breath and rate yourself again. Did anything shift?

Thank you for reading.
Please share this post — someone out there might need it more than you know.
💜
— Chosen Princess