Surround Yourself With Power
I’m a member of a private online group made up of several thousand women — all ages, races, origins, and birth-genders. The women are powerful and independent and supportive of each other.
Tonight a woman in the group posted a cry for help. For her privacy, I’m paraphrasing: “You are all fierce women, and I’m not okay tonight. I’m not suicidal, but my thoughts are out of control. I need help.”
If your reaction to this was embarrassment or contempt, turn your attention to yourself. Could you have made that cry for help? Work on you, pal.
Diagnosable mental illness comes with a stigma. So does any mental weakness that might be mental illness or hints at mental illness. We are taught to put our chins up, smile, and power through.
I’ve done it; we all have. I spent years pretending to be okay while I struggled to be a care-giver and survive the associated poverty. Pretending to be okay served no purpose whatsoever. It didn’t make me feel better. It didn’t inspire me to change my circumstances. It didn’t inspire anyone else. It didn’t serve God (people kept telling me that). It didn’t come with a paycheck or even a gift card.
The woman tonight was braver than I was in those hard days. Braver than many people in the same situation. And being brave does come with a purpose. The responses came in immediately: “Where should we meet?” “I’m in the same boat — let’s meet regularly to help each other.” The brave woman isn’t alone anymore.
A couple of months back, a similar situation arose, where the woman was suicidal. Somehow, in the midst of her mental anguish, she found the courage and clarity, to make a post asking for help. Then she disappeared off line. No one knew her address, and only knew where she worked sometimes. Based on that, the very good humans in that group united to investigate, call the police in her town, and eventually get her help. The word came down that she’d been found, and everyone drew a deep breath. Weeks later, the woman in question posted with gratitude. She’d been treated and helped, and was doing okay. She had to re-evaluate her value — she was so precious to the world that hundreds of women had joined forces to save her life.
Screw pretending to be okay. When you’re not okay, scream it out. Send out the distress call, human to other humans.
Some people will disapprove or be uncomfortable. Some people will ignore you. The best humans will respond. Those are the ones you want anyway, so screw those other people too. Surround yourself with the best humans. Lean on them and let them lean on you. Surround yourself with the power of united humans.
Surround yourself with Power
