twloha:“I find myself constantly trying to think of ways to explain what it’s like to have a mental...

twloha:

“I find myself constantly trying to think of ways to explain what it’s like to have a mental illness. Without the intention of sharing such thoughts, I still feel this intrinsic need to justify my experience to the oblivious world around me. But how can I explain something so complex and visceral, yet simultaneously fleetingly and elusive? My mental disorder is as solid and immovable as concrete, but paradoxically chaotic and ever changing like the most treacherous whitewater rapids imaginable. Sometimes it’s loud and aggressive; like hundreds of screeching crows swooping down trying to peck away at my very existence. Other times it’s quiet. Deafeningly silent. Like being stuck in an endless tunnel where the only sound you hear is the faint echo of your own pathetic voice begging for solace.”

— Jessica Strait, “What It’s Like to Have a Mental Illness”