"Mental health isn't easy to talk about."

Wrong. It is easy to talk about. Just ask a friend who suffers with it, or a family member, or a co-worker.

Oh, you don't know anyone with a mental illness?

Wrong again. You do, but society attaches a stigma and ignorance to many mental illnesses. This makes that person hesitant to share with anyone who doesn't also suffer with a mental illness.

How do I know this? Statistics, an online article I once read, maybe a movie I saw?

Nope. I know this because I am one of those statistics that is negatively represented in articles and movies, among other forms of media. I know this because I had numerous people reach out to me after I wrote an article about depression, and the health issues I suffered. It's not just about the chaos inside of your brain. It creates chaos inside of your body, too.

After my article, one of those people that reached out to me was a friend I hadn't spoken to in years, aside from social media. They were the perfect example of someone who has had to suffer silently. On the outside, this person seemed perfectly happy with their life, their marriage, their kids. It wasn't until this person confided in me about their own personal struggles with their mental disease that I could even fathom the pain they were hiding. Everything they spoke about is the very reason I am so open with my own struggles. They felt like they weren't being heard by certain loved ones, or others in their lives. Too much was expected of them because of the "good days". They felt like a burden. And the biggest thing they wanted was just to be heard, listened to, and believed.

This list of 20 quotes was inspired by this very special friend of mine, but the sad reality is that these quotes will be understood by millions of others suffering EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

I can only hope that this helps those who are part of the stigma and ignorance to understand, too.

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