There’s a little over a week left in Mental Health Awareness Month and I just want to encourage you all to scream into the universe if that’s how you feel, eat a candy bar if you need one, watch TV until your eyes water when you can’t stop thinking about the pandemic, buy stuff you can’t afford as the prolonged isolation starts to really get to you, and give yourself a break from picturing your own death and the death of everyone you know for a day or two — but don’t stop being vigilant.

Social distancing is hard. Quarantine sucks. Being alone constantly is intense — and you’re doing great! Keep going. This won’t last forever, but right now it’s all we can do to keep each other safe.

I appreciate those of you who are taking this seriously. I see you. 💙

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month and calls to the national hotline providing emergency help to people suffering from emotional distress are up 891% from this time last year. People are suffering, and the isolation and separation we are all experiencing as a result of this pandemic are taking a toll.

As someone who has struggled with mental and behavioral health issues my whole life, I’m feeling so grateful to be in a good place these days — though I picked a hell of a time to be stone cold sober.

It took me years to find the right anxiety medication, decades to work through the experiences which were fueling my previous addiction, and a lifetime to find compassion for myself in the midst of it all…but I’m there now.

Whenever the light in my life disappears I try and remind myself that light actually has to travel 6 trillion miles and takes a full earth year to move through space before we ever see it on this planet. That doesn’t mean the light wasn’t there the whole time. It just takes a light year to actually get to us. If you are in a place right now where it’s not visible, I promise it’s still there, and will make its way to you again eventually.

Please don’t suffer alone. If you text HOME to 741741 there are licensed professionals available 24/7 to talk with you and can help connect you to resources. And I’m here for you, too. Don’t hesitate to reach out. 🖤