Hello world!

Welcome to my blog, Christine’s Caring Corner: The Place where Mind, Body, and Spirit meet.

Over the past two years, I’ve been sharing my struggles, successes, and insights on the topic of mental health and wellness on Facebook.  Several of my posts have led to great conversations about taboo topics like depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.

Over that same time period, some of my friends have suggested that I start my own blog where I can reach a wider audience. I never actually gave it any serious thought….until yesterday.

I wrote a (very long) post on my Facebook page that drew quite a few likes, loves, and comments. The topic? Mental Health. The view point? My own struggle with depression and anxiety. The response? I was overwhelmed by the number of my friends and acquaintances who shared their own personal stories, struggles, and triumphs. My reaction? Maybe I really should consider creating a blog! The result?  My very own blog with my own .com website.

One thing you should know about me is that I’m rather impulsive. Spontaneity is my friend. (For those of you familiar with Myers-Briggs , I’m an ENFP, and I thrive on spontaneity!)

So with no real plan or knowledge, I dived headfirst into the wonderful world of blogging, domain site purchasing, website naming,  and here I am! That’s how I do things; I get inspired and just do them. (Unless I’m in a funk, then I think about doing them while taking a nap.)

And now here I am with my own paid-in-full, 3-year “lease” to my very own website: Christine’s Caring Corner: The Place where Mind, Body, and Spirit meet.

Over the course of this blogging adventure, I’ll be talking about my own struggles over mind, body, and spirit. I will share personal stories how each of these facets of life shaped and influenced my life.

I want this little corner of cyberspace to be a safe haven; a place to share, vent, and learn with other (extra)ordinary passengers on planet Earth ? as we travel around the Sun ☀ struggling to make sense of it all.

I hope to attract other likeminded and like-hearted individuals to this caring corner I’ve created. I hope that we become a community of care-ers (made up word!). I imagine a place where we can be open and honest with each other about our daily attempts at maintaining a balance between our minds, bodies, and spirits, and encouragement for when we fall short.

If you’ve read this far, thanks for sticking with me!

And if you haven’t read my Facebook post from 6/8/18 regarding mental health, I’ve copied and pasted it below.

Until next time….Christine ?

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This is going to be a long post, but I believe it’s important and timely, especially with the recent suicides of two well known celebrities, designer Kate Spade, and Anthony Bourdain, chef and CNN host.

I read a post about Kate Spade’s suicide  that was poignant and eye-opening. She said that she had no idea Kate suffered from depression. You might be thinking, why would she? Isn’t that private, personal information? Well, I suppose you could make an argument for that. But then the writer of this post pointed out that we all knew that Patrick Swayze suffered with pancreatic cancer. Here in Western NY we all are following Jim Kelly’s battle against cancer. For some reason we humans have no problem sharing information about physical infirmities. We place no judgment on an individual who develops cancer, diabetes, or liver disease, even if those conditions were brought upon by poor choices such as smoking, poor diet, or alcohol consumption.

But all bets are off when the affliction is the result of a mental health issue. We judge. We do. That’s why we know so little about celebrities suffering with mental health issues. When a celebrity like Angelina Jolie shares that she’s having a radical double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer because she tested positive for the genetic markers for cancer, we applaud her bravery. But when Britney Spears has a breakdown and shaves her head and does self-destructive things, we shake our heads, roll our eyes, and think “WTF is wrong with her? She’s a crazy, self-absorbed brat who needs to get her act together!” It’s true. You know it is.

Why the difference in the public’s response? Because there is still a stigma associated with mental health, but not with physical health. THAT NEEDS TO CHANGE!!! Those of us with mental health conditions are judged, and unfairly so. Or we’re told to “snap out of it.” Would you tell someone with cancer to “snap out of it”???!!! Would you blame the person who dies of cancer and call them a failure because the treatments stopped working? The answer, simply, is NO. We would not.

But the same is not true with mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, PTSD, and self harm. In general, those of us who live with these conditions hide our struggles from family, friends, coworkers, and employers. Why? Fear of being judged.

Mental health is a HEALTH issue, just like diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer. We, as a society, need to shift the focus of mental health from the “mental” to the HEALTH. Until that happens, people will continue to hide their mental health conditions, suffer in silence, self-medicate with alcohol and other drugs, and, yes, attempt suicide.

I am one of millions in this country who live with anxiety and depression. I am not ashamed. Some days I manage quite well, much like a diabetic who manages his blood sugar levels. Some days I struggle to manage my anxiety. Sometimes, even though I know a walk will help, I’m “stuck” and can’t do it. Sometimes I need to reach out for help in the form of counseling or medication. And that’s ok. Just like the diabetic whose blood sugar soars too high, or plummets too low and needs medical attention and compassion, so too do those living with mental health conditions. A diabetic wouldn’t be afraid to tell his or her doctor that the diabetes was difficult to manage. Neither should someone with depression. They should not be afraid to say, “I’m having difficulty managing my symptoms,” and get the help they need.

My anxiety and depression were in remission for quite awhile. In my 30’s I experienced severe depression, and contemplated suicide several times. I kept my condition hidden from my family and friends. Fortunately, I reached out for help and got it. Most recently, in the past year and a half, my symptoms from depression and anxiety have re-surfaced. But this time I did not keep them to myself. I shared. I sought help. I’m doing better.

I said at the very beginning of this post that is was going to be long (and it is). But I also said I thought it was important (and it is!!). There is SO much more I could say, but I’ll leave you with a thought and a challenge:

Thought: If you wouldn’t judge a cancer patient who had been in remission, and then suffered a reccurrence of cancer, why would you judge someone who was diagnosed with depression or anxiety from suffering a set-back?

Challenge: If you or someone you love has a mental health condition, seek help. Speak up, even if you are afraid! Here’s a handy link. Use it. https://www.crisistextline.org/
It could just save a life.

If you made it this far, I thank you for reading. Please feel free to share this post. I made it public for that reason. #stopthestigma #mentalhealthawareness
#mentalhealthmatters
#gethelp
#letstalkaboutmentalhealth

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