BE the FIRST

You can be the first in your family.  That’s what the poster would say.  BE     THE     FIRST   IN     YOUR     FAMILY.   The poster would not be suggesting that you be the first person in your family to graduate from high school, attend college, or own the latest invention.  The poster’s message would be encouraging you to be the first person in your family to have the courage to acknowledge and seek help for a mental health problem.  Obviously you may never know if you are the first in your family to have to face this issue.  The only thing you can assume is that no one before you had your courage to acknowledge a mental health problem.  Mental illness was a topic that lived deep inside the closet with other family scandals.  It lived behind the door, under the photos, and under the old sheets.  But it doesn’t need to be buried going forward.  YOU can be the first in your family to unveil your truth, and to seek help.  YOU can be the first in your family to step beyond any boundaries of shame and begin to educate those close to you.  Let them know that you have a mental illness, that it is a medical condition, and that you have stepped up to the challenges that accompany this illness.  Let them know that you have decided to no longer live in denial and shame.  Let them know that you want to live as good a life as you can, and in order to do that you are taking charge and seeking help.  Help is good.  Help is helpful.  Educate your family.  Educate your friends.  Educate the community around you. Show them that not withstanding your mental illness, you are successful, and creative, and happy.

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