It’s Okay to Feel

It’s okay to experience your feelings . You are human and it is human to feel emotions, in all their complexity.

It is about balance and the ability to live your life, emotios and all. Sometimes we have to just do the next logical thing, based on what we know. We may not feel like taking any action, when we are overwhelmed by emotion, but when action needs to be taken, it needs to be taken.

It is part of the maturing process into adulthood, and into healing, to be able to keep moving forward to take care of ourselves.

There can be time to think about and process emotions. You have to assess the situation and decide when action needs to happen right now instead. Then time can be allowed for thinking about the feelings afterwards.

Don’t overthink or judge your negative feelings. They are just visitors for a time. They don’t have to stay permanently.

To judge yourself for feeling a certain way is counterproductive. Accept yourself and accept the feelings that arise.

Don’t identify with them to where you feel defined by them. They are just occuring. They are not you.

Ask different questions than the ones you are asking now.  We tend to ask “why” questions, but they can be counterproductive.

Ex : “Why did they treat me that way?”

“Why didn’t I see that coming ?”

“Why do these things always happen to me ?”

“Why am I so …”

“Why did I do …”

Change the questions to generate a more resourceful state of mind.

Ex: ” What can be done next ?”

“How can I make this work?”

“What would a better plan be ?”

“How can I adjust this course of action?”

“What can I take with me from this and move on?”

Re-framing the questions you are askng yourself, will help guide your mindset back a problem solving one.

 

Dealing with Depression

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Depression is a serious condition that is all encompassing for the individual sufferer. It is sometimes seen as a mental problem or an emotional weakness of sorts by people who do not understand it. But sufferers of depression know that it can permeate all aspects of your life. 

Depression can begin as a mild depression and then over time it can grow to a more serious condition that interferes with daily functioning. Some people have depressive episodes that tend to pass in time, while other people feel like they have been sucked into a black void that will not let them out. 

It can almost feel like an external entity is either crushing you down, or pulling you into an altered state of consciousness that becomes like a prison. This prison is filled with darkness, sadness, hopelessness and apathy about things that you once cared about doing. 

Getting any motivation, or traction in your life can be difficult to impossible, if you are suffering from depression. It can be hard to do activities, work, or even clean the house and do basic daily tasks. This can quickly begin to lead you into a downward spiral that is very hard to get yourself out of. 

One element that is common with severe, or chronic depression, is the element of shame. There is sometimes toxic shame to begin with. That can be something that goes back to childhood. It may be shame that other people programmed you to feel. 

If you grew up with people that were critical about your feelings, the way you expressed yourself, or critical in general, then you are probably carrying toxic shame in your subconscious. If you were abused physically, or otherwise then you may be carrying a feeling of shame from that abuse, even if you are not aware of it. 

Why would someone who was abused be carrying shame about that, when the abuse is the fault and choice of the abuser?

This is a question that is often asked by people who did not have an abusive childhood, and have never been in an abusive relationship. There are aspects of mental abuse and emotional abuse that program shame into the victim. People who have not experienced emotional abuse or mental abuse have trouble understanding this, but it is very real. 

It can be difficult to talk with people about your childhood, and also about adult abusive relationships because they may invalidate what you experienced. This makes you feel worse, and it reinforces the shame that you already feel. 

The other aspect of shame that is often felt by sufferers of depression, is the shame of feeling that there is something wrong with you because you suffer from depression.

Other people around you function better than you do, and they seem to be more equipped to deal with life than you do. If you feel like the depression is something you have to hide from others, then that can lead to feeling shame about it. 

Depression is not something you have to feel shame about, but it is not easy to just turn that feeling off. Shame is one of the most difficult emotions to deal with because it can feel out of your control. It feels like an entity in itself that takes hold of you because you deserve it to. 

Feeling guilt about something you have done wrong is different than shame.

Deep seeded shame is extremely painful and it makes the person feel like they deserve to be punished. You might even feel like the depression is your punishment for being an inadequate person.

There is nothing that is inadequate about you. Even if other people are able to deal with their lives better at this time, it does not mean that they are better or more deserving than you. 

Shame is an emotion that is programmed into you. You feel ashamed in comparison to other people. It could be that you have been compared unfairly to people and situations that are not the same as you. You may have grown up with disordered parents who manipulated your feelings, in order to superimpose the feelings they wanted you to feel, in place of the true feelings that  you had about things.

All of these childhood experiences are carried in the subconscious because it was the time that you were learning how to interpret the world, your reality, your feelings, and your place in the world. If you were made to feel that you had a lower place in the world than other people do, then this belief was filed into your subconscious brain. 

Just because you may feel like there is something about you that makes you less than others, does not make it true. It is just the programming and the false beliefs that were put into you. 

As an adult with depression, there is stigma that you have to deal with. The perception by the general public about mental illness and depression is often not correct.

The media tends to misrepresent aspects of depression and mental illness. Most people who have never experienced any mental illness do not have a real picture of what it is like. 

If you are suffering from depression, you may feel isolated from others even when you are in a room full of people. You feel different and broken somehow. The inability to be able to communicate about how you feel and what you might need, can make you feel like an alien on an unfriendly planet. 

The feeling of isolation can make the depression worse. There is a need for understanding and connection, but you are afraid to be made worse by being invalidated, minimized or disbelieved. You feel like you are surrounded by a strangling darkness that no one else can see. 

It can help to know that you are not alone. There are many other people who feel like they are the target of this crushing dark pain. It is not a sign of your intelligence or you ability to be competent or functional. Many depression sufferers are extremely intelligent and creative. 

The more isolated you become and the more alone you feel, the worse the depression can become. Forcing yourself to be among people does not always help either. In fact it might be something that makes you feel even worse and more alone. 

Being around people who do not understand mental illness or depression can make you feel out of place, and like you do not belong or fit in with anyone in the world. But this does not mean that you do not belong in the world, or that you cannot find people that you do fit in with. 

Depression is physically painful, as well as emotionally painful. Strong emotions are always felt in the body. You may even be able to identify and point to the most painful places where you feel emotional pain. 

Over time the places you feel the physical pain from depression may manifest illnesses and disease. Carrying shame can also lead to physical illness.

Emotions that are repressed, held inside, or not healed can cause all kinds of diseases and sicknesses, including heart conditions, gastrointestinal diseases, cancers, arthritis and joint pain, migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome, nervous system disorders and more. 

If you have fatigue and chronic pain, in addition to depression, then it becomes a loop that is hard to get out of, where one things leads to the other. 

Insomnia and anxiety disorders are also common with severe or chronic depression. Sleep deprivation from insomnia can increase the depression and also illnesses. Many of these aspects of depression end up feeding back into it. It can feel like you are literally being attacked by your own body, your brain, or an outside force. 

Even though it seems like no one understands what it is like, it is important for you to know that you are not alone. You are not crazy or imagining things. The pain from depression is very real, and worse because it is invisible to others. 

Invisible disorders can be the hardest to deal with because it hard to get validation about your day to day reality. You feel like you are living in a different reality than other people. In many ways you are living in a different reality from most other people, but there are others who feel the same way that you do. 

You are not alone. It is important not to minimize your feelings, even if it seems like the people around you do not know what you are going through.

Allow yourself to accept the reality you experience as valid. Believe that you are just as worthy and deserving as anyone else, and that having depression does not make you less than anyone else. 

You may be having trouble getting through the day right now. Things may really be harder for you to do than they were before, and than they are for many other people. Be kind to yourself and allow compassion for yourself. 

Allow yourself to feel compassion for what you are going through and for how it feels to have this depression pulling you in and surrounding you. Accept this depression as your brain letting you know that something is demanding attention. 

You are very important and there are times when your brain is trying to protect you by letting you know that something really needs attention and care. Do not judge yourself for having depression, or for having difficulty with daily things because of the depression. 

There is no benefit if judgement, and it will just make things worse. If you are feeling judge mental towards yourself, then try to identify where this judgement is really coming from. It may be someone else’s words that are actually speaking in your head, and not your own. 

It is necessary for you to care for your depression, just like you would care for a sick friend or a sick child. Care for yourself and care for the depression you are feeling. Look inside of yourself and see what needs are not being met. 

It is not selfish to take care of yourself, or to be extra compassionate towards yourself during depression. It is a serious thing that is demanding your attention and care. 

Love yourself as much as you would love another who was suffering.

Find ways to nurture and heal yourself. Connect with others who understand. You do not have to base your feelings about yourself on those beliefs of other people who do not understand mental illness or depression. 

You are not inadequate and you are not an alien. You are not exaggerating the way you feel in your own head and your own body. You know how you feel , and only you know how serious your depression is. It cannot be judged by anyone outside of yourself. 

Allow kindness and compassion to flow towards yourself.

Accept kindnesses from others and begin to let go of any negative beliefs about yourself that others have put there. Your past does not define you, and you are allowed to love yourself just as you are at this moment in time. 

 

Your Unconscious Mind and Hypnosis

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Despite the way it may seem to you, most people do not make decisions based on rational arguments and logic from the conscious brain. 

You make decisions that are driven by the beliefs and emotions of the subconscious parts of the brain. 

The limbic system is the emotional brain.  It is one of the three brains described by the Triune Brain Theory, developed by Paul MacLean. This theory was conceived of by research and experience in order to develop a model based on the study of evolutionary development of the human brain. Over time the different parts of the brain developed as a natural evolution in response to the survival needs of humans. 

According to this theory, the three brains are as follows:

The Reptilian Brain is the primal brain. It was the first part of the brain that developed. The early people used this brain for protection, survival and procreation of the species. The drives from this part of the brain are very strong, and they are at the root of many decisions to make on a daily basis. 

This reptilian part of your brain scans for danger and seeks safety and also pleasure. It encourages you away from pain or any threats in your environment. This part of the brain is very active in people with PTSD from trauma. It also gives you sexual drives and is at the root of impulses.

The Limbic System is the second part of the brain that was developed. The limbic system contains the emotions and deals with behavior in response to emotions. It also processes memories and associations you have between experiences and feelings. This part of the brain consists of the  hippocampus, the amygdala, and the hypothalamus.

If you have ever made a decision that did not seem rational to you, and you can’t figure out why you did it, then it may have been driven by a combination of the reptilian brain and the emotions from the limbic system.

The conscious brain is made of two hemispheres and it is called the  hippocampus, the Neocortex. 

These hemispheres have been responsible for the development of human language, abstract thought, imagination, and consciousness. The neocortex is flexible and has almost infinite learning capabilities

The Brain Box – Triune Brain Theory

 

Learning ways to access and understand what is happening in your subconscious brain, is a valuable tool to understanding your emotions and behaviors. Hypnosis is one tool that can help you to access your subconscious and heal certain emotional wounds that you may be carrying.

Old emotional wounds can affect your feelings and behavior in ways that may no longer be supporting you. 

There are a variety if things that can be done while under various levels of hypnosis. If you are working with an ethical hypnotherapist, you will have control over any and all alterations in the neural pathways of your brain. You can create positive changes that will allow you to live your life in ways that allow you to experience things in that way that you would like to.

In addition to accessing and healing old emotional wounds, you can identify any false beliefs that you may be holding in your subconscious about yourself. Many of our perceptions were programmed into us while we were young. Some of these beliefs may be untrue and have a negative effect on our emotions and ability to achieve the things we want. 

If you are interested in finding out more about how hypnotherapy can benefit you…

If you have negative self talk that you know is holding you back from things you know you can do….

If you are curious about the possibilities of realizing ways you can create amazing changes in the way you frame your reality…

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Then please visit my new web site GentleAwakening.com and send me  a contact message. I will respond yo you via email, and talk with you more about what hypnotherapy can do for you. Or you can reach me by email at michelemimimish@gmail.com

And we can schedule a 15 dollar discounted first time session, so you can try it out and discover what you can realize about yourself that you didn’t even know that you knew, because that information has been driving your unconscious brain, and your conscious brain was not aware of it.

 

Annie Mimi Hall YouTube channel 

Gentlekindness Facebook Page 

 

 

 

Clearing Toxic Energy and Negative Thoughts About Yourself

Video for Depression and Anxiety

Aftermath of Narcissistic, Mental Abuse

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If you grew up in an abusive household, then you were desensitized to abuse. You were conditioned that abuse is part of your life, and you may not even recognize milder forms of abuse than what you experienced as a child.

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When I say “milder”… I don’t actually feel that way. Society has conditioned us that certain kinds of abuse are not really abuse. Plus, the covert tactics of abuse often cannot be seen or proven.

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You have probably had toxic people sneak across your boundaries, and permeate the cracks in your borders, many times. You may have some clear boundaries, or none at all.

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Children in emotionally healthy families are taught about personal boundaries. They has someone to teach them what to do when someone was abusing them, or taking advantage of them. If you has one or both parents that were conditioning you that your feelings don’t matter, then you were not given the proper “software” for your brain.

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Having your self esteem crushed down as a child /teenager, is detrimental. It has long lasting effects on the subconscious.

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As an adult, you now need to learn the skills for survival that you should have been taught as a child. You need the support to build your self esteem back up.

Being surrounded regularly by people who minimize you, is the worst thing that can happen for your self esteem. If you continue to draw toxic people towards you, then you will never realize a sense of self.

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Your identity is being controlled by others. They are not treating you this was because you deserve it. That is just a gaslighting tactic they use to make you stay around them.

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No, people don’t mistreat you because there is something innately wrong with you. In fact most codependents and  empaths are compassionate, creative, intelligent people.

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Of course, the narcissists are not creative or empathic. They are rarely as intelligent as they will tell you they are. In fact, you should put up a red flag in your mind, anytime you hear someone constantly, and repeatedly telling you how intelligent they are….how successful they are…how much people like them….how people always do what they say….or how much of a “good person” they are.

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Anyone can say those things. How someone describes themselves should be compared to their behavior and actions. It is not a normal behavior for someone to spout about their intelligence…etc…regularly.

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If you have C-PTSD from on-going emotional / mental abuse growing up, then you will be targeted by narcissists. That pattern will continue, as you re-play the events and situations of your childhood….subconsciously trying to reslove the un-resolveable.

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You cannot change these kinds of people. Their treatment of you has probably caused you depression, PTSD, an anxiety disorder….and possibly suicidal thoughts …..All of which you may feel is due to some kind of mental illness in you.

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It is all part of their game. They intentionally cause you to be emotionally and mentally unstable.

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Then they make you believe that you need them. You are helpless…according to their “supposed” opinion of you . ….and you are convinced by them that you cannot possibly navigate the big bad world without them.

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In the mean time, the “Big Bad World” is either living in your home, bossing you around at work, or undermining any efforts you make towards being independent and autonomous.

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If you are an adult with a living narcissistic parent, they are probably still disrespecting you, and treating you like a child….and not in a good way. (I don’t treat my children this way)

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You need to re-wire the false beliefs that were programmed into your brain. You can Get Coaching, to help you with that.

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You need to evaluate each of your relationships, and see whatever truths that you have been brainwashed not to see. You can Get Coaching for that too.

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You need to be validated for all the abuse and gaslighting. You guessed it….you can Get Coaching for that one too !

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Do you need a compassionate person to listen to you…and really hear you? You can Break the Chains that hold you back from really blossoming in the world.

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Isn’t it time that these toxic people stopped using us? Isn’t it time for their cruel tactics to have some light shed on them?

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Why should we continue to bow down to their fear tactics…or even care what they think about us? The opinion of a toxic person, about Who You Are, does not count at all.

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Why?

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Because malignant narcissists constantly lie. They twist the truth around, and spin things in their favor….ALL THE TIME.

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We are NOT subservient to them. Their version of the truth is always twisted. Therefore, their opinion about you is not valid.

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Wouldn’t you like to get to discover the Real You? Unravel the lies from the truth. Counter the effects of the gaslighting on your mind.

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You need to feel calmer and more confident. You can Get Coaching  for that.

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You need to be heard, and to realize the beauty within you. That beauty that has been crushed and bruised.

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You can get your situation validated. You can be heard. You can get coaching for dealing with the aftermath of narcissistic abuse.

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Don’t let wondering about the cost stop you from calling to get coaching.

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I work with anyone who is a good match for coaching with me. If I feel I can help you, then I will work with you to individualize a plan.

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Gentlekindness coaching.com  – Annie

 

Awakening Your Reality to Combat Depression and Anxiety

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Awakening to The more we get emotionally caught up in “playing the game of life” the farther we get from truth and reality.

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The game is hypnotic and seduces you. This seduction is not always of a pleasant nature, nor to we recognize it. We become caught up in the idea that who we are is reflected by how well we are doing…and how well we have done…in the game.

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We become brainwashed into thinking that our achievements…or lack thereof…are a mirror of who we are.

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People are judged by how well they play the game, and some will crush others down or take credit for their accomplishments, just to serve their own place in the game.

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“Nice guys finish last” becomes true if you become caught up in the hypnotic nature of the delusion. …the delusion that was created by narcissistic, manipulators who live to prey on others like animals.

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“It’s a jungle out there” ….only because human predators blend in and stalk their prey unnoticed. Many of them beat and mentally torture their wives, behind closed doors.

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If you have has abusive relationships then you were probably conditioned to accept your very low place in “the game.”

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You have been financially disabled, and your drive and instinct to play the game has been stolen. You have been left with inadequate cards to continue to play with any hope.

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A small percent of the players, who thrive at the very top of the food chain hold 90 percent of all the game finances and power. The pyramid opens up at the bottom, with players who have had every last bit of self esteem…and will to live…crushed out of them.

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Shame and guilt are used as tactics to manipulate those that have been conditioned to readily accept those emotions, ans what they entail. Shaming tactics of manipulation are used by those who have no sense of shame, guilt, remorse or empathy.

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“Divide and conquer” …becomes a commonly used tactic by the manipulators, as they pull the strings of those puppets they control….and use those puppets to harass, threaten, and otherwise torture their victims.

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People unaware of the continuous brainwashing, and conditioning by the game, become drained and fatigued. People with great compassion can become disillusioned and begin to feel hopeless.

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Depression and anxiety disorders arise. Suicides increase. Chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, and illness are some of the results of psychological abuse and massive conditioning of society to be blindly compliant to accepting your role.

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New generations are conditioned, just like the last ones, that “the game” is the one and only reality….and that everyone is subject to its rules…..little knowing…..that the rules are being controlled by the players at the top, who manipulate reality in any manner they choose to.

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Lesser predators lurk about to prey on vulnerable targets. Having the quality of compassion….without knowledge of the matrix….makes people perfect targets for those with no empathy…and no conscience.

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The game is only as real as the collective consciousness believes it is. Individuals can begin to break free of the conditioning and the brainwashing….but still must find ways to survive….without being destroyed by the machinations of the manipulators.

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Where your attention is focused, makes a difference in the reality that will be perceived by you….thus manifested by you. But the subconscious attention, intention, and beliefs are more powerful at times…than what you think you are consciously focusing your attention on.

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You can put cracks in the reality of the game, by re-wiring the neural pathways in your brain, that have become addicted to negative, and self-sabatoging thought patterns. It is an illusion that has wired itself into your hard drive….without your conscious consent.

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The “way of the world” is controlled by the minority of players that are wearing masks…and blindly believed by the rest of us…that “that is how it has to be”….because the cycles always repeat.

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Awakening to the matrix is a process. It often begins at the point of “rock bottom”….when the pain of still believing in this illusion of reality….becomes too painful to continue to exist in.

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Seek the truth in stillness….with all presuppositions turned off….and assumptions about “who you are” …as it is reflected by what you have done….what you have been told about yourself and who you are….and what you have been conditioned to suffer with….put into their proper perspective….which is that those things were conditioned into you by other players with their own agenda.

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Authenticity awaits you. Your intuition speaks to you causing feelings in your body. You have been brainwashed into ignoring those feelings.

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Allow your feelings to guide you, rather than the subconscious impulses that arise from the conditioning.

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“Who” you are….is who you want to be.

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It is simple and elegant.

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You can make the choices that honor your authentic self.

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You are not your past.

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You are not your conditioned thought patterns.

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You are not who people say you are.

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You are not the identity, or the role that you have been pushed into playing in the game.

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You are more.

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You are who you want to be.

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You are who you imagine you could be in another reality.

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You are who you would wish to be if you were in a story book.

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Reach out with your imagination….beyond this  illusion of reality you have accepted as true.

Stillness Meditation Calming Technique

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This is a calming exercise I created, borrowing ideas from Buddhism and stillness practice.

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1. Sit or lay comfortably.

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2. Relax your shoulders and neck by letting the muscles release themselves.

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3. Allow your shoulders to drop naturally and your neck to let you head rest comfortable,without forcing it into any particular position.

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4. Relax your face muscles and let your cheeks and lips completely relax and drop.

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5. Breath in relaxed, drawing the breath in  fully. Then breath out while closing the back of your throat just enough to control the breath as you expell it.

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6. Say this sentence in your mind…

“There is stillness between each word”

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7. Repeat the sentence in your mind…putting space between each word. Breath relaxed as you say them, and continue to relax your face and mouth.

“There…is…stillness…between…each…word.”

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8. Repeat the sentence several times slower each time. Allow the space between each word to get longer and more expansive each time you repeat the sentence.

“There……..is……..stillness……..between……each……..word.”

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9. Relax into the spaces between the words and feel that silent space expanding within you and beyond you.

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10. Allow any thoughts to go away during these silent spaces. Just fall into the quiet between the spaces between the words.

You can anticipate the next wotd…picture it….during the spaces….but allow the “running mental tapes” to be silent.

Sometimes images will arise but let them drift into the distance.

Fall into the arms of the ceasing of the constant words that usually run through your mind.

Just “be” and rest your mind. The mind needs a rest from the constant chatter.

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Invisible Illness and Managing Your Home

Depression ,  anxiety disorders and  PTSD interfere with daily life, including keeping up with normal tasks and chores. Some days it is hard to get out of bed, or even leave the house.

Chronic pain and chronic illnesses also make it difficult to do some tasks and impossible to do others. Some people have a good support system of people to help them, and other people do not have anyone to help them. 

How many of you can relate to this post I came across on Facebook? Please leave your feelings and thoughts in the comments section below. 

 

image by KneeSocksFetishRox ...see link on facebook here 

Depression, Loneliness and Invisible Illness

Depression and loneliness can exist together, but they are not exactly the same thing.

Loneliness is something experienced by all people at some point but it is not always accompanied by depression.

Usually loneliness is thought of as occurring when people are alone,  but this is not always true either.

Some people experience loneliness in combination homesickness , when they are away from familiar people and surroundings. They can feel this even when there are people around.

Other people feel like they do not fit in and this leads to lonliness with people around. Some people feel more lonely around groups of people than they do when they are by themselves.

There are other circumstances where people experience lonliness with other people around. Some of these circumstances tend to cause a co-existing condition of depression and lonliness.

People with invisible illnesses like chronic pain, chronic illness, and mental illness often feel both lonliness and depression. There is a feeling of disconnection from others when someone cannot find anyone that can relate to what they are going through.

Toxic loneliness is something that happens to people that cannot tolerate being alone or cannot tolerate bring without an intimate partner.

Ross Rosenberg coined the term “pathological loneliness” when he was doing research with his clients that suffered from co-dependence.

He discovered that one of the reasons so many people go back into abusive relationships is the pathological loneliness.

Both the terms toxic loneliness and pathological loneliness refer to this intolerable pain associated with being alone.

Usually the abusive partner lures the victim back in with false promises that things will be different. The victim who is suffering from such severe emotional / mental distress from being alone takes their chances and goes back.

In the mind of the victim, the pathological loneliness and the depression that goes along with it, is more painful than the abuse was.

People with codependent personalities usually developed pathological lonliness as children from neglect and abuse.

Depression can also develop out of childhood abuse. This can be any type of abuse, including emotional and psychological abuse. People that were abused as children often have complex post traumatic stress disorder as adults.

C-PTSD can involve depression, anxiety and sometimes pathological loneliness. There are often internal mental tapes that play inside their head that repeat negative things.

Being alone can make the internal dialogue louder. Thoughts of worthlessness, shame and failure play over and over. These tapes are implanted in the subconscious during childhood by others.

Many people with C-PTSD do not realize that they have actual trauma that is the same as PTSD which was caused at multiple ages and multiple circumstances.

Many people who have mental illness like depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder had chaotic, traumatic, abusive or emotionally devaluing childhoods.

People with depression have organic differences in their brains which can be seen with brain scans like an MRI. Certain parts of the brain that are supposed to light up to show activity, do not light up.

Depression can also co-exist with anxiety disorders. The sensations of imminent threat that occur with PTSD and CPTSD, can be felt alongside of depression and loneliness.

Sometimes it can be hard to differentiate one feeling from another. It can be helpful to people to be able to identify what sensations they are feeling.

Sometimes looking at the feelings and figuring out what is based on current circumstances and what is from early programming can help.

People with disorders of depression often feel lonely because they are unable to find people to understand their illness. Being disbelieved and invalidated can open up old wounds from childhood.

Some people are unaware that they had any abuse or emotional trauma because it happened at a very young age. The brain stores memories differently before the age of five.

Conditions like depression and toxic loneliness are no less painful than other illnesses. Unfortunately many people are not empathetic about invisible illnesses.

Your reality and your experience with suffering is your own, and it is valid. Healing can begin with validating yourself and being open to the root causes of your feelings.