We are all storytellers here. We all have stories to tell. And our own personal stories can bring us closer together. Our stories have the power to enlighten others, to empower others, to offer support to others, to help heal others. I hope that you will find someone’s story here that you can connect with, or that you can learn from their experiences. Remember that you are never alone. Remember that you can make a difference. Remember that your story deserves to be heard.
Tell your story. Let yourself be seen, and let others see themselves in you. Whatever your story, there is a way for your story to make a difference. We need you.
There is space for your story to matter, even if not everyone can relate and to also maintain space for those who don’t relate to feel heard and respected.
I wish someone told me that mental illness is not a “white people thing”
Part of the reason why I thought my struggles were invalid was because I wasn’t white. The face of mental health movement is thin, cis-gendered, straight, white women. There’s absolutely nothing wrong being thin, white, cis-gendered, or straight...but what is wrong is that this is not inclusive or realistic.
“I am a mental health warrior in my community”
My eating disorder dug its claws into my life in a desperate attempt for myself to find control in my life. It spiralled out of control…[It] led me to believe that engaging in these behaviours would give me a sense of achievement and accomplishment; however, it did neither.
“I don’t regret having my eating disorder”
I used to think that people who struggled with mental illness were dangerous and therapy was reserved for the weak/ dramatic. As people, I believe we learn to fear what we don’t know. Going through this process of healing, I not only learned so much more about myself but also about those around me.
“It all started as a diet in order to fit better within the beauty standards”
My striving for perfection morphed my so-called healthy habits into a coping mechanism that allowed me to take control of the one thing I still had power over, while everything else was slowly unravelling due to COVID-19.
“I have felt many times that my home is a toxic place”
I told her I did not support that idea, ran to my room, and cried…the diet-culture industry has shaped many minds like my mother’s and my other family members into believing their worth is dictated by their appearance.
“It took saying ‘I have an eating disorder’ before I could decide that I wanted to recover”
I know that I’m not to blame for not receiving adequate support, that weight stigma, preconceived notions of eating disorder stereotypes and the terrible mental health services at my school were responsible for this.
“At a young age a rift was created within me”
At home I had to help with housework and be subservient to the men of the household. At school I was held to the same standards as my male counterparts.
“Where was my skin color and hair texture?”
Think about how even when there are Black characters, the norm is to have them as side characters or with light skin and long hair. This just isn’t the reality of many Black girls. Sometimes our hair is really short and “unruly”; it’s not like the pictures…
“As males, we grow up in a world which produces a lot of toxic masculinity.”
It isn’t fair for us because we are often laughed at and told to “man up” but all we really want is to be able to talk with someone. We want nothing more than to share our feelings, but instead we are told…
“Screw beauty standards, they have nothing on you”
So I tried to change, and your body doesn’t work like that. You can’t want to change and be happy with it. Your mind becomes mentally consumed with an eating disorder…
“I learned the powerful bond of human relationships”
This is where the whole “mental health doesn’t exist” stereotype in Indian culture becomes problematic. The stereotype is based on the notion that if it isn’t a physical ailment, then it isn’t an issue, it isn’t an illness…I didn’t know anything except that I really was struggling to live.
“My struggles were evident on the outside. But not everyone’s are.”
It’s so common for people to fake a smile that no one detects until it’s too late. Be there for your friends, and remember that you never know what’s really going on inside someone’s head.
“YOUR mental health matters, and OUR mental health matters”
I now have the ability to focus on topics other than food and my body. I now have self respect for myself. I now am thankful for the body I have been given.