May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This is a global movement that was initiated by Mental Health America in 1949. Other countries soon followed.
I’m not a doctor or counselor, and in no way consider myself an expert on mental health or what the solutions to particular social issues that face us now, but I do know that mental health challenges are real and need to be acknowledged.
As a writer and author, issues of mental health are a huge part of the craft process.
Let me explain…
All my life I’ve been a reader.
Back in the day it was romance and dreaminess… but after being out in the world for a few years, I wanted to relate more to real/everyday characters.
Gone were my starry-eyed fantasies of a knight in shining armor coming to sweep me off me feet… Met a lot of jerks though... and dated one for five whole years 🤦🏻♀️ before I got smart enough to realize he was not worthy of sharing the air I breathe…alas I digress.
Back to the realities of mental health issues in books.
It always seemed tough to find the books I wanted. So that’s when I started–in my twisted writer brain–to make up my own stories.
Things are so much more open these days (omg..I just sounded like an old lady there…😂 ), but when I was in my 20’s for example, there was no talk of manipulation, grooming,
I guess when we look at it, the entire world is so open now, you can read and find anything your heart desires, but that may not be the best either.
When I ask if you see yourself reflected in books, I’m not talking about movements like OWN VOICES or BIPOC, I’m just talking human. That’s all…
Seeing yourself in a book or a character allows you to gain a semblance of understanding that you’re not alone.
No matter the subject matter, it’s important to identify–in some way–to a character that you like.
Maybe they’re shy and talk to themselves all the time… or talk themselves in and out of things…
Funny (sorry to all WM employees… not funny 😬 story).
I’m one of those people who can walk around a department store and talk myself in and out-of buying something fifty thousand times before leaving the store… with or without… that is the question!
A friend on mine works at Walmart and told me a story of people doing just that… almost in a dream like trance. Wondering around and up and down the aisles and that’s why they’d often find a blouse left in the toy department or chocolate cookies on a pharmacy shelf.
I laughed because that used to be me. Suddenly I knew I wasn’t alone. There were other out there….somewhere…🪐🌎
Everyone wants to feel “normal”.
Yet in reality there are only degrees of normal and each is peeking out the corner of their eye wondering if they’re actually normal.
Mental health is so complicated and diverse and so fuckin’ real!
In my book INSIDE OUTSIDE, the main character Leslie, isolates herself from the outside world (which is waaaay too easy to do these days), pummels herself with negative self talk, and self-abusive behaviors like binge eating and drinking.
She does all of that while writing happy beautiful, best-selling romance novels full of wistful dreams and happily-ever-afters.
Don’t we all do that when we put on another hat and leave the house to mingle with the masses?
What’s happening inside–whether mentally, spiritually, or physically–does not necessarily transfer into the outside world, but they can collide and that can mean a break-down, a break-through, or making a break-for-it!
Yup, just “normal” everyday life.
You know when they say that you should always raise your hand in class when someone asks if anyone has any questions because if you have the question… then someone else does too… Well, it’s like that with “normal” too…
Authors Note: I’m not talking deviance, criminal or evil… no, no, no… there’s help available please talk to your local health care provider.
I’m talking about those things like wondering if other people feel a certain way, or being uncertain how others will react, or not knowing the “acceptable” social cues… you’re not alone. Just saying…
Here’s my book. I hope you read it.
Know that it deals with a lot of issues that not only cause mental health crisis but also the lingering trauma. If you have a question about triggers, read my last post.
Be self-aware and responsible.
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