Mental Health Is Health
I have been obsessed with the Simone Biles story this week. I have read dozens of articles, from harsh criticism to celebrating her courageous choice to withdrawal from her Olympics events. I am 24 years older than Simone and Naomi Osaki—2 decades—20 years—and yet they are teaching me. They are teaching me what it means to listen to yourself, be kind, and stand in the face of criticism, knowing that you are only left with yourself at the end of the day.
I think about when:
I went to work with a cold, stuffed up, coughing, aching, and sat in my office miserable because I didn’t want to disappoint my boss.
I stood in the bathroom flapping my hands, trying not to cry like Emma Thompson In Love Actually because I told myself I was silly and emotional.
I told my husband I was fine even when we both knew I wasn’t because I was afraid he would judge me for being too needy.
I told my boss yes, I could totally handle that project even though I knew that meant canceling plans because I didn’t want him to think I was a lazy employee.
All those examples have in common is the underlying belief that whatever I was thinking, feeling, or needing was wrong. I have been humbled to see Simone and Naomi disappointing people on the world stage because they needed something. That is mind-blowing.
These women in their 20s did something I have just started doing in my day-to-day life on the freaking world stage! They had a need, and they spoke it. They didn’t push through or push harder or ignore themselves. No, they spoke up for themselves.
Yes, Simone is courageous. Yes, she is brave. And it is easy to put her on a pedestal, write a blog about it and move on with life. But the true way to honor her is to normalize what she is doing so it isn't so pedestal worthy it is just how we are in the world. This week, I have been challenging myself to think about how can I show up for myself today? How can I be courageous today? How can I befriend myself instead of treating myself like a machine? To quiet my High Functioning Anxiety, I have to take a two-fold approach using all the practical tools I have, exercise, journaling, mindfulness, getting into my body, AND building a relationship with myself, being kind when I do it imperfectly. Practicing self-loyalty.
Mental Health Is Health.