To the Mama Silently Fighting…
To the Mama who is fighting silently…
To the Mama who is suffering in silence…who wakes up every day feeling already weighed down by a ten ton weight…
Who slogs herself through making lunches, barking orders, breaking up fights among the kids, all while feeling sick or sad or lonely or angry or depressed…
To the Mama silently suffering from an illness or struggle no one can see…that she thinks no one can understand…
Who hides in the shadows quietly working to heal herself, to love herself more, to give herself the compassion maybe the world cannot…
Who wishes some days that she did not have to fight alone…
Who wonders how she’ll get through one more day of parenting while trying to heal…one more feeling “swept beneath the current” of a struggle she never asked for…
I see you. I get you. You are not alone.
I know why you stay in the shadows, because you feel safer there. Because sometimes it hurts more to be misunderstood than to be alone. Because you feel scared and vulnerable in this space you’re temporarily calling home. Because you have no energy to try to explain to the world what it’s like to be you, to be expected to be responsible for small beings when you’re struggling so deeply, to continue to persevere when sometimes you just want to give up…
You’re afraid the world will just give you that same old song and dance…the, “You can do it, you’re so strong!” song. Or they’ll try to tell you they know how to fix you (like you haven’t already tried everything yourself). Or worse, they’ll simply turn and look away.
You’re afraid they’ll make you feel like you’re a mess…like you should’ve gotten on with things by now…like you’ve met some invisible deadline or quota on how much suffering you’re allowed to have, and now it’s time to JUST GET OVER IT.
You would do ANYTHING TO just be over it. To will your way out, to pray your way out, to fight your way out, to find some magic super pill that would make it all easy. And trust me, you’ve tried all those things, time and again! But mental health, chronic illness, addiction, suffering and shame, and all the other silent diseases we walk through take time to heal. Grief takes time to heal. Life takes time to heal. And you, dear Mama, are giving yourself that time, I know, whether or not anyone else understands.
We give ourselves permission to take time to recover when we’re in a tragic car accident or when we’re diagnosed with a life-threatening disease like cancer.
Why can’t we, and the world around us, do the same for the silent suffering?
Bevy around them??? Send them as much love as a Sandy Hook Mama or a Cancer Mama, because the battle they are fighting feels just as big, just as heavy to them as anyone else’s cross they bear???
There’s no need to compare. None of us have it worse or better. We all have our silent struggles. There’s enough LOVE and COMPASSION in this world for ALL of them, for all of us.
That’s all any of us need…more love. Love so big it cradles the pain. Fierce empathy so strong it lightens the lead weight.
Love can carry us through anything…but we can only give it to others if we give it to ourselves.
I have suffered in silence for 6 years. The world told me I was “too much,” “too messy” as I walked through 21 deaths, postpartum depression and chronic illness. So I hid, beside the few people who loved me so much they allowed me to struggle and take time to find my way out of the darkness.
I have a friend who was recently involved in a tragic car accident. He almost died. His body was battered and beaten, his spine crushed. He’s now endured months of endless rehab and may have years ahead. I can’t imagine a SINGLE person in his life is standing over him telling him to GET OVER IT NOW, to quit moping around and get back out there.
Death, loss and disease are the car accidents to our hearts.
Hearts take time to heal, too.
Do you know someone who is suffering silently? Someone who has lost a loved one recently? Or who’s been affected by a chronic illness in themselves or someone they care about? Set up a GoFundMe page for their broken heart, will ya? Start a meal train of empathy for their soul. Pick up the phone and call them as often as you’d call someone on their death bed, because trust me there are days they feel like they are on it.
Love them…more. Love you…more.
And to that Mama, who is suffering in silence, whatever you’re going through, you’re not alone. We are breaking the silence around you. We refuse to be deaf to your suffering one moment longer.
Keep going, Mama.
Don’t worry. We’re coming for you. ♡ ♡ ♡
#death #depression #motherhood #mentalhealth #lifeafterdeath #illness #Grief #lofe #addiction #cancer #love #family #inspiration