I share my story through writing and speaking, including with NAMI Collier County. The experiences I bring are my own. Even when someone recognizes something familiar in them, there is still a whole person in front of me whose life I have not lived.
That matters when we talk about mental illness. A shared experience can give us a place to begin, but there is more to learn about each other. We can ask what someone means instead of deciding we already know. We can let a sentence finish. We can leave a little quiet without rushing to fill it.
There is kindness in that kind of attention. It gives someone a chance to choose their own words, including words that come slowly or do not fit neatly into an explanation. A conversation can take its time.
If you are trying to tell someone what life feels like for you, I hope you find that patience. You deserve to be heard without having your experience compared, ranked, or hurried toward a happy ending. You also get to choose what you keep private.
I have a story to tell, and so do you. There is something hopeful about a conversation where both of us can leave knowing a little more about the other.