Month: June 2017

Pride Countdown with DJ Scratchley Q, The Worth Living Official DJ

Let’s Celebrate! This week’s countdown is all about celebrating Pride. I’ve done a few Pride events and these 30 songs are just a few that get the crowd moving. Hope you enjoy! – DJ Scratchley Q

30. Secrets- Mary Lambert

29. Te Amo- Rihanna

28. Sissy That Walk- RuPaul

27. Work B**ch- Britney Spears

26. Run the World (Girls)- Beyonce

25. Ghost Town- Adam Lambert

24. I Want to Break Free- Queen

23. Same Old Love- Selena Gomez

22. Firework- Katy Perry

21. Closer- Tegan and Sara

20. Born This Way- Lady Gaga

19. Together Again- Janet Jackson

18. Free- Ultra Nate

17. Same Love- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

16. Girls Like Girls- Hayley Kiyoko

15. We Are Family- Sister Sledge

14. Lady Marmalade- Christina Aguilera

13. It’s Raining Men- The Weather Girls

12. Let’s Have a Kiki- Scissor Sisters

11. Believe- Cher

10. True Colors- Zedd ft. Kesha

9. Colors- Hasley

8. True Colors- Cyndi Lauper

7. Rhythm is a Dancer- Snap

6. Different Colors- Walk the Moon

5. Every time We Touch- Cascada

4. I will Survive – Gloria Gaynor

3. Paradise- Change

2. Vogue- Madonna

1. I’m Coming Out- Diana Ross

Worth Living Ambassador Felicia Singh

Hello, my name is Felicia. I am a 25 year old healthcare professional and
counseling/psychology student with anxiety. As well as someone with an unexplainable
yearning to understand mental health disorders. The who, what, where, when, and whys of it all.

Positive Outlets

There are all kinds of ways to deal with stress in your life. Stress can be a major trigger
for many of us that deal with a mental illness. Finding healthy ways to cope with stress is a key
part to living a fulfilling life. Here are a few simple everyday activities that can have a big impact
on our overall mental health.

Exercise can play a major role in our mental health. Exercising on a regular basis allows
you to burn off built up energy and can help improve sleeping patterns. It can be therapeutic to
take some alone time for a workout. Exercise gets you energized and feeling good. Plus when
you look good it helps you to feel good. Not to mention all of the other health benefits that come
along with working out regularly such as reducing the risk of certain diseases, improving focus,
and increasing your overall life span.

Music is an amazing way to relieve stress and to relax. For a lot of us music is an
expressive outlet. Whether you make your own music or you enjoy others. The music we like
usually causes an emotional response of some sort. Music has the ability to make us feel great
or not so great. And I think that maybe we crave both at times. It can be a coping mechanism for
dealing with the difficult parts of life. Or simply a great beat that makes you smile when you hear
it. With so many different genres I think there is good music out here for all of us to find
satisfaction and pleasure in.

Are you spiritual or religious? Many of us find peace and comfort in our beliefs. I
personally feel centered through my faith. It is the starting and ending place for my overall
peace. Some of us meditate to help refocus and balance the energy and emotions in our lives.
Some of us pray to find solace and understanding. Our faith can have a big impact in both our
mental and physical health.

However you choose to express yourself it should be done in a positive way. One that is
not harmful to yourself or others. Discovering what makes you the happiest and most peaceful
is such a big part to our overall wellbeing.

Life is worth living so why not find the best ways to live it.

Worth Living Ambassador Paige McKinnon

Paige, 20 years old from Scotland! A trainee mental health nurse with a passion for people and making a change. Weird, Wacky and Wonderful!

Caution: Paige mentions suicide

Change Is Coming

Hello, I’m Paige’s mental illness and I’m going to be speaking on her behalf today. You see, I’ve drained her and made her feel like she can’t go on. I don’t think I’ll be here for long, she has kicked my ass on several occasions. Despite this, I will not go away. I am a part of her, a part of who she is but I am not all she is. I’d love nothing more than for Paige to let me take over her life, she is stronger than I. Everyone who has encountered me is stronger than I am but they don’t always know it. World domination is what I thrive for, many times in my existence I have accomplished this. I have taken lives and I have hurt millions but nobody batted an eyelid. They didn’t say anything, they didn’t do anything and they were so scared. A lot of people didn’t believe I existed which made it much easier for me. I turned family members against family members, I turned friends into strangers and I turned strong individuals into nothing but shells of who they once were.

Fast forward to 2017, everyone is banding together. I’m losing my grip but I won’t be going anywhere. Mark my words I will fight. Oh no, she’s coming! Mental illness is my name. I come in many forms, you will not always see me but I will make you wish you were never born. I’m coming for you!

‘Excuse me? Get out of here.’ Oh hi guys, I’m Paige!! I started this blog differently because there are two parts of me I wanted to share. There is me and then there is my mental illness. It almost felt like someone was talking about me huh? Nobody was. It was me, I wrote that. I’ve been riding one rocky rollercoaster the past few months and it did take its toll. It had me thinking, I fight every day to make a difference to my life and others.

Why do I feel so miserable? Why do I feel alone? Most importantly why do I feel like my life has no meaning? I sat in the corner of my bedroom on the floor many times, staring at a blank wall. Replaying every bad memory in my mind, I was the star of my own show. I was torturing myself because that’s what we do, isn’t it? We blame ourselves for everything that has ever gone wrong. We blame ourselves for the lives that were lost and we couldn’t save. The hurt people felt their scars, their wounds we blame ourselves. It could have had nothing to do with you and that voice, that voice in the back of your mind could have convinced you otherwise. I’m here to tell you, it’s NOT your fault.
Mental illnesses have become somewhat of a ‘trend’ the past few years. Leaving us individuals who truly suffer, back in the dark. People used it as an excuse to cover up their evil acts of hatred. We are not evil people and we are not any different from the rest of the human race. I have had my heart ripped out and stood on many times before, because of my mental illness. Admitting how vulnerable I was. Attracted the attention of small minded humans. I was truly suffering but because of my social status growing up, nobody believed me. I was the attention seeker, the bully and the liar. In actual fact, I was the girl who fell under the spell of substance abuse to block my mind. I was the girl who felt brave enough to confide in people who I thought were my friends, only to have them laugh at me and call me crazy. I was the girl who spoke nothing but the truth, everyone believed the liar. That’s just it! It’s so much easier to believe lies than to believe the harsh truth.

In today’s society too many people live in a bubble that they believe will keep them safe. It won’t, it will trap you in. You will be trapped inside your own head and you will eventually drown. We don’t deserve this, we don’t deserve to be social outcasts, to feel like nobody will ever love us and to feel like our lives mean nothing. It’s NOT true. It will never be true because mental illness is just a part of our lives. It’s our decision to make if it becomes our life.

I will believe anyone who says to me ‘Paige? I want change. I want to live and I want to kick my mental illness’ ass’ and I will stand beside them. I will make sure they know they are not alone. If you can help one person a day, every day for the year? That’s 365 people you have helped. We cannot just assume someone is lying or not telling the whole truth. They could be telling us their truth, which will always be different from ours. It shouldn’t matter! Everyone suffers differently but everyone deserves help. Resources are limited, knowledge is not. It does not make you weak to stand out and speak. It does not make you any less ‘cool’ to confront someone who is bullying someone else for feeling low. It makes us god damn human.

You cannot put a limit on knowledge. We need to spread it, we need to spread the knowledge of mental illness and make those aware who don’t live with it. What it’s truly like. Through the tears, the suicide attempts, the agony and right down to those letters you wrote for your loved ones. Those letters saying goodbye, that you will always love them. These are all a part of a lot of people’s lives, end the stigma. End the stigma before it ends someone else’s life. We are not alone and we are never going to be alone.

I’m Paige, I have survived suicide attempts, self -harm and I live with Bipolar Disorder, depression and anxiety. I’m a lot of people’s friend, I’m a daughter, a niece, a cousin and a little sister and a big sister and I’m a fighter. Change is coming, it may be slow but it will create the biggest impact when it hits. We got this. Much love to you all.

Worth Living Ambassador Ruairi Mcenroe

My name is Ruairi Mcenroe, an ultra-runner from Ireland.

Dressing Up

I always dressed okay. I suppose it depends on your situation. When I went to school, we had a uniform in primary and secondary school. Over the last couple of years I have stepped up my game. I changed other areas in my life for the better so why not the way I dress? You can dress well in any situation and do so without standing out too much even if your workplace has a casual dress code. Here are my reasons and maybe you can consider asking yourself the same.
When you go for an interview, what is the first thing you think about? The answer is of course, your attire! What should I wear to make a good first impression? Wearing casual all the time can lead to a casual attitude and to be casual at your job. When you dress well, you mean business!

Here are reasons and tips:

• It lifts my mood, gives me confidence and sometimes changes my day for the better.
• Make sure that your clothes match your complexion. I’m Irish and have pale skin so would not do well wearing light colours so I often wear darker suits.
• It makes a good impression, always important for most things in life. Most people want to make a good impression.
• People notice you more, compliments are nice sometimes and you won’t get them wearing the same Star Wars t-shirt for three days in a row.
• I use fashion to express my mood, just like the music I listen to.
• It helps you engage your creative side when putting an outfit together and you can work with many options.
• I feel more productive in a nice pair of trousers than I would in a pair of running shorts or a tracksuit.
• Why should I save it for just special occasions? I want to feel good every day!
• It shows respect for yourself and for those who you meet on your day.
• It’s fun!

Worth Living Ambassador Michele King

Hi! My name is Michele and I am 28 years old. Living with both depression and anxiety, I want to be a positive force of change to help end the stigma associated with mental illness, with hopes that what I share will help at least one person who comes across it.

A Word of Encouragement

About a month or so ago I had a doctor’s appointment (non-mental health related). As I was walking up to the doctor’s office (my therapist and general doctor were located in the same building) I was reminded of when I used to come to there for therapy.

A flood of memories came back. I remember my first time going to therapy. I remember driving to that building, holding back tears, afraid of what it would be like, but knowing it was something I needed and that I would come out stronger and hopefully happier.

There were so many times I would go to that office and sit in my car full of fear because there is nothing more frightening than facing your own shit. I was scared to talk about the past and to be honest with myself and what I would find out about myself with each session. It was hard at first to talk about what I was feeling because I had let so much bottled up for so long. It was also hard to do the exercises the therapist wanted me to do.  I had to dig in to my mess and face my demons head on. It was absolutely terrifying.

It got easier though. By the end of my therapy sessions I was coming to my therapist with things written down in advance that I was starting to recognize or that I knew I needed to talk about to help myself feel better. The exercises she gave me became a priority. Of course there were times when I didn’t do some, but I was kind to myself instead of beating myself up. And of course there were days where I didn’t feel strong at all. I felt like I couldn’t control what was going on around me and even had to call my therapist a couple of times to help me remind me to take breathes and calm myself down and see the big picture. Anxiety has this funny way of making you feel like everything has to happen this second and that anytime you “mess up” it is a catastrophe, but this isn’t true.

Once I did the dirty work and realized I was not my depression, I was not my anxiety; I was not my past. I realized I am simply me- a growing and evolving human being who deserves love.

I guess my point is once you get past the mess and the negative thoughts (that are absolutely lies) you realize you are a warrior and possess strength like no other.

When I walked in to that building about a month ago I laughed to myself and saw how far I have come. Of course I have my bad days; the difference is that now I have more tools and confidence to deal with them in a more healthy way. I am now able to give myself the same advice that my therapist would give to me, without actually having to call her or go see her.

So to anyone in the struggle right now I will leave you with this:

You are not your mental illness and you are not weak. It takes a brave, strong person to ask for help and to face their own demons. Don’t ever let anyone tell you different. It does get better. I realize how cliché that sounds, but I promise it is true. Keep facing your stuff and keep believing in yourself. Remember it is about progress not perfection. Be kind to yourself and even laugh at yourself along the way.

Worth Living Ambassador Felicia Singh

Hello, my name is Felicia. I am a 25 year old healthcare professional and
counseling/psychology student with anxiety. As well as someone with an unexplainable
yearning to understand mental health disorders. The who, what, where, when, and whys of it all.

Although I am young, I have had the opportunity to experience several different
individuals with different mental illnesses. Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, and
anxiety. And you know what? They’re just normal people. WE are normal people. I have had the
pleasure of knowing these individuals both in my personal and professional life. They all have
something unique about themselves to share with the world. I always say you can learn
something from everyone you meet.

For me personally dealing with my anxiety was something that I avoided for a long time.
As it got progressively worse and started to interfere with my relationships, I realized it was
something I would have to find ways to cope with. We all have certain stressors or triggers for
our disorders. Identifying what those are is a key part to getting better. I realized that my two
major stressors at the time were my job and my home life. After long consideration and planning,
I decided to make an effort to change those situations.

The answer for keeping my anxiety under control was finding out what caused me the most stress and then finding ways to manage my stress levels in a productive way. Both of my major stressors involved unhealthy
environments and people. I was able to tweak and adjust these issues through communication
and life changes.

I also workout, I write, and I make a conscious effort to surround myself with
genuine people that understand and support me. I haven’t had any anxiety attacks in almost a
year. Whether you choose to take medication or see a counselor is something that is totally up
to you. There are many different ways to live fulfilling lives while managing a mental illness.
Our environment and the people we choose to have in our lives are huge contributing
factors to our mental health. Good and bad. Sometimes a life cleanse is in order. Whatever it
takes to put you in a place of peace and contentment.

Too often we undermine the importance of inner peace. The importance of our happiness. If you’re here then your life’s worth living. You should live it to the fullest.

Worth Living Ambassador Mariandreina Farias

I was born in Valencia, Venezuela on October 15, 1987 but raised in Miami Lakes, FL . At the University of Florida (UF), I received my degree in Communications specializing in Event Management. As a 24 year old woman at the time. I experienced a Nervous Breakdown that turn into a Psychosis episode. Psychosis is a serious mental disorder characterized by thinking and emotions that are so impaired, indicating that the person experiencing them has lost contact with reality. These experiences can be frightening, but for me it turned into experiencing God’s Grace as well as finding my purpose and the step towards a call to the ministry of Counseling. As an end result, a passion for counseling built upon the convictions of the sufficiency of Scripture, came into the centrality of my core, and became a new vision into my life. I’m an Amazon Best Seller Author and part of the project I AM R.E.D.D. which. chronicles the journey of seven women through hardships, anguish, hurt, mental illness, homelessness, defeat, and much more. Each woman recounts how what should have been debilitating circumstances shaped them into the indomitable force they are today.

We all experience those moments of self-loathing, unrelenting frustration that stems from our own hands. We also seem to hit a wall every now and then, question the road that we’re on and maybe have a quarter and/or middle life crisis. It’s not entirely inexplicable.

Indecision, self-doubt, lack of confidence or motivation are all bi-products of our inner villain. We don’t need to demonstrate a Dexter-complex to know that we can be the number one cause of our own failures and downfalls. Fortunately, there’s a solution: we just have to be aware of this monster inside of us, understand it’s a game plan and overpower its demoralizing voice:

Sometimes, I purposely don’t let myself feel happy, because in some twisted way, I don’t feel like I deserve it. I feel like if I’m happy for more than two seconds, some evil in the universe will rain on my parade and laugh in my face for that reason: I am my own worst enemy.

Our critical inner voice is formed from our early life experiences. Without realizing it, we tend to internalize attitudes that were directed toward us by parents or influential caregivers throughout our development. For example, if our parent saw us as lazy, we may grow up feeling useless or ineffective.

The word sabotage may seem too strong when considering how we might treat ourselves but I really believe that it’s accurate for some situations. We do sometimes sabotage our own success or happiness. It’s just a fact. We subconsciously set into motion certain actions or words that we have a hunch will stop growth from happening and then we may be surprised when we don’t see our hopes come to completion. It’s a vicious cycle that some people sadly never orbit out of and find a path of true breakthroughs.

The question at the heart of it all is why? Why would we intentionally, albeit subconsciously, hinder our own lives?

Here are several possible underlying faulty beliefs.

1.) I Don’t Deserve Good Things:

If in our heart of hearts, we don’t think we deserve to reach our weight loss goal or have an authentic loving relationship, we will do things that make sure we don’t receive these gifts. Many of us grew up with parents who encouraged our growth and the development of a solid self-image but for every child that was raised in an encouraging home, I believe there are more who did not. If we were not brought up to believe we deserve goodness and can achieve it, then we will unknowingly sabotage our adult efforts. We have to come to a deep understanding that we were made to live a fulfilling life and it is our duty to give our best efforts towards that goal. Otherwise, we live with a nagging sense that happiness and personal growth are for other people but not us.

2.) I Will Lose Loved Ones If I Change:

As a counselor, I often hear people talk about wanting to make significant personal changes in their lives but they are very concerned about how those around them will respond. This is a real challenge for many people. If we go back to school and better our career, we may lose touch with current co-workers or if we decide to take an honest look at our dependency on alcohol, there is a high likelihood that our social circle would need to be altered in maybe some significant ways. We all know on a gut level that as we make radical or even semi-radical changes in our lives, things around us will shift and not all loved ones will be happy with the new us. I find this really sad honestly and should serve as a red-flag that perhaps some of our relationships don’t have our best interest at the core.

3.) If I Try And Fail, I Will Wish I Had Not Tried At All:

To me this is probably one of the hardest of the self-sabotaging thoughts to identify and therefore hard for us to correct. We lie to ourselves and say that of course we want success in life so this concern is often buried way below the surface and requires us to be brutally honest with ourselves if we are going to pinpoint it as a reason for self-sabotage. This fear plays out in a manner that looks like minimal efforts when better efforts were possible. It looks like taking the slightly easier road all the time rather than going full speed into personal growth. Basically, it looks like laziness, half-baked efforts and slothiness (I think I just turned sloth into a new word but you hopefully get my point). Chronically giving less than our best efforts is the name of the game. We often see this in teenagers who are afraid to put themselves out there and maybe not meet the mark even after having tried really hard. This same thinking follows people into adulthood too.

Whatever the reason may be that we find ourselves being our own worst enemy, there is one simple solution to this trap and that is start taking those thoughts and compare them to a positive view. One of the best exercises is to challenge ourselves to repeat the following:

“I will stop criticizing myself. I will stop sabotaging relationships. I will stop believing lies that I’ve created. I will stop being content with feeling sad/depressed. I will stop worrying about what everyone thinks.

I know this isn’t going to be easy and I’ll probably mess up a lot, but changing how I do life is going to take some time. Changing how I operate in relationships is going to take work. ”

If you feel like the only person who’s holding you back is you. Don’t let yourself get in the way of reaching your fullest potential. Don’t let yourself dictate what you can and can’t do.

Get out of your own head and embrace yourself and life.

Love yourself and love others.

Let yourself be loved, because “The opposite of love is indifference.” – The Lumineers

Link to I Am R.E.D.D.: Stories of Refinement, Empowerment, Dedication, & Determination on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/R-E-D-D-Refinement-Empowerment-Dedication-Determination-ebook/dp/B06XCWZLW5/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1496688768&sr=1-1#customerReviews

Worth Living Official DJ Scratchey Q  &  Worth Living Ambassador Zippah

Courage can be interpreted in various ways though most often is termed as the ability to do something that frightens you. At different occasions, different times, we find ourselves In places that we need to rise up to the occasion and be the better if not the best version of ourselves.. Through these songs we hope you get inspired, you get the courage to do greatness.. Hold back no More.. The time to do it is Now
20. Bob Marley -Everything’s Gonna Be Alright

19. Lupe Fiasco & Guy Sebastian- Battle Scars

18. Yego- Khaligraph Jones

17. The Climb- Miley Cyrus

16. Lindsey Stirling ft. Christina Perri- Brave Enough

15. Rosella- H_art the Band  ft. Lady Jaydee  

14. Sia- Unstoppable

13. Lenny Kravitz – Stand

12. Nelly- Self Esteem

11. Eminem- Not Afraid

10. Diamond Platnumz- Mdogo Mdogo

9. Katy Perry- Rise

8. TobyMac- Speak Life

7. Pink – Try

6. 2Pac- Keep Ya Head Up

5. Tyler the Creator- Find Your Wings

4. Demi Lavato- Confident

3. Tragically  Hip- Courage

2. Octopizzo- Something For You

1.Sauti Sol ft. Red Fourth Chorus- Kuliko Jana

Worth Living Ambassador Jessie Brar

Jessie Brar is a recent Queen’s Universty graduate from Caledon, Ontario. After struggling with her own mental illnesses for many years, Jessie now dedicates her time to raising awareness for mental health. She is a speaker with Jack.Org and goes to universities, colleges and high schools in her area to spread mental health literacy. Jessie also heads @TheMHSpotlight, an Instagram project dedicated to raising awareness about mental health in the South Asian community.

Growing up, I was in a constant state of fear and anxiety. My father was an alcoholic. His parents, who lived with us, were physically and verbally abusive. My mother was working double shifts to try and make enough money to feed her kids. When she would get home, the fights would start. My father would yell. He would smash the pictures on the walls. His parents would start yelling too. My mother would cry, pleading them to stop. I would hide in my room with my siblings, hoping they would leave my mother alone.

Once my parents separated that feeling of fear and anxiety stuck. I was on edge, had frequent mood swings and had an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness. I was the oldest child so, after the separation, I felt like I had to grow up very quickly. I took on the responsibility of caring for my siblings so that my mother could work and make sure we didn’t become homeless. We were living paycheck to paycheck, trying to do the best we could. I felt under so much pressure at such a young age. I was 12 years old with the responsibilities of an adult. I didn’t have time to play or socialize. I had to help my mom take care of our family. I was constantly upset. I would find myself crying in the bathroom, trying to hide it from my mother because she already had so much on her plate and I didn’t want to burden her further.

I also had so much fear about what was going on. I felt lost. This fear eventually took away my appetite and I stopped eating. My anxiety grew day by day and I was too afraid to tell anyone. I thought that there was something fundamentally wrong with me. I hid my problems from my friends as well because I was afraid that they would think I was weak or pity me. I didn’t want anyone to judge me or think of me differently. I was silently suffering.

There was so much going on in my mind and my life, but I had no idea what to do. No one had ever told me what depression was. I didn’t know what mental health meant. I thought that I had a problem. I was never taught to talk about my feelings. In my Punjabi household, feelings were supposed to be private. I thought I was doing this to myself. I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt, hopelessness and most of all, loneliness.

When I moved away to go to university my mental health got worse. It was having a huge impact on my day to day life and I was constantly struggling with my thoughts. I couldn’t sleep at night, and then I would skip my classes the next day. I started self-medicating to put myself to sleep and to deal with the constant negative thoughts in my mind. As soon as Friday hit, I would start drinking and would rarely stop until Sunday. I was spiraling. My friends noticed, but I pushed them away. By this time, I knew that I needed help, but I didn’t want the label of a mental illness. I didn’t want everyone around me to think I was crazy.

One day in second year, I attended a presentation with a group of students I was working with. The presentation was all about the university experience. The different presenters spoke about how this had been such a great place for them, how they made friends and how this place helped them do amazing things. It made me feel so sad because university had only made my life worse. Then the final speaker, a young South Asian male, came up. His topic was mental health. He spoke about his own struggles moving away from home and transitioning to university. He spoke about how he too had a downward spiral. Then he spoke about how he got help and that he was alive and thriving.

I was inspired. His presentation gave me hope and the courage to go and seek help for myself. He doesn’t know, but he helped save my life. After the presentation, I went to see a doctor. The doctor prescribed me medication to help with my anxiety and depression.

Getting better was a journey in itself. It took about 4 months to find a medication that worked for me. The first one had made me feel worse and increased my suicidal thoughts. The second one made me sick to my stomach and I was constantly nauseous. Finally, the third one helped me control my thoughts and feelings.

I started feeling better. I was sleeping normally. I no longer felt the need to self-medicate. I felt that I had recovered. Then I stopped taking my medication. I thought that I was okay now and didn’t need it. I was fine for a few months, but then the negative thoughts and overwhelming hopelessness came back.

At this point, I knew I couldn’t handle this alone. I reached out to my boyfriend. I told him all about what was going on and he was nothing but supportive. He offered to come with me to see a counsellor. He was there when I went to see the doctor. He helped me along the way.

Once I saw the counsellor, she helped me take a holistic approach to tackling my mental illnesses. We got my course load reduced so that I was better able to handle my academics. I reached out to my professors who were very willing to help me in any way they could. I went back on my medication and knew that this time, I needed to stick with it.

I was able to open up to my mother as well. She held me as I cried, telling her about how I had struggled, but how I was doing better. She told me that she would always be there for me. I received so much support from my best friends as well. My support system made me feel strong. No one changed around me. No one thought differently of me. In fact, I felt more loved than ever. I know I was very fortunate for that because stigma is still such an issue.

I ended up graduating university and getting on the Dean’s List. I found an amazing job that I love. I have come to realize that I am not my mental illness. I do not need to suffer. I have a mental illness, and I am thriving.

There was a lot that stood in the way of me getting help. I was scared of the stigma associated with mental illness. There was also a huge cultural barrier. In Punjabi culture, mental illness is often ignored. I felt so lost and alone. I am so glad I was able to find help. Now I work to raise awareness about mental health so that no one else feels as if they have to suffer in silence like I did.