First, From the Heart

Our wellbeing is the foundation for how we move through each precious day of this life. We all carry burdens that influence how we show up in this moment. However, our mental health and wellbeing often goes unseen, unsaid, and unheard.
 
I started my career in 1980, and we never ever hinted there was anything unpleasant rumbling beneath the surface of outward perfection and performance. Yet I had been clinically depressed since my early teens. and developed multiple addictive behaviors. My mother was a child of war, and the intergenerational trauma can be traced back many generations. When I finally started working with a therapist in my 20s, I began to slowly understand my menu of mental health challenges and appreciated that I was not alone in facing life’s difficulties. As many of you know, the inner work is an ongoing gift of discovery and healing.
 
On some level, we are all affected by mental health – it is part of our individual and collective human experience. Thank goodness we live in a time when we can finally rally awareness of mental health in the workplace. Let’s celebrate that some organizations offer Mental Health Days. Maybe we are ready for “Bring Your Emotions to Work Day.” The more we share about the challenging parts of our human journey, the more we can normalize, lift the stigma, offer support, and lend compassion towards each other and for ourselves.

With lovingkindness,
Laura