No Shame here!

The picture to the left is something I saw on Facebook yesterday. I was particularly struck by the plea at the end to "let those who struggle know they're not alone." So many times we suffer in silence. We wonder if what we are feeling is normal, what will people think of us if they know how we are feeling? or just plain "I feel like I'm going to lose it!!!" If you're reading this today, and you have ever felt like this, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I want to share my story with you. Several years ago when my marriage was ending, I had to keep it a secret for lots of reasons. Not only did I have to keep it a secret, I had to pretend that everything was fine, even happy. I truly believe our minds and bodies are not meant to perform this function. I suffered physical manifestations from the stress from paralysis, to vision impairment, to literally not being able to speak, but the scariest, by far, were the panic attacks. I had no idea what was happening to me. I literally felt like my skin could not contain me, if that makes sense. The only thing that I can think of to compare it to would be that I felt like a boiling pot of water that desperately wanted to boil over and the lid on top was straining to keep me in. At that moment I thought for sure, I AM GOING CRAZY! The only thing that helped me, was someone holding me so tight that I almost couldn't breathe and staying that way until the attack passed. Ironically the only person I had to do that was the person who was causing the entire situation, but it got me through. The point is, you are not crazy. Don't be afraid to tell someone who cares how you feel. Sometimes, that's the only thing you need is to get it out. Talk, get other help if need be, but don't suffer in silence, and don't be ashamed. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!