May 2026 is Mental Health Awareness Month

Why I’m Healing Out Loud

Photo by Total Shape on Unsplash

As you know if you’re in the mental health community, one of the hardest parts of struggling with a mental illness is feeling like an outsider. It’s being unwelcome in your own life and constantly trying to justify your existance to everyone around you. Constantly having to apologize for your seemingly over-the-top reactions to being triggered. Feeling like a pariah.

That’s why, during my mental health journey, I have made an effort to heal out loud. I don’t hide my mental health struggles from the people around me, my employers, or in my writing. Being able to be open and honest has really helped me feel more balanced in my life, and allowed me to know that the people I have in my life really accept me for who I am.

I would rather be hated for being real than liked for being fake.

If you have a mental illness, you’ve probably coped with denial and shame the way I have, too. Tried to put on a mask, to hide your feelings, and pretend to be ‘normal’ and do what’s expected of you.

Taking off the mask feels extremely scary at first, because you’re afraid of being rejected again. But the thing I have learned over the years is that I would rather be rejected up front than spend years pretending to be someone I’m not for the approval of others and ending up rejected anyway.

The 2026 theme for Mental Health Awareness Month is “Turning Silence Into Connection.” This is powerful because having a strong support system is one of the greatest predictors of healing from a mental illness and receiving support.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness says that,

By sharing our lived experiences, learning from each other’s experiences, and building strong community connections, we can challenge stigma and create spaces where people are supported, understood, and find healing.

Finding connection with other survivors of mental illness really helps us to heal. It lets us know that we aren’t alone, that we don’t have to suffer in silence anymore. We don’t have to hide who we are because of shame and stigma over things that aren’t really our fault at all.

Kindness matters.

Listening heals.

Being able to connect with other people who have struggled with mental illness helps us find strength. Knowing that you aren’t alone, and that you really can be accepted for who you are is deeply healing.

During this Mental Health Awareness Month, think of ways that you can foster connection and dialogue with others who have walked a similar path to your own. This is a great way to heal your own mental health, as well as offering support to others who may be just beginning their mental health journey.

For more information on improving your mental health, check out my list dedicated to mental health and healing.

[embed]List: How to Improve Your Mental Health | Curated by Nicole Dake | Medium How to Improve Your Mental Health · 254 stories on Mediummedium.com

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