WHY INSIDE OUT?
Okay, so, WHY “Inside Out”? The reason I chose this phrase as the title for my blog, is actually because of my son.
Years ago, when he was very young, he would lose his ever-loving mind if his socks weren’t on just right. And I mean they… had… to… be… PERFECT. We spent a LOT of time straightening out his socks each day. A sock that was inside out, would have been the end of his world. (For those of you wondering, he’s now fully grown, perfectly fine and I don’t even think he cares if his socks match anymore).
Socks and Mental Health? What’s the connection?
Just as we wouldn’t like wearing a misshapen and uneven sock that causes discomfort, why would we choose to display our “twisted and unbalanced” thoughts to others? That causes discomfort, too. No one likes discomfort and most of us avoid it if we can.
Just like a well-fitting sock brings comfort and warmth, ensuring our feet are happy; a calm and peaceful mind means that all is right in our worlds. On the other hand, a misshapen sock that’s smashing our toes together or has a crooked seam can make us feel completely out of control until we fix it. We generally drop everything, no matter where we are, and sort that out ASAP.
It’s a wishful thought that straightening out our mental state could be as straightforward as fixing our socks…
Trust me, I know the excuses. I’ve made them all. We can’t find time for therapy, we don’t want to burden anyone with our problems, and we certainly don’t want others to look down on us for being “crazy”. That word is the one that throws a wrench into everything… Five letters sure pack a LOT of stigma, shame, and loneliness into one word. We give up before we even start, simply because we are afraid of what others will think if they see us “fixing our (mental) socks”.
Revealing our inner selves is challenging and sometimes seems impossible. A “messy self” is much more complicated to fix (and far more time-consuming). The fear of judgment looms large. Our self-esteem and self-worth are vulnerable to harm. We dread disappointing others, not being taken seriously, and risking our jobs, so we conceal our true selves. We become experts at hiding, perpetuating the cycle. At the end of the day, it’s just too hard to fix, so we don’t. We continue to live with the discomfort and we say nothing.
But what if we did? What if we threw aside fear and insecurity, and addressed our mental health issues with the same vigor we fix a crooked or sagging sock? What if we shared our struggles AND our successes so others could better navigate their own issues, without the crippling shame?
What a wonderful world that would be.
