“Dear Evan Hansen” premiered Friday, the movie version of one of Broadway’s biggest hits in recent memory. This movie has a powerful and fundamental honesty that resonates with teens (and really anyone) suffering from things like anxiety and depression. Personally, I related to this movie on many levels.

As a teen, I definitely experienced my share of anxiety from rejection, but depression was new as a 45-year-old adult. In the movie, Evan’s mom addresses how she fell short as a single parent. That’s the moment I felt like I lived in everyday. I couldn’t figure out how things did not turn out as I had always dreamed it would with each of my kids, my marriage, my career… let down after let down… I felt like a total failure.

How could my well-meaning plans turn out so wrong and with lots of hurting people in the wake? I was down. I didn’t know how to get back up. I didn’t see the point of getting back up. And to be totally honest, I had a plan and the means to end it all.

I needed help.

It wasn’t until a friend of mine shared with me how she wished her mom had asked for help while she still had the chance. I couldn’t help but wonder if my kids would say the same thing about me. I knew I didn’t want them to have to wonder how things could have been, should have been. I needed help.

The inward journey to mental health is never easy but the path I was on was harder. I am still working on myself and my relationships but I feel like I’m finally learning how to be healthy so I can love myself enough to love others the way they deserve.

Mental health issues are real, common and treatable.

This journey, like the movie, has shown me mental health issues are real, common, and treatable.

I’m so honored to be a part of an organization that will not be passive bystanders in the fight for mental health. We are here to help. We are here to break down barriers to mental health treatment, including stigma, fear, and shame. We are here to help individuals AND to support their families.

And take it from me- it’s OK to hurt, it’s OK to be honest about it, it’s OK to ask for help.

If I did it, I know you can.

Let us know how we can support your journey, contact us.