I would like to say that ugh I am so proud of my growth! I still have some bad days where negative intrusive thoughts really take over my mind but for the most part, I have good days more often than not. I feel I owe a lot of it to me opening up and sharing my feelings with people. I used to be so closed off and it physically pained me to let people in. Now, I’m more open than ever. Of course I still have room to grow but that’s a given considering we are always changing and evolving. At this moment in time, I’m just happy that I’m able to give myself a voice. I used to think that me talking to myself in my head was enough to work situations out and that that was sufficient enough to help me feel as if my voice was heard, but I was wrong. I’ve come to learn that physically letting my voice be heard, even if it’s just me talking to myself while doing the dishes or crying to my pets, it’s just proven to be so beneficial to my mental well being. It’s pretty wild that a lot of us feel silenced and feel as if our voices don’t matter, but they do! Even if it’s just you yourself hearing your voice, it’s being heard at the end of the day. You’re putting that energy out there for the world.

I noticed that by me opening up to my best friend about what is going on in my head in the current moment, it helped relieve a lot of pressure that I would’ve had if I would’ve kept it all bottled in. I suppose it’s because once you say it out loud, you realize it’s not some big monster you can’t defeat. It basically becomes a ghost that you’re able to call the Ghostbusters on. It becomes more real, almost physically tangible, thus allowing you to see it from another perspective other than the one that is going on in your head. It’s crazy too because it’s something so small that you would just brush off thinking it won’t help (that’s how I used to be) but in reality, it helps in more ways than you could have ever imagined.

I suggest everyone taking the time to have their voice heard. Yeah it might seem “weird” to talk to yourself out loud but is it really that big of a difference compared to talking to yourself in your head?