My life is, by every objective measurement, very very good.
And in spite of all of that, I struggle every day with my self esteem, my self worth, and my value not only as an actor and writer, but as a human being.
That’s because I live with Depression and Anxiety, the tag team champions of the World Wrestling With Mental Illness Federation.
This is terrible advice. Just terrible. And largely untrue. I had over a decade gap in my cv and claimed it was due to “running my own business”. When I got a good job it had infrastructure to support mental health and my life made me ashamed to ask for help. Luckily, I’ve had managers who aren’t ashamed to ask if I need help and I’ve had opportunities to get support. More importantly, I had three relationships where I didn’t ask for help because I was ashamed and it took a very special person to tell me to seek therapy that turned a lot of my shame around.
You’re operating on shame. Regardless of how you feel about seeking help, please at least recognise that and do what you can to be open about your feelings and sense of self.
You are lucky to have a company that supports you.
When I was honest about mental health issues and took doctor mandated mental health leave, I was fired for unrelated reasons, but told to my face that it was because I had been to honest. This was at a fortune 500 company.
Now imagine what it’s like for someone working construction or a low level job. This is the reality for many many people. Hell, people were fired for not turning up to work with covid. There are literal laws in the US which prohibit companies firing people with cancer. They’d do that too if they could get away with it.
Be glad that it isn’t your reality, be angry that it still happens and act/vote accordingly, but do not discount the very real experiences of those less fortunate. Reflect on your privileged position and realise your experience is not universal.
