What mental health means to me - Francesca

For me, mental health reflects the freedom to express one’s humanity, and to do that, we must collectively live presently and according to our personal truths.

Though I'm definitely an introverted person who spends too much time in her own head, I've always loved spending time with others and truly getting to know them. People have so many different aspects of their personalities that show up in different parts of their lives, and usually an abundance of stories to tell. This is usually a healthy thing, and indicates how incredibly complex and uniquely multifaceted humans can be.

But, sometimes, it can be difficult to let those sides overlap, and in that, it can be hard for people to feel they have a space where they are truly seen and heard. In some ways, I agree that you can never truly know somebody, because you will never truly have the exact same experiences as another person. Yet, there is connection all around us. There are shared emotions that rise from different experiences, or different emotions that rise from the same experiences. There are those who want to share and hear stories, or even provide comfort just from being present. There are always others who care and want to support you, even when you think you'll be entirely on your own. 

To me, advocating for mental health means holding the patience and compassion to understand the various puzzle pieces that form identity, and to accept the complexities of what we cannot fully know, whether that's in others or within ourselves.

I’ve found that the process of channeling these experiences into other forms of expression (be that through conversation, body language, writing, art, storytelling, or otherwise) is key to transforming mental health challenges into. Creativity that does not need to be understood in any singular way, but can be perceived through infinite unique interpretations that resonate with others. There is no strict good or bad, right or wrong when it comes to feeling —it's just a really big part of being human.