Private Hells

I saw this post at Robert Scoble’s today, where he talks about the private struggles of people’s lives. Lives that you might be tempted to assume are quite perfect, but which really aren’t. It reminded me very much of why this blog exists. I spent so many years feeling like I was the only person struggling with issues surrounding child abuse, and so many years becoming an absolute expert at hiding those issues from everyone around me. All that time, I could have been talking to other survivors, or getting help identifying and resolving some of those issues, but I wasn’t.

Who knows, maybe if I had talked to people, or recognized that there were others going through similar struggles and emotions, I wouldn’t have had the depression and mental breakdown that found me at rock bottom. Maybe I would have found mental health and contentment, not to mention the happiness I can celebrate today, on my 38th birthday, sooner if I had the support and information I have now? Maybe, but that’s all water under the bridge for me. I’m betting there are plenty of people in your life who aren’t in the same position I am, they are still struggling with their own private hells, hiding their struggles from everyone around them. I hope they can find the support they need, somehow.