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A Leap of Faith – #SqueezeOutStigma

By August 6, 2019May 15th, 20205 Comments

To be honest with you, and with myself, I’ve been struggling with writing a new blog for months now. In fact, I have the beginnings of at least five new posts sitting in my WordPress drafts.

At first I couldn’t figure out what the hell my problem was. Chloe is home, doing fairly well but not without hiccups. There were still plenty of her silly shenanigans to give me topics and content for months!

What was itching at me, taunting me to share? Then, just in time, we went on vacation. Getting away from life and work for a while always has a way of clearing my cluttered mind and allowing my ideas to gel.

So, what was my epiphany, you ask? Well, really, it’s not all that earth-shattering. In fact, I think it’s fairly common among many of us – FEAR. Yes, FEAR of taking that next step, like I was stuck in a foot of cement.

What was my dilemma? Well, my book is finally done – published in print, as an e-book and audio book. Now just how do I take it to the next level? And, what if I don’t figure it out? What if I fail? I mean I am a marketing professional, right? Shouldn’t this be a cake walk?

When I realized that my FEAR was what was holding me back from propelling forward, it made me think about how FEAR can be so debilitating in so many areas of our lives. I mean, on it’s own, FEAR holds people back from experiencing joy, expressing emotions and dreams, connecting with others, and seeking help for mental illness and other medical issues.

For me, it’s always the FEAR of rejection and FEAR of judgment that keeps me stuck. And it also made me think about how very pervasive fear is when facing mental illness – going about your daily living while researching resources, trying to find answers, and accessing treatment. Often times, battling mental health and the stigma associated with it can feel like a million doors closing at once – making it easy to understand why people give up.

From shame and misunderstanding, to inadequate mental health resources at the schools, to inequitable health insurance coverage, and a gross lack of of mental health care professionals in our country, it’s no wonder FEAR creeps up in every crevice of our mind when we turn for help.

I guess that FEAR started to get in my head and got in the way of what I know we all need when it comes to mental health – connection, community, sharing, communication, and being part of something bigger than ourselves.

So here it goes – I’m taking that big LEAP of FAITH with my book and The Lemonade Project (more details coming soon!). Will you chuck your FEAR and take a LEAP of FAITH with me? Whether you want to join me to #SqueezeOutStigma or you have a leap of your own, LET’S GO, because we’ll never know what will happen if we don’t try! #SqueezeOutStigma #FaceFear

Andrea Berryman Childreth

Author Andrea Berryman Childreth

Andrea Berryman Childreth is an award-winning author of the book, ON THE EDGE: Help and hope for parenting children with mental illness, founder of The Lemonade Project, advocate and parent coach. She has first-hand experience with parenting a mentally ill daughter and has struggled with mental illness, herself. Her goal is to help empower people to openly share their stories and improve access to equitable mental health services.

More posts by Andrea Berryman Childreth

Join the discussion 5 Comments

  • Mom says:

    Heck , Yeah! Let’s go!!

  • Tiffany Jacobs says:

    I would love to be part of this.

  • Jason Brady says:

    Good to see a new post!
    Most of what makes my head spin is fear based. Sometimes I have to unwind it a lot to get down to some basic fears. Mine is usually like this:
    I think that person doesn’t like me; why? Because I’m scared they don’t like me. Why? Because I need their approval. Why? Because I’m not feeling all that good about myself. Why? Then it’s usually something simple like I didn’t like the way I looked in that split second I looked in the mirror today. Sometimes it’s a deeper problem, but often something really simple that spins up something larger until I am stuck.

    • Andrea Berryman Childreth says:

      Fear has a way of rearing its ugly head too often. You are amazing – don’t forget it!