I’m Good Because I Express My Emotions

By Oriana Nguyen

When I was younger I always thought mental health meant that someone was crazy or unintelligent, but I was wrong. Mental health refers to a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being, according to the Webster dictionary. I did not learn this until I was 15 years old and I moved to a new house, far away from my family to live with my aunt. My aunt was a very nice lady at the beginning, but somehow changed one day. I was psychologically and emotionally being destroyed by my own aunt. I knew I wasn’t crazy or less smart than my friends, but my mind was very unhealthy. I was very sad, upset and felt isolated and different.

My first reaction was to share my feelings with friends that were very close to me. My friends and teachers, at times, blindly supported me by smiling and showing me their love. I began to look up to others who then inspired me to pursue my personal goals. At school, I would keep myself distracted from the problems at home; this was my break. “Taking a break” became my second medicine. At the moment I began to read as a way to serene my pain. When I was reading, it felt that I was in a different world, away from the psychological and emotional effect of my aunt. My family back home was always very supportive. My mother would always tell me “fight for what you want and you will obtain it.” At the time I remember those wise words that staying focus on my goals became also my motivation to maintain myself healthy. Every time I felt that I was drowning, friends and family pulled me out. Gladly, I left that to become history. I now feel complete and learned that to stay mentally healthy; we have to stay focus on ourselves and accept to the help and love of others, but also remember to love ourselves first.

Today, to stay mentally healthy I like to do all sort of physical activities. I like to run, to dance, to hike, to play sports like basketball, volleyball, football, and tennis. I also enjoy to travel. Whenever I am doing any of these activities I feel that I am in a different world. I believe in expressing my emotions; in sharing what I think and how I feel. I like to surround myself with people who I consider positive, who smile at life, and who are happy with themselves. I used to carry the mental health stigma, believing that it meant someone had a mental disorder; however, anyone can be subjected to suffer a mental health disease. I was emotionally disoriented; I consider myself mentally ill. Some looked at me as if I was crazy and at times affected my self esteem. So, it is of sum importance to create awareness. Everyone should be happy to go to school or work. No one likes labels, or being left out. As a community, let’s increase the mental health of each other. We all have struggled at one point, so it is important to support each other to create wellness in ourselves and stay healthy.