Darkness to Dialogue: Living Well With Mental Illness

⏳  Estimated Read Time: 8 minutes Article Summary In many marginalized communities, identity is survival, and survival often depends on performance. This post explores how cultural, racial, and immigrant expectations to appear "strong," "grateful," or "high-achieving" lead to: deep emotional suppression misdiagnosed mental health issues Perfection becomes the armor, but it also becomes the prison. Healing requires giving ourselves permission to be flawed, visible, and real. When Identity Felt Like a Mask I Couldn’t Take Off For years, I believed that being composed was a way to earn respect. I stayed calm, high-achieving, and agreeable, even when I was unraveling internally. In a lot of ways, I didn’t even know how to talk about mental illness because I didn’t believe I was allowed to be struggling. I thought my job was to be the exception: to be strong, collected, and "better than my circumstances." The truth is that the mask almost destroyed me...