by : Carrie McClanahan, Founder of WV Women Made, WVWMM & WVWM Junior Market
Let’s be real… We are all mean girls.
Or at least have been at some point in our lives.
I think one of the foundational truths about the WV Women Made organization is the fact that those of us in it are striving so hard to not be a mean girl anymore.
At least I am.
My former self was riddled with doubt, fear, and insecurities that I thought I doing an awesome job at hiding. Maybe I was, for a while.
But inside was a different story. I internalized, dwelled, stewed and it’s literally destroyed me from the inside out.
Mental health is something that no one wants to talk about - but, y’all - WE HAVE TO. We are women in a society where we’re taught that we need to look like, sound like, act like & think like everyone else. That you always have to do more, be more...Do you know what that does to a person's psyche?
Pile a husband, kid(s), job(s), school, family, house, car, life…
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Picture a lady sitting outside River Park Hospital in Huntington, WV in the (hot) 🔥 wee hours of a Sunday morning bawling her eyes out. Having been told she doesn't “qualify” for help. She’s not ‘suicidal’ enough or ‘unfortunate’ enough...damn, even her mental illness isn’t good enough.
>>>>>>> Are these people serious?
So there she sits. Unable to control her emotions. Humiliated and hopeless with nothing but the weekend bag she packed full of her belongings like she was going to summer camp.
Hi. It me.
Tune in next time. More to come.