Walking with Demons

Everyone you encounter has a story

I remember one time I talked with a person who was taken from their home, their mother went to rehab, and they thought no one understood.

I remember another time when a person told me about their childhood and the 3 out 4 abuse types they endured and they thought no one understood.

I remember another time when a person told me about their choice to get into drugs and “gentleman’s” clubs were the result of childhood trauma and they thought no one understood.

I remember another time when a person told me about their perfect life that came crashing down and they thought no one understood the clinical depression and the hospitalizations they underwent.

I remember story after story. I remember the stories from combat.

Even cancer. About 5 million at any given time in the US has cancer. It is not farfetched to think that the influence of the individuals range from 0–30 close friends and family. If we take the middle number of 15 and times it by 5, for the 5 million, that comes out to 75, which translates to 75 million people affected or around 25% of the US.

Suicide affects others. Loss of jobs. Heart problem diagnoses. And more.

You have your own story, but the feelings you have are the same so many have felt.

Something can be Done

There are people who live the best they can, who receive accolades from others, from organizations, from governments, and from universities, and these people might have beat cancer twice or been the lone survivor of a car crash that took their family. The stories are not exactly yours, but the stories are ones that burned into their brain forever.

As they have done, so can you.

Everyone can do well, regardless of their situation.

I want you to know that 80% of the people you encounter will have a big story, too. From health issues you can’t see because the beautiful smile they have, to psychological trauma that we can see pour out from them. We all have it. I have a life that 3 people could have lived.

The hardest thing to do is ask for help and it’s not easy taking the information, either. It’s easy to get on Medium or wherever and think reading about what to do is asking for help or listening. It’s not. You must really ask for help and you must really listen and take it in. Let it change you.

It takes some humility to ask and to listen, because it will humble you, as it did for everyone. This one undisclosed social media influencer who got a neurological defect from an undisclosed medical treatment was humbled as she went online and explained that she allowed pressure to follow the crowd without getting medical advice first affect her. Now she will forever live with the choice.

We can go all day. There are millions of stories. Please show up for yourself, today. Learn, emotionally heal, and live on.

There are 27 emotions, per Berkley University. And there are a million different lives to live. I have felt all of your emotions and had clients who will have had a similar story. It’s normal to learn, heal the heart, and live.

And there will always be a demon that creeps next to you at the worst time. There will always be a demon. But, you can still live and be happy with what you have and can have. Build a warrior’s strength. They trained when they were useless and now they think harder training is fun. The most trained are the most happy.

Side Bar: If you advocate, do it after you are emotionally healed. Trust me.

Conclusion

You can get ahead! No matter your story.

For me and those whom I talked with, there are common denominators to look at. Everyone I knew who had an authentic smile after their world changed for the worst, done so by being humble, educated about the problem, and linked up with the right people (professionals, friends, or family).

Since we are talking about professionals, friends, and family, I’ll say this. I did not listen to professionals who were not amazing in their specialty. I did not listen to friends or family who were not A-grade people with great lives. And I did not listen to people who merely spoke well. The best wine comes from the best people. The best how-to’s come from people who live it and gained results.

I never cared about hurting the feelings of those that could not help me — I was injured and needing help! I only listened to the greatest there was. I did not care about how little followers or reviews they had. I’ve been on Medium for a couple years now with a measly 370+ followers. That doesn’t mean anything about my content. It doesn’t because the education I talked about a minute ago. The popular promote the popular to grow. We see this everywhere. I’ve read a few stories from people with 10k followers and could have obliterated the narrative. Just as a jock on a basketball court could be escaping abusive parents and not an actual athlete, so I don’t care about how “professionals” appear.

I’ve read stories about trauma from popular stars before and the event of the trauma was not known in the world of mental health to be something therapists would have even humored. Thus, we see the problem. It is important to research the person you listen to.

I talked with one of these individuals in question and the first thing they said was “don’t judge other people’s trauma.” I did not respond back, because there was so much wrong with the situation. But, I would expect my daughter when she gets about 6 years old to have hurt feelings from a similar situation, but she will have worked it out in about 10 minutes and hopefully, I pray, will NOT write about and embarrass herself. Let’s not look like the satire book “White Girl Problems” written by a couple comedians who trademarked the name Babe Walker. What some popular people say to do in a certain situation could not be more backwards.

• Humility
• Educated & Researched
• Reach Out (while keeping the humility in front of you)

Thanks for reading! Thanks for sharing your stories!! Thanks for sharing!!!