For a long time, I thought that talking about mental health was something that had to be done quietly, almost with shame. Today, I understand that naming what I am going through is a way of taking care of myself and, perhaps, of accompanying others who are going through similar processes. This personal blog was born precisely from that need: the need to put into words what I have lived through and what I am still learning. To break the silence, just as Simone Biles did when she spoke openly about her mental health and showed that it is not a taboo, but an act of courage.
I have been through moments when I lost contact with reality. My mind created scenarios that I now recognize as unreal: ideas of persecution, conspiracies, thoughts that at the time felt absolutely true. Remembering them still gives me chills and makes me uncomfortable, but it also reminds me of how fragile and powerful the human mind can be.
Sometimes I wonder how a mind can get lost in thoughts that do not exist and fail to find the pause button. How is it possible to live trapped in ideas that are not real and yet feel them with such intensity? It is not easy to explain, and even less easy to live through.
2025 was a year in which I almost fully recovered my speech. It was a slow process, filled with frustration, but also with small rays of hope. Acknowledging my progress and obtaining my disability ID for speech impairment was a major achievement, not as a label, but as validation. I understood that my process deserves patience, time, and respect.
I have learned that mental health is not a straight line. There are good days and difficult days. Accepting this has been one of the most important lessons of this beginning of the year. I am not broken. I am under construction. And if someone reading this blog feels identified, I want them to know they are not alone. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness; it is an act of self-love.
marimo 