Speaking Out

With the recent election in the United States, I have been thinking a lot recently about the power of your own voice. Don’t worry, this isn’t a political blog, I don’t care too much for politics. An election is all about spreading the word on things you care about and advocating for the things, and people near and dear to your heart. Unfortunately, having Borderline Personality Disorder makes it difficult to decide if what you think is right, or wrong. We tend to “chameleon” our personalities and mannerisms to become alike those we are often surrounded by, and this includes the way we react and respond to people’s opinions. We are afraid to voice our own perspectives because we only want people to like us. The best thing we can do is stay neutral about situations, especially extremely touchy subjects such as politics. I find myself in those instances almost everyday, trying to avoid conflict between people I actually enjoy spending my time with. With BPD it’s hard to express ourselves because we don’t know who we are. Our personalities change depending on who we’re around, and we are only truly ourselves when we’re alone. That is why, it’s hard to know whether we’re right or wrong, but at the end of the day, when we’re all alone, we still have our own opinions. Joining pageantry, and advocating for people like myself, using my voice because I know what I think is right needs to be heard is what encourages me to speak louder and louder every day. Having the freedom to share my experiences and offer help to others who may be going through the same thing, just as scared as I was, reminds me of how powerful I actually can be, and that your mental illness does not define you. Instead of bashing someone else’s point of view; next time let them speak, because they may be telling you how they really feel, and might not get many opportunities to do so.