05/21/2025
May is Mental Health Awareness Month — a time to acknowledge the unseen battles many face, and to recognize the urgent need for better support, understanding, and compassion across society.
Mental illness isn’t always visible. It doesn’t always come with clear answers or a predictable path. But it affects millions, deeply and profoundly. And too often, those living with mental health conditions are left to navigate a system that was never built with them in mind.
I grew up with a firsthand view of this. My mother had Borderline Personality Disorder — a complex and often misunderstood condition. What I saw was someone who fought every day to find stability, connection, and peace, often in a world that offered her little of any of that. She encountered institutions that didn’t know how to help, policies that worked against her healing, and stigmas that isolated her from community and care.
One of the toughest realities is that people struggling with mental illness don’t always believe they need help — or they don’t want it. Sometimes it’s the illness itself making that decision. And sometimes it’s because asking for help has led to judgment, loss, or harm in the past. These are the people who need our patience and support the most. Compassion doesn’t mean excusing harmful behavior, but it does mean recognizing the difference between willful intent and a person doing the best they can with what they have.
The same goes for people with neurodevelopmental conditions like autism. Too often, the conversation is reduced to “we’re all a little autistic” — a statement that minimizes real struggles and ignores the very real social, sensory, and communication barriers autistic people face. True acceptance isn’t about labeling everyone quirky; it’s about recognizing disability, accommodating difference, and respecting people when their behavior challenges our comfort zones.
There’s a double bind many face: when someone with autism, schizophrenia, or another condition is “well-managed,” they may be included, even celebrated. But when symptoms flare or coping breaks down — during a meltdown, a psychotic episode, or a bad day — suddenly that acceptance disappears. While not all behaviors are acceptable, treating the person as though they’re choosing to be difficult or dangerous is not only unfair — it’s dehumanizing.
I hope for everyone to have a strong support system like I do now!
Mental health awareness isn’t just about personal resilience. It’s about reshaping how we treat people, how we fund mental health services, how we train our professionals, and how we structure our workplaces and communities to be inclusive of those who struggle in ways we may never fully understand.
And hey — speaking of patience and support: bread is a surprisingly good metaphor for mental health.
Did you know that traditional sourdough bread takes over 24 hours to ferment properly? That long, slow rise is what gives it depth, complexity, and nourishment — much like the slow, often nonlinear process of mental healing. You can’t rush it, and if you try, things fall flat.
Sometimes the most important ingredients — whether in bread or in life — are time, care, and a little bit of warmth. 🥖
If there’s one thing this month asks of us, it’s to show up with more humanity. To listen more. To judge less. To advocate for systems that treat mental health with the seriousness, nuance, and empathy it deserves.
We all have a role to play in building a society where no one is made to feel disposable for having a mind that works differently.
