Navigating Mental Health: Breaking Free from Generational Cycles

Have you ever found yourself unraveling life's complexities during a seemingly mundane routine, like a drive to work? Join me, Leslie, as I navigate the winding roads of my morning commute and the intricate thoughts that accompany me. In this reflective monologue, I uncover the profound impact of mental health challenges that many of us face, yet rarely speak about openly. As I discuss the societal patterns that often normalize behaviors linked to mental health struggles such as anxiety, depression, and paranoia, I aim to shed light on the inherited family patterns and trauma that shape our identities. Together, we explore how the path to self-awareness and mental wellness is often obscured by societal expectations, but it’s a path that we must tread if we want to break free from generational cycles.

Amidst the whirlwind of personal obstacles, I stress the vital need for self-priority, especially when life feels overwhelming. My journey has taught me that stepping into discomfort and unfamiliarity is necessary to rewrite the narratives ingrained in us. This episode stands as a candid reminder of the importance of perseverance and self-care in the pursuit of a healthier, more authentic life. By sharing my experiences, I hope to initiate a conversation about the weight of mental health issues and the importance of acknowledging and confronting them head-on. Let’s embark on this therapeutic ride together, as I open up about the challenges of living with conditions like bipolar disorder and autism, and the societal pressures that complicate our mental landscapes.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:02

this is prime example podcast . I'm your host , leslie . It's about 6 11 in the morning . I got work at 6 30 . I'm literally driving . Um , it's not like I'm on the phone or anything , I'm just talking in my voice memos . So that way I won't get off topic or try to , because I think the best way of my well , it's too early for this . The best way I can put this is I have the most tangents while driving to work . I don't know about anybody else , but I talk to not talk to myself necessarily , but when I'm going through something or having this big um conspiracy or just thought process about life and things that are going on , um , I talk , I think a lot when I'm driving , and maybe it's because it's nostalgic or it's just therapeutic .

Speaker 1 0:48

I don't know whichever the two , but I've noticed mental health issues has been a big issue growing up , like not with me myself , just specifically because I think we all got mental health issues , whether or not we like to accept it or not . But we all grew up with trauma . We all grew up with seeing things we shouldn't have or just a lack of understanding of life , and sometimes it's hard to go through life with the trauma and seeing things for not what it is , but how it's going and how it would end , or what it could have been like , or what if it was this , or what if it was that , or it could have been better , it could have been this , or I should have lived this way , I could have all of the theories that didn't happen , should have happened , basically , but it's not happening like that . It's not . It's not just in your head , it's in reality that things are fucked up and there's some things that are out of your control . There's things that you can't do anything about , and mental , like mental , issues are really hard . Rather , it's bipolar , schizophrenic autism . Those things are hard to live with , as is , and people in society normalize the worst things . So they're normalizing the behavior that comes with those things , whether it's um depression , um , anxiety , paranoia , things like that in a , in that nature at least , um , and things like that .

Speaker 1 2:17

I feel like people glorify smoking , drinking , um , just bad behaviors that shouldn't be normalized today in society . But they are normalized and people express oh , why is this happening to me , or why is why does this have to happen to me in this way ? And so you can learn that you don't want that constant , constant . What's like the um family curse ? It's not like a family curse , but it's passed down through generations . Where it's just inherited in you , where you don't have no option but to be that way like some . Some people don't believe it , but there's this thing where it's just ingrained in you , where you just do it Like there's no option . It's just who you are because it was passed down through generations , where you have that molded in you because it was passed down . And for you to change it is to change your perspective of being uncomfortable and being in predicaments where you've never been in to solve those solutions .

Speaker 1 3:28

And I understand I'm in the state right now where I'm having trouble with solving a bunch of stuff all at once and it's overwhelming and it's like too much to think about and I can't bear to . Sometimes I can't breathe and it's not like , oh , I can't , I can't breathe . But I know it's just for the time being of how I'm feeling and I know there's one day that I'm gonna be able to get past it , because it's it's been like this , like bumpy road where I felt like there's so much going on where I feel overwhelmed . But who else will be able to do it if it's not me . The same situation where it comes down If you're in high school and you're going through a lot of stuff and you're just like , oh , I don't want to graduate because I have this going on my family issues , I don't . This not the time and place .

Speaker 1 4:24

The time and place is to really put yourself first , always , always put yourself first , because no one will , no one will , take the time to care enough to only put you first . And my problem is I put everyone first . I put everyone first . I put everyone like . I literally stop a whole lot of things I got going on just for the people I care for , and maybe not if it's if it has to do with money , just because I know not money runs the world , but money is a big solution as a tool I need to survive in this world .

Speaker 1 4:56

Just because I didn't have any money growing up and money for me growing up was an issue because it wasn't abundantly given to me . It wasn't oh , here you can have this , or I wasn't given the opportunity where I have opportunities just given to me , where I was able to be like , oh , like , I want to be a tattoo artist . My dad was a tattoo artist , but he didn't have a shop on hand for me to work at . I had to work my way up on the self-teaching myself to get where I wanted to go . I applied to apprenticeships . No one wanted to hire me and I'm working my way up to build my own business and make myself the best I can be , because no one is giving me the opportunity to do so . And now I have people reaching out to me to become a tattoo artist in their shop .

Speaker 1 5:42

I'm not going to go out my way to do that . If I don't feel comfortable enough to do that , do so . I feel comfortable in my home , in my little space , in my little bubble , doing my own thing . I like working my own space . It's just . It helps me . And this is probably a big tangent , honestly , of a little bit of everything and a little bit about myself and a little bit about myself and a little bit about mental health . I just feel like whatever you're going through at the moment , just know it's gonna get better . And maybe I'm doing this so I can feel better about what's going on and everything , and if so , I mean so be it . But if it helps someone else to know that you're not going through it alone , that other people's going through stuff just know it'll eventually pass . With that being said , I made it to work and that was prime example podcast and my little rants . Stay tuned for more .