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The most pivotal moments of my mental & physical demise have occurred on the 27th of various months over the years. I was also born on the 27th.
The tendency to find a deeper meaning in patterns is my own remedy to find balance in the chaos. To find some symmetry between the harrowing mental and physical struggles I have endured. This is one of my own personal ways of piecing together some bigger understanding of how interwoven our lives stories become as the years trickle on.
After a lifetime of subtle and less subtle setbacks, I have found and cultivated the anchor that grounds and balances me. For too long, I searched outwardly for my foundation. I was blind to the fact that the anchor has to start from within.
Part of what anchors me now | to honor the darkest struggles I have endured.
I hold the harrowing memories and days of despair, close. Instead of hindering me, this allows me to continue to evolve. It grounds me to remember how far I have come from the days I did not think I could survive any longer.
Since the onset of Covid-19, the interconnection of mental & physical health has never been more relevant to me. I have personally learned how interwoven the journey is between invisible illnesses that can ravage both our mind and body. As a society, we have made ample strides, but continue to lack the appropriate awareness & education surrounding these unique, individualized conditions. These conditions that are invisible to the outward eye.
This cloak of invisibility leads to misunderstanding & stigma. The burden of stigma should not be an added weight on our backs.
We have to use our voices to demand the care we require. I live with two invisible illnesses and they have changed every fiber of who I am. We have to be our strongest advocate.
For me, these invisible illnesses descended rapidly and changed every aspect of the life I had built for myself. They forced me to rebuild. Stronger. And for that, I am grateful.
Cocoon for the Kindred is born out of the desire to allow us to collectively grow & heal.
In my darkest days, I turned to strangers online who understood some degree of the depth of my pain. Those strangers were part of my guiding light when I was unwell.
My hope is to create a community that is a healing space for us all to learn, discover, and evolve.
I am grateful you are here & optimistic for what is to come✨.
-Laura
