As a kid, I was a huge Winnie the Pooh fan. It was the theme for my nursery when I was born and the movie Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin was on repeat literally all the time as I grew up. Obviously, when I was young, I didn’t appreciate it for everything it was and what was said but one of the quotes from the movie has really hit home for me lately. “You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
Christopher Robin says this to Pooh as a sort of goodbye as he realizing he’s growing up. It’s what he wants Pooh to always remember and it’s something I really need to start remembering now.
Recently I had a conversation with one of my best friends about my struggles with anxiety and mental illness in the aftermath of sexual assault. I was having a rough day and feeling super down about myself and the way I’ve been coping. Someone even described a part of me as “not brave enough” which really hurt for a second.
I get up every day. I go to class, socialize, write, go to work, go to meetings, and even volunteer. Despite everything I’m going through, I wake up and I check off these boxes every single day and sometimes it feels nearly impossible to do so. There are a lot of days when I want to lay in bed, curl up in a ball, and cry until the sun goes down, but I don’t, so how aren’t I being brave?
My best friend told me this: “Bravery is not about owning your condition. You don’t have to own anything. Being able to continue to live and continue to function after what happened is what makes you brave.”
So, to put things simply, there is no “right” way to have a mental illness or recover from trauma. You don’t have to be anxious like this or talk about it like that. You don’t have to do anything or talk about it at all. You literally just have to survive and because whatever you’re going through is probably the toughest thing you’ve ever been through, surviving will be brave as hell. You are brave as hell.
I am brave as hell.