“I spoke about it and it set me free.”

Guest post by internist/cardiologist Dr. Afshine Emrani:

I suffered from clinical depression. I spoke about it and it set me free. I could have hidden it, but it would’ve hidden me. When you hide your pain, it controls you; when you share it, you become free. It also helps others open up, seek help, get support. There’s no shame in being broken. There’s shame in judging broken people. And we are all broken. But, not all of us are free. Most of us live in the closet. Coming out of the closet is not just about your sexuality. Every single day, I meet broken people who hide in the closet. The mother who is quietly suffering from postpartum depression. The obese young girl who can’t stop eating because she hates her body because she was raped by her father when she was 5. The husband who continuously self-sabotages because he never received his father’s approval. The young girl who hides her Insulin pump because she doesn’t want others to think less of her. The young man addicted to sex with strangers because all he wants is for his parents to love him. The first time moms who experience a devastating miscarriage, afraid of never having a child. The parents who divorce because survivor’s guilt is too much to shoulder after the death of their child. The young man who is ashamed of his failing body because he was diagnosed with a rare cancer. The model who self-mutilates because even though she has 3 million followers on Instagram, she doesn’t like herself, because her mother abandoned her when she was 6. We waste too much time trying to convince others what perfect lives we live, while our truth is in the closet. Behind closed doors, past midnight, we live in fear, alone. There is beauty in being vulnerable. There is courage in the truth. There is freedom in opening the closet door and inviting others to see your scars. Sure, a few will judge. They are not your people and you don’t want them around anyway. But, what always happens is that you see a rush of many others come your way to tell you that you are not alone and that they suffer from the same pains, that they share your wounds. There is healing in that freedom. There is strength in that transparency. There is validation in knowing it’s not your fault. We’re all broken. The people who love you despite and because of your scars are your people.
#ModehAni