When I started Normalize the Conversation, I wanted to engage in conversations that would help me better understand my own mental health. I decided the best way to learn was by listening to other people. What I didn’t realize at the time was just how much my own experiences shaped my perspective on what treatment and recovery should look like. 

Over the past six years, I have spoken with over 280 mental health professionals, researchers, advocates, authors, people with lived experience, and people who simply had a story they wanted to share. I’ve had conversations with people from Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, India, Australia, and so many places in between. I’ve talked about diagnoses, medications, therapy modalities, trauma, grief, relationships, racism, culture, systemic barriers, treatment practices, holistic approaches, advocacy, and the things we still don’t know enough about.

The biggest lesson? Mental health affects all of us AND none of us experience it in exactly the same way.

Sometimes, you do not realize how much of yourself you have given away until you try to take a little of it back.

You notice how carefully you choose your words around someone you love, rehearsing a simple conversation in your head because you already know which parts might upset them. You say yes when you mean no. You let a comment pass that hurt more than you want to admit. You explain yourself long after you have made your point, hoping that if you find the right words, they will finally understand why something matters to you.

Little by little, you become an expert at keeping the peace, even when the peace you are keeping comes at your own expense.

We spend so much of our lives becoming someone that we rarely stop to consider the versions of ourselves we have to leave behind along the way. The person we were when we made certain decisions, the dreams that no longer fit, the identities we once held tightly, and the expectations we have quietly outgrown all become part of the story we carry forward. Yet, letting go of who we used to be can feel surprisingly like grief, even when we know we are moving toward something better. What happens when the person you have been no longer feels like the person you are becoming?

What if the parts of yourself you were taught to see as “too much” are actually the parts you’re supposed to learn how to use? For years, I thought my intensity, ambition, and drive were things I needed to control. I eventually realized I didn’t need to become less of myself—I needed to understand myself.

I grew up hiding the pieces of myself that were struggling. When I created Pieces of You, I wanted to give people the space I wish I had: a place where every piece of them is welcome, and where they can discover the messages they need to carry themselves forward.

Sometimes life hurts, and we don’t need a silver lining—we need someone to say, “This is hard.” In this reflection, I share a conversation with adolescents in a psychiatric unit, the candle metaphor from my From Pain to Purpose keynote, and the question that continues to guide me: What will you do with what you’ve been through?

Growth doesn’t always feel exciting. Sometimes it looks like setting boundaries, letting go, and choosing yourself in ways that feel uncomfortable. Here are five signs you may be outgrowing a version of yourself and making space for who you’re becoming.

A painful moment can feel permanent, especially for children. You Will Bloom Again is a story about hope, big emotions, and learning to believe that even after the darkest night, the light will return.

Sometimes the thing that helps us keep going is a simple reminder that we matter. What started as handwritten messages of hope I created for myself has grown into a movement reaching thousands of people in moments when they need it most. This is the story of how one card became a reminder that no one is alone.

For a long time, I thought healing meant surviving one more moment. But eventually, healing asks a different question: What are you moving toward? This is a reflection on hope, finding your North Star, and creating a life that gives you something to look forward to.