The Women
I recently read a book called The Women by Kristin Hannah. It is told from the point of view of Frankie, a nurse who enlists in the Army during the Vietnam War. At this point, women weren’t able to do much in the military, but they were able to work as nurses. Frankie enlists because her brother’s friend tells her that women can be heroes too! Little did she know then what would come after the war, how untrue those words would seem.
It was an incredible book, but very hard to read because of all the emotion held within the pages. What Frankie and the rest of the military endured while in Vietnam was bloody and devastating. What they faced when they returned home was almost more heart-breaking! I didn’t know much about this period of history, and I wasn’t aware of how badly most of the military was treated when they returned from Vietnam. How they were spit on and mocked and called horrible names…after serving their country!
No one wanted to hear their stories.
Is It Important To Share My Story?
The veterans were told to forget what they had been through, to stop bringing it up, to return to life as normal. And the women who served as nurses or in other roles were told they didn’t matter. According to the book, no one even acknowledged they had been in Vietnam until years after the war ended. It’s no wonder that substance abuse and mental illness rose exponentially in veterans during this time!
After returning to the United States, Frankie has to begin figuring out how to deal with what she personally went through in the years prior in Vietnam. What she saw, heard, felt, and did. She asks the question that many of us have asked, “Is it important to share my story?”. Frankie navigates all sides of the spectrum that came with sharing her story, or not. I won’t go into any more detail than that, but I encourage you to read the book and learn from Frankie’s life experiences!
With Sharing Comes Healing
As someone who has dealt with my own mental health struggles, who has my own unique story, I have also wrestled with the same question as Frankie. I learned the hard way that keeping everything I’ve gone through inside would do me no favors. In the end, like it did for many of the Vietnam vets, it led to greater struggles. Increased anxiety and depression. Panic attacks. Scary thoughts (that thankfully I never acted on!).
It wasn’t until I began sharing my story, even a small part of it, that I actually started to heal.
The same was true the next time I shared and the next time and the next. Like most things in life, sharing your story is not a “one and done” situation. It’s a process of opening up and going a little deeper each time, maybe not with everyone you meet, but the right people. Even if you don’t have an actual person you can share with for whatever reason, it can be helpful to journal about what you are going through now or have gone through in the past.
*For more of my story, check out: Living with Anxiety and Depression; I Am An Israelite; and A Dark Season.
*If you struggle with your mental health, check out: Top 10 Self-Care Tips for Mental Health; Ideas for Mental Health Month and Beyond; and Creating a Mental Health Toolbox.
Choose Vulnerability
When I choose to share my story, I often realize I am not alone in what I’m going through. Even if no one has gone through an identical situation, someone has dealt with something similar. They may be able to give advice or just provide support and a listening ear. On the other side, sometimes sharing my story helps someone else. Opening up creates connection. Your circumstance(s) could resonate with someone else, but ultimately, talking about what you’ve been through helps you. Being vulnerable takes away some of the power and control that the difficult experiences have over you. It leads to freedom and growth.
Every single one of us will face the question “Is it important to share my story?” at one point in our life, most likely more than once. Not only “Is it important?”, but “Is it worth it?” and “Is it beneficial?” as well. Based on my personal experience and other peoples’, I can answer each of these questions with a resounding YES! Sharing your story with even one other person provides you (and possibly that person) with many benefits, starting with freedom. It may be difficult to open up to someone else, but it is worth it in the end!
You got this!
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