Me Too

It’s been about two years since I started regularly posting stories on Facebook and, if nothing else, it’s taught me that we are all the same.

Of course, we have the same needs - food, water, shelter - the things we require for basic survival, but surviving and thriving are two different things.

A great many people pass through this world, having managed only to survive with each passing day being merely a struggle to make it to the next.

We see this in people who are dealing with emotional hardship or turmoil.

Like our friend with chronic depression, for instance.

Or our uncle who’s losing his house to foreclosure.

Or the guy at work who’s addicted.

Often, these people are easy to spot. And, in some ways, they are easy to help. Indeed there are established treatment protocols for those I’ve mentioned - psychiatrists, housing assistance, and addiction therapy.

Others, though, struggle with ordinary & perhaps mundane issues - everyday challenges like raising a family, staying healthy, or simply having a sense of belonging or purpose.

It turns out that, to thrive, we all share another set of basic needs.

Love.

Acceptance.

Purpose.

And inclusion.

I remember when my youngest daughter was going through a period of intense anxiety. The kind where there’s absolutely no rhyme or reason as to when it would strike or why it would happen.

She worried that the house would burn down.

She worried that the doors weren’t locked.

She worried that her mother wasn’t safe.

It was terrible, and, as horrible as this sounds, I got to a point where I could hardly stand to be around her. I stayed on edge, just waiting for another panic attack.

That, of course, was fuel for the fire.

Near my breaking point with the situation, I shared my story. A couple of days later, I got a message from someone with a simple message.

“Me too.”

The sender remarked how my story had normalized her similar experience with a child the same age - how it had made her feel less alone.

It’s no coincidence that I felt the same.

Deep in a struggle and locked in a place of darkness, one of the most powerful things you can say or that you can hear is a very simple phrase.

“Me too.”