I've used this example before, but unfortunately, it bears repeating. A modern-day employer would sooner okay a day off to bring your temperamental succulent to urgent care than give you 24 hours to regain your sanity at home. That scat-stained mentality leads those with mental illness to come up with socially acceptable white lies to secretly use sick days for our emotional ailments. Consistently harvesting vague and phony physical symptoms to request time off without judgment is as daunting as trying to give yourself a pedicure in a sandstorm. Hopefully, by way of continuing to speak our truths, there will come a day where skipping work to stay home, and cry won't be the end of the damn world. So without further boo-hoo, I give you all the bullshit I've probably said (and truly wanted to say) to my bosses in the name of preserving my mental health without getting fired.
Pill Pals: Georgia Simone Levy
#PillPals is a new segment where contributing writers and artists share mental health-related work on Take Your Pills. If you would like to contribute art or writing, please send an email to dom@take-your-pills.com for consideration! Thank you!
Here's What "Take Your Pills" Really Means
First and foremost, I need to thank my former employer, E! News, for teaching me how to write charmingly clickbaity headlines without straying into the "AND WHAT SHE DID NEXT WILL AMAZE YOU" territory. My blog is a better place because of you. Hearts!
Anywayzzz - "Take your pills, Dominique” was something my dad used to say to me as a kid when I first started using medication for my mental illness. Without those daily reminders, my mental health may not have improved, and I may not be writing this today. I know that's the stalest trope in the book, but just let me have this, okay?
Those words represent a start of a very long (and ongoing) self-improvement saga. Years later, “take your pills” has become a mantra to ~keep going~ rather than just a reminder to take my meds. Side note - how many mental health clichés can you count in this post?
AHEM ALSO PLEASE NOTE: The name of this blog by NO means is meant to convince readers that medication is the only way to treat mental illness. Not everyone needs, likes, or wants meds and that’s just fine! This blog is for anyone and everyone -even if you don't keep a pharmacy in your purse.