Hey, Let's Talk About It.

A couple weeks ago you might have heard about the comments coming from the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch. On the off chance you didn't, click here! These comments have sparked controversy all over the country. Today, one of my Facebook friends posted a sweet Buzz Feed article sparked by a woman who wrote a letter to Mike Jeffries, the CEO of A&F. The full letter, which Buzz Feed articulated quite nicely was published on this woman's blog. I take great pride in knowing that people are making their voices known and speaking out against Mike Jeffries and Abercrombie & Fitch.

After reading this very well written and thought-provoking letter I got sucked into the black hole that is the internet. Normally this only happens to me on Facebook but this lady's blog was just too good to stop reading! Until I came to one post that had me thinking so much I had to stop reading and write. The post that stopped me in my tracks was titled Why I'm Fat. 

Let me assure you right here that the following will not be a rant on fat people or healthy eating or whatever you might think should/could come next. Or at least, it won't be about that totally. It'll be about something deeper, the post that triggered it was just a tipping point. So, here we go!

Jes, the author of the blog, pointed out in her post that there are normally two reasons people are fat: biological and psychological. She explained her own personal reasons but basically summed it up by saying it is complicated and complex. This is what got me thinking. Life, and the things we experience have reasons behind them but they are complex and complicated. And the problem is that we have a tendency to ignore the complications and complexities. But they are what makes us who we are.

It is these complexities that are behind our depression, eating disorders, self-harm or suicidal thoughts. They are the reasons we decide to drink, get high, or eat to take away the pain. And they are the most difficult to talk about. It is easier to sweep them under the rug, trust me, I know. We think if we don't talk about this stuff it'll go away, but it doesn't. As a society, we think that if we put a band aid over the larger issue it'll get fixed. It doesn't.

We need to talk about it. We need to have the deep, difficult conversations that allow us to get the heart of the problem. We need to remove the band aid and dig down really deep so we can understand ourselves and the world around us. We, as a society, need to begin to understand that mental health and psychological concerns cannot, and should not be ignored.

There is a sigma in society that says we shouldn't talk about difficult things. Society says we should pretend they don't exist and just smile and nod.

I think society should shove it. I think we should talk about it. Whatever 'it' is.

Take the risk, have the conversation. It might change your life.

And, it might change someone else's too.