Hey y'all, welcome back to the Quietest Kept Podcast. I'm your girl, Shanti Refuge. I am an award-winning master certified mental health coach, journaling expert, and your reminder that healing is hard, but staying stuck ain't cute. And since it's mental health awareness month, we are not about to do that surface level shit. We're not talking about checking on your strong friend and keep scrolling. We're talking about the reality. The version of you that says you're fine, but your body is over there, like, girl, quit lying. So we're gonna start here. How many times have you said I'm good and knew you were lying? Not even to be fake, but because you don't even have the energy to explain what's really going on, or maybe the person who's asking you, you don't want to tell them your business. I get it. And you just keep moving. You still go to work, you still take care of everybody else, still show up, and you still handle your business. And because you're functioning, people assume you're okay. But functioning is not the same as healing. Functioning just means that you've learned how to survive your pain. Let me say something that might hit a nerve. Just because you're handling your responsibilities does not mean your mental health is in a good place. You can be smiling and still overwhelmed, productive and still anxious, showing up for everybody else, and completely disconnected from yourself. That's what high-functioning anxiety and depression look like. You don't fall apart publicly, you fall apart privately, or you don't fall apart at all. You just stay numb. Now let's talk about your body because your mind might be saying, I'm fine, but your body, baby, your body is telling the truth every single time. That constant fatigue, that random irritation, that feeling like you can't ever fully relax, that tension in your shoulders, that anxiety that won't sit down somewhere. That's not random, sis. That's unprocessed emotion. That's everything you keep pushing down that's trying to come up. Your body will always speak, even when your mouth won't. Some of y'all have been in survival mode for so long you think that's just who you are. I'm just busy. I'm just always tired. I just got a lot going on. No, ma'am. You have been carrying too much for too long without putting anything down. And now your nervous system doesn't even know what peace feels like anymore. You don't know how to rest without feeling guilty. You don't know how to slow down without feeling behind. So you keep going, even when your body is begging you to stop. And here is the part that people don't like to hear, but you know I'm gonna say it anyway. You can't hear what you keep avoiding. You cannot journal around it, you can't pray around it, and you can't stay busy enough to outrun it. Yeah, I said it. At some point, you have to sit with yourself and tell the truth. Not the polished version, not the I'm almost there version, but the real version, saying, I am overwhelmed, I'm tired, I am not okay, because that's where the healing actually starts. All right, grab your journal. You already know what time it is. Let's get honest with these prompts. Number one, where in my life am I pretending I'm okay? Number two, what emotions have I been avoiding dealing with? Number three, what is my body trying to tell me right now? Number four, when was the last time I felt truly at peace? Number five, what would it look like for me to tell the truth, even if it's just in this journal? And when you're answering these, don't rush it. I want you to actually read these prompts, answer the prompts, sit with them first. Don't just write what you think is good, write what is real. So listen, you don't have to keep carrying everything by yourself. If this episode hits you, don't just nod your head and amen and then go back to surviving. Do something with it. Start with my guided journals, they are designed to help you process what you've been avoiding. If you're ready to go deeper, then my one-on-one staying stuck in cute coaching program is where we do the real work. And if you just need a space to feel seen and supported, I have several communities that are there for you. Everything is linked on my website. So that's it for today's episode of the Quietest Kept Podcast. If this spoke to you, share it with somebody who keeps saying they're fine, but you know they're not. You know they're lying. And as always, be honest with yourself, protect your peace and do the work. I'll see y'all the next episode.