I just applauded my computer screen today

The Bloggess, aka Jenny Lawson

Have you heard of Jenny Lawson? She is a fantastically funny writer, but more importantly she is an incredibly honest writer. And I love that!

The first time I read one of her blog posts it was titled "And that's why you should pick your battles." I didn't expect the post was about a 5' tall chicken, but it was. It was soooo funny, tears running down my face funny, even to this day! Here's the link, go ahead read it now, I swear you'll have tears running down your cheeks too!  https://bit.ly/37UOiy9

Giant Metal Chickens can be found everywhere, well except in downtown Greenville!

The Bloggess describes herself as: ​"I’ve been blogging about my strange little life for over a decade.  It’s mainly dark humor mixed with brutally honest periods of mental illness."

She's written three books, all dealing with depression, anxiety and mental illness, mixed in with glimpses of hope and loaded with humor! 
​(amazon link to Lawson books: amzn.to/2TbuH8C

Jenny Lawson's latest book

Jenny Lawson's second book

Jenny Lawson's first book

The other day I checked her blog, and saw that she had uploaded a link to her TEDxSanAntonio presentation. youtu.be/Pad8_pGEToE

I watched the TEDx talk thinking, she's so brave to get up on stage and share her story about depression, panic attacks, and anxiety. Writing several books about her mental illness is an incredible achievement in and of itself, but it's a whole new thing when you get up on stage, before a live audience, being filmed knowing that potentially millions of people could be watching you, while you share your story. 

When the video was over, I couldn't help but clap along with everyone else in the room. It  was the only way I could show how much I appreciated watching and listening to her talk.

Yeah...clap, clap, clap...Yeah!

Last month, when I shared my story of how I discovered I have epilepsy, (bit.ly/2Nh1AwV) I felt an overwhelming urge to share my "adventure." Sharing my story, by writing a blog post, seemed appropriate. 

I read an article in Psychology Today titled "Resilience and...4 Benefits to Sharing your Story" (bit.ly/2QGYGnh) which talks about the effect of storytelling. "Emotional, Autobiographical Storytelling means writing about events and people that have mattered to you in your own life-not just describing the facts of your lives. Research shows that even brief autobiographical storytelling exercises can have substantial impacts on psychological and physical health even months after the storytelling."

It was years ago when read the Bloggess post "And that's why you should pick your battles" (bit.ly/2QH5EIX) and that story still lingers in my mind. It still makes me laugh, which is one of the best emotion to hold!

You never know how your story will affect others. Sharing gives people a chance to find similarities in our lives. It helps people learn they are not the only one who has panic attacks while driving across bridges (me, yup that's me). 

Of all the things that you can do to make the world a better place, few things are more valuable and beneficial than telling your story. It can help you grow from your experiences and make you and others healthier in the process.

So, if you have a chance, share your story with others, whether it's about how hard the last knitted project was to finish, or how proud you are of your newly felted vase, or the panic attack you had while standing in the middle of the mall before Christmas. And know, in doing so, you just might be helping others heal or give them hope.