my head on film

I woke up this morning deeply moved, and very much affected. Went to see A Star is Born last night. I ugly cried through most of it.
The deft hand used writing about addiction, mental illness and chronic conditions was amazing.

It’s hitting home especially hard right now, the destruction these things bring when left unchecked. The raw vulnerability when trying to bring yourself back from the brink. How susceptible one can be when not completely stable. How when we need to fill a certain expected role, we can until there is literally nothing left.

I could see myself in aspects of both characters. The darkness that comes when the monsters gain strength over the warrior. When the mental illness and addictive behaviours to mask take over.
The exhausted push to be the saviour for someone so low down they threaten to drown you as well.
And in the ways both characters demonstrate the desperation for it all to just end.

My heart feels raw, my eyes wet, not only for these fictional characters so realistically portrayed. But for any other having gone ( going) through this. For myself, my own struggle.

Remember to ask dear Village, not a throw away question- but a real ‘how are you?’ Prepare to listen, or just sit. Give kindness because you never know when someone is struggling. If you know someone with a chronic physical or mental condition, check in with them. You could save a life- someday that person may return to save yours.