You’re not alone, there are more people than you realize who understand your same struggle and feelings. There are so many people (like me) who care and will listen with so much love for you. Those who care for loved ones with a mental illness, be a light for other families out there who are struggling to understand, share YOUR story. Please, it could save a life, improve a life, bring more love and understanding into a home. Please ????????


This mother has had a tragic loss and she has a powerful statement to share: “…when we hold our anger, our fear, our grief, our sorrow…when we hold our stories inside, they make our hearts sick. Those feelings left unsaid for too long or too many times, they will poison our heart and eventually our minds to the point it proves fatal…ending in suicide. Feelings of that nature are not meant to stay in the dark. Satan does his best work in the dark, he is most effective in the dark. Every time we choose to give a sincere and truthful voice to our hurt and release the pain by telling our story to a parent or counselor or teacher or leader or trusted healthy friend, it’s a dose of antibiotics for the heart. It wards off sickness. Don’t keep secrets about the way you feel. Sometimes all that is needed is for us to be able to share our story and have someone look into our eyes and say, “I see you. I hear you. I feel what you are saying. Now I have a little bit of your story and I will hold it for you so it isn’t so heavy and you aren’t carrying it alone anymore.” .” — Leanne Payne Tressler

Please read her full post on Facebook here…

About the Artist

I’m an artist, author, and poet. My work is often shaped by lived experiences and by paying close attention to the world around me… nature, and the people who have helped shape my life.

I usually paint first, and the words come later. Painting has been the safest way I’ve found to be honest about things that are hard to say out loud, and over time I’ve noticed other people finding their own stories in the work too.

My paintings are meant to comfort, to feel like a presence rather than a statement, and to give space for each person to find their own meaning. The connection that happens there matters most to me.