Hello, dear brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, friends, and supporters:
This is an array of voices, an outlet, put to paper by multiple trauma and abuse survivors and those diagnosed with a mental illness, namely, (C)PTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from all over the world. The following project is led by Melinda Barss, who is a trauma and abuse survivor diagnosed with CPTSD. Her mission is to aid in the healing and advocacy of those who struggle with mental illness. We now become our own warriors with a strong, loud voice. It is beyond time to end the stigma and the maltreatment that goes along with it. We can still hold an important role and be productive members of society; it’s all about finding our strengths, identifying that niche, and giving it our best. We can indeed heal, and as government-published studies have shown, writing is one effective modality of healing in the treatment of trauma, mental illness, and PTSD (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18230238/). This project aims to unite people and aids as a healing tool to gather strength and inspiration. Trust me, you are NOT alone, ever. Each poem and work of art has the author’s name or anonymous at their discretion attached before their submission(s). Thank you for your vulnerability, strength, contribution, thoughts, and feelings, which you have all bravely submitted for this project.

We can form community, togetherness, connection, and support by coming together in projects as such, knowing we are never truly alone. Perhaps we can relate in some ways to differing levels and intensities. This project is to bring awareness to love and shed light on the darkness in the world, resulting in dimming and messing up people’s once-stable minds. To have a mental illness doesn’t necessarily mean you are always “mentally unstable,” but perhaps it sheds light on instances and stretches of this until rehabilitation is reached. “According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, about 1 billion people in the world have a mental illness. One person dies of suicide every 40 seconds (Epidemiol Psychiatry Sci. 2023; 32: e63.).” Rest in heavenly peace to all of those we knew and lost to this diagnosis and mental health struggles. I feel as though at least everyone knows someone who has died as a result of suicide and/or addiction overdoses. We can band together and become stronger, leaning on one another for support when we cannot seem to handle the rest of society and the world. Thank you for your vulnerability, strength, contribution, thoughts, and feelings, which you have all bravely submitted for this project. Thank you, brave warriors, gods, and powerful goddesses. We find light in the dark: community, ourselves, and each other.