FROM THE EDITOR

Molly Backes, Communications Coordinator

In 2018, I tweeted about a symptom of depression that I had both experienced and witnessed in my friends: a persistent mental block around a seemingly simple chore. I called it the Impossible Task. I talked about how the problem was compounded by the voice in your head calling you a screw-up for not being able to complete something that seemed so basic, and I asked people to be more gentle with themselves.

The response to this tweet was overwhelming. Hundreds of people responded with, “I thought this was just me!” “I thought this was just my own personal failing!” “Now that I have a name for it, it doesn’t feel as daunting.” Over and over, I reassured people that they weren’t alone. In the comments threads, people shared their own stories and helped each other brainstorm about solutions to problems. Telling my stories made space for other people to acknowledge their own, and together we swept away the shame we had inherited from generations of people who insisted we should keep our human frailties secret from each other.

Making yourself vulnerable can be scary, but it can also be a gift to everyone around you. Acknowledging your own flaws and fears and messiness can be embarrassing, but it can also be the key that unlocks a door for someone else. Remembering that we’re all in same boat— flawed, anxious freaked out, exhausted—makes it easier to trust that other people might meet your confessions with grace. As we enter this month of trust and vulnerability, let’s try to be brave and vulnerable together. ◊