Superwoman Does Mental Health
The most distressing mental health crisis in my life occurred when life challenged the value of my human worth. As I stood on the verge of a nervous breakdown, my mind began to tear in two. The half that thought it could control my destiny screamed against the half that could feel and touch the real world. I couldn’t live in both halves and I only wanted the reality that I could control.
At some point, I realized I had two choices. I had to choose between two conflicting truths. I had to choose between trying to keep my superwoman cape on or laying it down. There’s this scene in The Man of Steel where Clark’s superpowers start to kick in. Since he doesn’t know how to control his powers yet, his ability to sense the world around him, overwhelms him and he runs into a closet. His mother comes and she says to him, “How can I help you if you won’t let me in.
He says, “The world’s too big, Mom.”
She says, “Then make it smaller. Just focus on my voice.”
Like Clark, my inability to control life overwhelmed me. In my search to find something to help get a handle of the uncontrollable, I knew I needed something that was bigger than the world. Instead of learning how to control life, I learned that I couldn’t. I learned that I didn’t have to. I learned that yielding control to someone Who actually has the power to control life and Who is trustworthy allows me to accept reality as is: the good, bad and ugly.
I decided to lay down my cape because for us who have chosen to let God into our lives, when life feels too big, we hear God say, “Just focus on my voice.”
