LOUDER GIRL Gets LOUDER About Mental Health (Part 1)

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

A month?

Please.

Our mental health should be a priority every damn day.

I was born Michelle Murphy.

Irish.

Which means a few things:

• Strong
• Stoic
• Silent

And if we’re being honest?
Struggling.

Because the truth is Irish and Irish Americans have high rates of depression, addiction, and mental health disorders.

But this isn’t just about genetics.

It’s about stories.

Stories passed down like inheritance:

• Don’t talk about it
• Be tough
• Handle it yourself
• Be resilient

Stay quiet.

Image: THE EVICTION-A scene from life in Ireland (1871)

And then there’s the trauma.

Famine.
Displacement.
Discrimination.

Generations of people surviving, but not healing.

So yeah… we learned how to function.

We didn’t learn how to feel.

So, why am I telling you this?

Because it’s not just history.

It’s personal.

Mental health issues have lived in my family for generations:
Depression. Anxiety. PTSD. Addiction. Eating disorders. ADHD.

I’ve lived it too.

For a long time…

I looked like I had it all together.

The body.
The career.
The family.
The life.

The American Dream.

Image: American dream

But the truth?

I was at my lowest.

And I was exhausted from pretending.

Pretending I was fine when I wasn't
Pretending I can handle it all
Pretending I didn't need help

Image: Pretending

That kind of silence?

It will break you.

So, I stopped.

I was done fucking pretending.

Because I started thinking about all the women before me.

The ones who:

• stayed quiet
• coped through alcohol
• shrank themselves
• carried it alone

And I realized something:

Silence isn’t strength.

It’s survival.

And it’s keeping us stuck.

THE LIES WE’VE BEEN TAUGHT

Women don’t just inherit trauma.

We inherit stories about how we’re supposed to handle it.

And most of them are bullshit.

1. “You’re too emotional.”
Translation: Your pain isn’t valid.

2. “You should be able to do it all.”
Translation: Burn out quietly.

Image: Woman doing it all

3. “Be pretty. Be nice. Be calm.”
Translation: Don’t be real.

4. “Be strong. Stay silent.”
Translation: Suffer alone.

And we don’t just hear these stories.

We become them.

We bite our tongues.
We question ourselves.
We push through.
We call it strength.

COMING CLEAN

I believed those stories too.

I told myself:

• Calm down
• Don’t be too much
• Other women have it worse
• What’s wrong with me?

I spent years trying to “fix” myself.

When going crazy from perimenopause (although I didn’t know that was what was happening to me), doctors told me:

• Exercise more
• Eat less
• Push through

Meanwhile my body was screaming.

So, I did something different.

I listened.

And then I told the doctors what I was experiencing and that I needed support for my anxiety, ADHD, and hormones.

But medications weren’t the end of my healing journey, they were the beginning. I needed them to get out of fight or flight, to focus, and help with my hormone-related irritability, insomnia, and mood swings.

My healing journey continues today, every day.
My mental health and radical self-love are part of every day, my priority

I take care of my mental health—fully, unapologetically.

Not as a failure.

As leadership.

Because here’s the truth:

You don’t need permission to take care of yourself.

You don’t need to earn rest, support, or healing.

And you don’t need to stay silent.

I’m not telling you this because I have it all figured out.

I’m telling you this because I’m done hiding.

And maybe…you are too.

SO NOW WHAT?

Image: Woman resting

If the stories we’ve been told are lies…
If silence is what’s keeping us stuck…

Then what does it look like
to take care of ourselves every single day?

Not once a year.
Not in theory.

But in real life.

Here are some micro-practices I’ve shared to start leading your best life:

1. Practice gratitude: In the morning before getting out of bed, write down three things you’re grateful for.
2. Set boundaries: If your chest tightens at a request, the answer is no.
3. Play: Laugh on purpose. It works.

For more micro-practices, stay tuned for Part 2: The Daily Practice of Becoming a LOUDER GIRL coming May 18, 2026

Are You Ready to Be a LOUDER GIRL?

You’re not broken.

You’ve just been taught to stay quiet.

Let’s change that.

Ready to get LOUD about mental health? To lead your life? To live out LOUD?

Join LOUDER GIRL

This is where we:

Tell the truth.
Stop hiding.
Lead your life—out loud and unapologetically.

When You Join, You Get:

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