My daughter has a lot going for her. Kennedy is talented, smart, hardworking, funny, and kind. She’s also had lifelong struggles with anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and chronic migraines. Like most of us, she has had her share of pain in life. But to her great credit, Kennedy has chosen to repurpose it. After appropriately processing and then releasing her pain in a healthy way, she is able to use it as a tool in her acting. When she’s playing a roll requiring deep expressions of sorrow, she taps a well of painful memories and experiences and then harnesses them to produce something beautiful, authentic, and powerful.
Kennedy also repurposes her pain by using it to help others. She’s shared openly on her social media platforms about her struggles with mental health. Here’s a recent example from a Snapchat she posted on Mental Health Awareness Day:
Her vulnerability in talking about the ups and downs of her battle with anxiety and OCD has been an encouragement and inspiration to many. At the same time, sharing the difficulties she’s faced has helped Kennedy with her own healing process. The courageous yet simple act of putting her story out into the world has made her problems a little less daunting, and she’s received a lot of love and support. You can read her story in her own words here on her blog.
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"Learning to live with a mind I cannot trust to tell me the truth is my biggest trial and my greatest achievement." I love the concept of not trusting your own mind, especially your emotions. Emotions are terrible at telling you how things really are.
Thanks for that, Ron! Kennedy's reference in her post was specifically related to how her OCD sometimes generates thoughts that don't match reality, but you're right that our minds can do that to all of us sometimes. And I couldn't agree more that emotions, while wonderful, are often poor guides at leading us to truth. Thanks for reading!
Loved this Matt. So much encouragement right here.
Thanks SO much for that feedback, Kristen! I'm really glad it connected with you :)