You Can’t Heal Until You Heal

You Can’t Heal Until You Heal

This month has been tough for me.

If you’ve listened to this month’s podcast episodes, you may have heard me share that I lost a friend to suicide last summer. Shaun was one of the funniest, most vibrant people I knew.

And if you look around your own circle—friends, family, the people you care about—you probably have someone who, if you got that call, you’d be shocked… but in hindsight, you might look back and find a few signs. Shaun wasn’t one of those people. Not even close.

All month long, I kept thinking about the ones who suffer in silence. The ones who smile the brightest. Who carry the most. Who you’d never guess are struggling beneath the surface.

I wanted this final Drive Blog post of Mental Health Awareness Month to honor that truth—because mental health isn’t always visible. And the choice to keep going? It’s not always easy.

On the physical health side of wellness, many of you have heard me say it over and over again on the podcast—you can’t just change your diet; you have to rewire how you think about food. You have to unlearn the all-or-nothing mindset. You have to shift the way your brain and body respond to stress, restriction, and shame.

But what if that kind of rewiring goes deeper than we realize?

What If We’ve Been Starting in the Wrong Place?

We spend so much time focused on symptoms:

• The weight gain

• The blood pressure

• The insomnia

• The burnout

• That sudden drop in motivation you can’t explain

We chase fixes and force momentum. We start diets. We join programs. We double down on productivity.

But what if the body isn’t broken—it’s just overwhelmed?

What if burnout isn’t laziness—it’s unprocessed pain?

What if the real starting point isn’t another 30-day challenge… but a pause to ask:

“What do I actually need to heal?” Healing Starts from Within.

As we close out Mental Health Awareness Month, I want to leave you with this:

Healing your body starts with healing your mind.

And no, I don’t just mean therapy—though therapy can be life-changing. I mean the kind of deep check-in most people never do. The quiet moment. The honest one.

The one where you ask yourself:

• What have I been avoiding?

• What am I carrying that I never gave myself time to grieve?

• What do I need that I keep putting last?

We often think of “mental health” as something people struggle with. But the truth is—mental health isn’t weakness. It’s maintenance.

It’s emotional hygiene.

It’s rest.

It’s clarity.

It’s permission to not have it all together.

It’s recognizing that health isn’t just physical—it’s personal. It’s internal. It’s whole.

If You’re Supporting Someone Else… If you’re watching someone you love battle something invisible—please hear this:

• The best thing you can offer is presence, not pressure.

• Understanding, not advice.

• Compassion, not correction.

Sometimes, the only thing someone needs is to not feel alone in what they’re carrying.

Mindset Matters—More Than We Know

Even in physical illness.

Especially in chronic pain.

The science is finally catching up to what we’ve always felt in our gut:

Mindset and attitude matter. Not just in prevention—but in recovery.

The strongest people aren’t the ones who never fall apart.

They’re the ones who know how to rebuild.

And that kind of strength starts with honesty. With permission. With support.

Keep the Conversation Going

As Mental Health Awareness Month comes to a close, I want to leave you with one final thought: don’t let the conversation stop here. Awareness shouldn’t be something we only acknowledge in May—it should be woven into how we live, how we support each other, and how we take care of ourselves year-round.

That means checking in with your people—and not just the surface-level, “How are you?” kind of check-in. I’m talking about creating space for real answers. Ask the deeper questions. Pay attention when something feels off. Reach out, even if you don’t know exactly what to say. Your presence might matter more than you’ll ever know.

But just as importantly, check in with yourself. Ask the questions you’ve been avoiding. Slow down long enough to hear what your body, your heart, and your mind have been trying to tell you. Most of us are so used to pushing through—so conditioned to prioritize productivity over peace—that we forget we’re allowed to pause. We forget we’re allowed to tend to our own needs, not just everyone else’s.

The truth is, you can’t take care of your body if your mind is falling apart. You can’t outrun burnout with caffeine and calendar hacks. You can’t heal physically while ignoring emotional wounds. Real, lasting healing—whether mental, emotional, or physical—starts with honesty. It starts with permission. It starts when we stop pretending everything is fine.

Healing isn’t a solo project. It’s not something you’re meant to carry alone. That’s why community matters. That’s why connection matters. That’s why we have to keep the conversation going, even after the month is over. Because for so many people, the struggle doesn’t end when the calendar flips to June.

So as this month wraps, take what you’ve learned and keep it close. Talk about it at the dinner table. Share it with a friend. Revisit it on the days when it gets hard. And most of all, remember this:

The body can’t heal… until the mind begins to.

And neither one should ever have to do it alone.

And as always, stay healthy, stay balanced, and keep driving forward. I’ll see you next time.