I once had 377 problems. Each one weighed me down like cement bags. I took these problems with me everywhere and allowed them to control my emotions, influence my choices and bury my dreams. I used to pray for relief and then I took comfort in self-pity and complaints. Occasionally, I would say to myself that I was in control and I would take temporal action steps to modify, correct and rid myself of these problems...however, they remained!

For 30+ years I tried to get rid of the baggage but only found myself adding more and more and more until eventually I had about 377 painful problems. The first problem came at the hands of someone in my family who overstepped just morality and tried to strip away my innocence leaving behind nothing but guilt, pain, confusion and problems...the last in loss of happiness, loss of life and loss of a child that I didn't know I wanted so badly until I couldn't have him/her.

How does one cope with such confounding challenges when their way to deal with problems has always been to stuff them? How do you overcome emotional pain and move forward? That was something I had to figure out because not doing so was costing me my life. It was costing me freedom, mobility, joy, opportunities, advancement, love and the ability to see my dreams come true. I finally decided to take radical steps to get rid of my problems. I cut them away and although many think it was the easy way out, it was far from it! Changing your mindset is never easy nor is changing bad habits. I had the gastric sleeve surgery May 2, 2017 (with a starting weight of 377lbs). By the time I was scheduled to go for my surgery, I had dropped down 24lbs and thus began my journey to rid myself of the problems that I had carried for so long. To date, I have lost 148lbs.

It would be irresponsible of me to say that my problems were solved solely by dropping weight (but this helped greatly). Some problems required being able to talk to someone who could help me navigate the minefield of emotions that led me to the this journey to begin with (shoutout to www.TherapyforBlackgirls.com and Psychology Today lol). I recommend that you seriously consider talking to someone to help you figure out how your problems began and how you can go about solving them current day. As a mental health provider, I can tell you that having a great sounding board, confidant, and counselor is invaluable!

You don't have to go through life wearing the weight of the world on your shoulders. There is help whether you are dealing with weight issues, depression, anxiety, relational problems, trauma, etc. Speak to someone because your mental health greatly impacts your physical health. Get rid of your problems too!

Girl Stop Complaining...and do something to change your life!

Samantha Adjekum