Crybaby Creates A Club and Community Like No Other- “The Crybaby Club”
I am Natalie, and I am a crybaby. I have always been a crybaby, I probably will always be a crybaby. I have struggled with depression and anxiety for 20+ years of my life and I just recently learned that my issues do not define me, that my sensitivity is a strength, and that it is ok to ask for help, and now, I’m going to tell you.
Nearly 2 years ago, I started an all inclusive internet based community for crybabies by accident on my Instagram. I made myself a membership card to something I was calling “The Crybaby Club” and I posted a photo and told people I would send them one of their own. 3 people wanted a card. Three people…but once I mailed those 3 cards to those 3 people, they posted 3 photos of their own, and with that, a movement started, and I found myself running just to keep up. Over time, I have received countless emails from people all over the world telling me how much comfort my card brought them.
People wrote in to tell me that they feel less alone, that they have always been sensitive and ashamed of it until now. They told me stories of their sisters, daughters and friends. They told me stories about themselves. A community was formed.
Fast forward to now, we have over 20,000 members worldwide, we have our own online store, a blog, a Facebook support group, and even a curated anthology, but aside from offering cute flair and merchandise for crybabies, we are pushing an important narrative that it is ok to cry, it is ok to feel things, and that doing so doesn’t make you are weak or unworthy.
My message is an incredibly important one, not just for me, but for everyone. Each person on this planet is a puzzle made of different pieces and parts, and everyone is trying to make sense of their own puzzle. They are coming into their own and feeling immense pressure from all sides to do so seamlessly and gracefully. That pressure is only amplified these days by the internet and social media, but life isn’t filtered. Life is full of struggles, big and small, and the puzzle is hard, but trying to put the puzzle together when you are ignoring certain pieces is not just hard- it is impossible. I believe my message is an important one because denouncing emotions, stigmatizing anyone brave enough to ask for help and trivializing mental illness as a whole are no longer things I will silently accept. They are toxic and dangerous ways of thinking to people young and old. They are no longer things I want my friends, my family or myself to face alone.
Sure, it seems like all we are doing is crying, but we are also getting things done.
Follow The Crybaby Club on Instagram at @thecrybabyclub_