Category: General

Today I had the opportunity to visit a mental health exhibit at a nearby science center, and I wanted to highlight some key takeaways and reminders that came up for me.  Here you go:

1.The exhibit had an interactive display about trying to have a conversation when you are also hearing voices in your head – I have done this exercise before, but every time it still gets to me.  This is a very vivid example of how mental illness can make even basic situations extremely challenging.  A simple and yet powerful way to help you understand what it might be like to live with a serious mental illness.

2.People visiting the exhibit where given the opportunity to write on a card about their own personal story, and reading some of the cards created a range of emotions.  Some were hopeful, others were sad, but all of them shared a real slice of humanity.

3.The history of how mental illness and treatment were viewed was appalling.  Not only was some of the physical treatments absolutely barbaric, but one of the things that truly disgusted me was that mentally ill people were put on display as entertainment for people.  Revolting.  We have come a long way, but there is still a very long way to go.

4.The exhibit had stories of resilience and hope and recovery.  Even though mental illness has been associated with many negative things, it is important to understand that there is always hope and a brighter future ahead.

As the mental health momentum continues, I suspect we will see more public exhibitions, conversations, forums, etc. available to discuss this important topic.  I hope that everyone will get the chance to take part in these activities as they continue to grow, because they all help to educate and advocate for positive mental health for all.

Today I want to highlight another organization that is tied to mental health – This is My Brave.  Most of today’s information comes from their website, www.thisismybrave.org

This Is My Brave shares that storytelling saves lives.  Their mission is the following: to end the stigma surrounding mental health issues by sharing personal stories of individuals living successful, full lives despite mental illness through poetry, essay, and original music, on stage in front of a live audience, through stories submitted and published to our blog, and via our YouTube channel. 

This Is My Brave was started in 2013 and 2014, so it has not been around all that long, but it has already produced over 50 unique shows in the United States.  In 2017, This Is My Brave went international, with shows in Australia as well.  Although the number of shows has increased, This Is My Brave notes that they are doing this one person and one story at a time.

Personally, I have been to a This Is My Brave show, and it was amazing.  The stories are so personal, and the performances are moving.  I support This Is My Brave and the work they are doing to end the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and I encourage you to catch a live show and check out their online content.  The more stories the better in my opinion, and the more we talk about mental health the less stigma there will be.  I look forward to seeing this organization continue to grow.

How about you?  Have you heard of This Is My Brave?  If not, are you interested in learning more?  If you have heard of them, have you seen or viewed any of the performances?  What did you think?  Have you considered being a performer yourself?  What story could you share with others?

As I write this entry, I am about to make a decision that will change the life of me and my family.  You could argue that it really won’t be that big of a change, but this time around has had me more scared and afraid than ever.  Why? 

The big reason for me now is that I have a family to think about, and for much of my life that has not been the case.  Decisions that I made only affected me, and I had a lot more confidence in that.  Now, the decisions I make affect 3 people, and potentially more in the future.  What if this change is a mistake?  What if this new change is worse than what we have now?  What if this change doesn’t work out and I don’t have back up plan?  It is one thing to bring myself down, but it is another to bring down others with me. 

Again, this is likely small potatoes for me, but it has me thinking about depression and how this might be a constant feeling.  If someone is depressed, are they thinking about how they might be bringing down others?  Are they worried about someone around them “catching” what they have?  I sincerely hope not, but I imagine it is possible.

Of course, all I have done so far is look at the downside of things.  If I stopped a little to really think about the change, there is the potential for great opportunity and growth and good things.  You may not think about it in relation to depression, but somehow there may be a way to find some opportunities and good things that await you after a struggle with it.  I could be totally off base here, but at least I know in my change that there are some potential benefits that make the uncertainty a little bit easier for me.

Within the last week of writing this entry I had the chance to spend a good part of an afternoon advocating for mental health at my state capitol.  I have done this before, and every time it feels very empowering and meaningful.  Today, I want to share a few things I have learned that has helped to make my advocacy feel more impactful.

First, sharing your personal story is huge.  You do not have to go into a lot of details, and it is important to keep it short, but a story typically is going to resonate more with people than facts or numbers.  Next, while some stories can be heartbreaking, it is important to try to put a positive spin on it.  People are usually not motivated by what is wrong.  People are motivated by things that have worked or helped other people.  Possible solutions are also encouraging here.

After sharing your story and highlighting possible solutions or helpful ideas, it is important to have an ask.  What do you want?  What would you like to see?  After all, a main reason for advocating is to ask for changes or improvements.  Another helpful tip is that if you feel like it, offer yourself as a contact or resource if additional questions or information is requested.

Overall, advocacy it not a one size fits all approach.  Every person can advocate differently, and the tips I have mentioned here are a few that I have found to make sense and work for me.  They are not hard and fast rules, but I hope that you will at least find some of them helpful.

How about you?  Are you an advocate for mental health?  If so, how do you advocate?  Do you use the same tactics I have mentioned here?  Do you use other strategies?  If you feel so inclined, feel free to leave your ideas in the comments section. 

I am writing today’s entry on my brand new laptop.  It has been almost 8 years since I have purchased one, so I am pretty excited to enjoy some of the upgrades and new features.  In reality, I would have likely kept using my old laptop forever, but everything was running sooooo slowly, and my lack of patience finally pushed me to get this new one.

Overall, in my life, it feels like I am on the edge of a lot of changes.  As I write this, Spring is almost here, and I am very much looking forward to warmer days.  There are also some personal changes that may come my way, and regardless of what happens I am grateful that I at least get the opportunities to make these changes a part of my life. 

While change can be exciting, change can also be tough.  While the prospect of some of my personal changes is exciting, part of me is resisting changing anything because things are pretty good in my world already.  Why take a risk when there is so much on the line to lose?  What if the changes make things worse instead of better?  What if the changes I make are mistakes? 

For anyone facing mental health or depression concerns, change can also create a lot of anxiety or fear or a wide range of other thoughts.  Change can be scary for anyone, but it may be even tougher when faced with a mental illness.  I think that when it comes to change, no matter what the change is, we need to consider how that affects people from a mental and emotional standpoint.  Again, change can be scary, but there are ways we can make those changes a little easier for everyone.  The first step is acknowledging that with change comes a mental health component that needs to be addressed.

Today I heard about another celebrity passing away, and now a lot of any media I see has that same story over and over again.  Any time a famous person dies it gives me an uneasy feeling, and I want to explore that today.

I will start by saying that the loss of life, regardless of whether they are famous or not, is sad, and I think every human life has some value in some way.  However, I have become increasingly disturbed by what seems like the public’s fascination with famous people’s deaths.  Even worse is when there are reports that someone is not doing well, and it seems like that person is meticulously watched, in case he or she does die.  It all seems very morbid.  It is like everyone is desperately waiting for someone to die so we can feel something.  I just can’t wrap my head around it.

Why all the outpouring of love, memories, and emotions after someone dies?  Yes, that is important, but are we waiting until that person dies to share these things?  Are we loving, reminiscing, and emoting during their life as well?  Maybe so, but that is not something I see a lot of in my experience.  Maybe I am tuning into the wrong type of media, but that is hard to know as well.

And, if you are faced with depression, news like this can add more sadness to an already tough state of affairs.  Perhaps the fact that we hear about these things constantly helps to explain why it seems like depression has reached epidemic proportions.  I am just as guilty as the next person, but I think we are fascinated with too many of the wrong things.  Perhaps if we focused more on our personal lives and relationships, we would spend more time being fascinated with the positive events the world has to offer.

Hello everyone. Starting with this entry, I will now be posting only once a week, with the goal to post on Tuesdays. At this point in my journey I feel that this is the right way to move forward, and I appreciate your support. As for this week, I hope you will use the time you would have been reading my blog post to share some time or kind words with someone, because that is a good way to boost your mental health. Take care and see you next week.

In the last few entries I have been talking about mental health and the workplace.  Today, I want to give you an example of how what appears to be a small incident can lead to a continuous cycle of mental and emotional wounds.  To me, recognizing small incidents is important, because they can add up to a bigger issue with mental health and the workplace.

The incident in question involved an employee being criticized for some work travel expenses.  Nothing wrong or inappropriate was done by the employee, but the employee’s management suspected the employee was not working during the trip.  Unfortunately, it seemed as though management could not move on from this incident, and within a few months the employee went to another team.  Now, it is several years later, and every time an opportunity to travel is presented, the employee is still denied the opportunity to travel, even when an event is in town and would save money for the company if the employee went instead of someone else.  The employee, who keeps pointing out the cost savings potential, has been told that he or she needs to move on from this incident.  Of course we don’t have all of the details of this story, but I find it amazing that management would ask the employee to “move on” when the history of the incident is in his or her face repeatedly!  This is incredibly inconsistent.  This also creates some real trust issues for the employee, because how can the employee trust anyone if it feels like no one trusts him or her?  How motivating or enjoyable can that environment be?  Are there no chances to learn or grow?  And again, this is a small example of how the workplace can create mental and emotional stress or issues for employees.

To me this example demonstrates that we all need to do better, and it especially highlights to me the importance of being as consistent as possible.  Don’t tell someone to “move on” when no else seems to be.  Match your words with your actions and show some accountability and integrity.  Even these simple things would likely make for improved mental health in the workplace.

To keep with the theme of mental health in the workplace, I want to highlight some resources available from NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) on the subject.

I am going to highlight three pages.  The first one can be found here: https://www.nami.org/find-support/living-with-a-mental-health-condition/succeeding-at-work  In general, this page discusses discrimination at work as well as making accommodations at work.  The page also includes links to other resources.  This is a great page for anyone who may be facing these situations.

The next page can be found at the following link: https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/StigmaFree/StigmaFree-Company  NAMI has a program called StigmaFree Company, and will work with businesses to create a culture where employees’ overall health is valued, including mental health.  NAMI can provide support for corporate led and employee led initiatives, as well as consumer based programs.  This is a great page for any employee or employer who is looking to create a stigma free culture surrounding mental health.

The final page I will mention can be found here: https://www.nami.org/stigmafreeco/resources  This page is related to the StigmaFree Company page, and contains resources on mental health in the workplace.  Here you will find several guides, fact sheets, videos, messaging, and sharable items.  This is a great page for any employee or employer who is looking to learn more about mental health in the workplace and what can be done to improve the culture around it.

While I highlight three pages on here, my assumption is that NAMI and other organizations also have more great information on mental health and the workplace.  The good news is that there is a lot of information available now, and my guess is that in itself is probably a fairly new reality.  It is very inspiring to see all of the resources and support that is out there to help people navigate mental health in the workplace.  Since a lot of people spend a lot of time working, it is important that mental health be a part of the discussion when it comes to workplace culture.

Today I want to point out another resource that is available for another group of people – this is for all of us in the workplace.  It is called “Beautiful Brains: A mental health manual for the modern workforce”, and can be downloaded by using the following link: https://mailchi.mp/bb2523b6a45f/beautiful-brains-mental-health-guide  This manual is promoted by the Made of Millions Foundation, which is an advocacy platform with the goal of changing mental health survivors into mental health advocates.  This project was also made possible by Ready Set Rocket, a creative agency.

The guidebook is around 40 pages long, but there are a lot of illustrations, so it can be read fairly quickly and easily.  Topics covered include statistics on mental health in the workplace, a program for implementing supportive services and fighting stigma, sample wellness initiatives, and educational resources.

Like other resources mentioned in my previous posts, I think it is great to have a guide like this available.  I assume a lot of us in the workplace would appreciate having help in knowing what they can do if a mental health issue affects them or someone they know.  I also think it is important that we let employees and employers know that it is ok to talk about their mental health and any struggles they may be having.  Everyone needs to know they can get support, and although it might be hard for employees to ask for help, I feel that the more employees and employers hear about it the more they will be willing to get assistance when they need it.

How about you?  What are your thoughts on this manual?  Does it give you some helpful information?  Is it missing important pieces that would be helpful for you to know?  I hope you will take some time to download and review the manual to see if it can be helpful to you or someone you know.