Lately I’ve been talking a lot about mental health. This is new for me. I didn’t grow up discussing it. Where I come from, you just…didn’t. I grew up in a fog of confusion as I watched the behaviors of some of my family members.
They were messed up.
It was obvious.
I don’t intend to unveil the skeletons in my family’s closets or put anyone on blast. What I’m saying is, my family’s inability to properly discuss mental health (or emotions in general) screwed me up. But how long can I blame them on MY issues?
In 2016 I fell into a pretty sad state. I don’t think it was depression. I’m not sure what it was but I felt like I really needed to get help so that I could be in a better place for me, my family and those around me.
So for the first time in my adult life, I sought out therapy.
It changed my life.
I am now on a mission to make the mental health awareness discussion not so uncomfortable. Especially for women. And mothers. People of color who don’t talk about. Successful people. Or for people who don’t think they can afford it. I figure that by telling my story and providing resources, maybe..just maybe I can encourage someone else to look into getting mental health counseling. Or at the very least…discussing it without shame.
As bloggers and social media influencers, we are so good at getting people to listen to us. They buy because we’ve suggested. They feel like they know us. They trust us. Who better to start this conversation than us?
Mental Health Awareness Month is in May and here’s how you can participate:
- Write and launch a blog on Monday, May 15th. This blog post can discuss your personal experiences around your mental health or you can discuss how you’ve supported friends and family members. If being this vulnerable makes you uncomfortable, know that you won’t be alone. A lot of us will be doing the same thing!
- Provide resources for your readers. If they’re located in a particular area, drop reputable links and phone numbers that can assist them.
- Help normalize the discussion of mental health. By posting this on your blog, you’re letting your readers know that they aren’t alone.
- Promote your blog post across social media using the hashtag #BloggersForMentalHealth or #B4MH
Help me with this, will you? My goal is to have at least 50 bloggers across different niches launching their blog post on May 15th. How impactful would that be? We’ll be able to touch hundreds and thousands of people across the world.
If you’re all like, “Yessss girl! Let’s do this!”, fill out this form. I’ll send you reminder emails and link you in my post on May 15th.
I’m so glad I can count on you.
XOXO,
Leave a Reply