Over the almost six years of putting myself out there and active in the mental health industry, I’ve met a lot of people. I’ve seen so much passion and so many challenges of all kinds and intensities. But some of these teens and young adults stand out. Some have truly become unashamed and are making the most of their bad situation and illness. I wanted to showcase them. Display their work and celebrate how far they’ve come in their journey.
First, there is Christine Frey. I got to know her and her story and immediately wanted to do everything I could to help her share her voice. We filmed a few videos together. She went over her story of living with anxiety and how she used her music to cope and tell her story to others who felt like her. And now, in what feels like no time at all, she’s founded Brain XP, written a book, has an album, and is beginning her journey as a public speaker. Christine is a great example of using your various talents to share a positive message with the world.
Taking a slight departure from the aspect of someone telling their own story, David decided to tell someone else’s. When he heard of Nate Edwards, a basketball athlete that suicide took from his wife and two children, he was determined to raise awareness and create some good out of this tragedy. David used his passion for videography to create a documentary about Nate and start a GoFundMe for a college fund for his kids. I met David at an event I spoke at and was blown away by his dedication to doing a good deed for a stranger.
And the final advocate I want to mention is Erica, better known as Anxiety Erica to the thousands of people she unabashedly shares her experiences with. I invited her on my podcast and loved her energy for learning about and discussing real mental health challenges. Her genuineness and ease of writing the story of her life (her Instagram is fantastic) is part of what inspired me to focus on writing again. It’s a special talent to be raw and unashamed while wearing a huge smile.
But I want to be real with you. For every one of these people who is turning their struggles into something amazing, there are a hundred I’ve never heard from again. Especially after a talk, I’ll sit down with dozens of teens, parents, and everyone in between and then they leave and I can only wonder what happened.
And then there are the ones that we lost. The ones fought the fight and didn’t make it. The ones that I carry with me every day as a reminder about why I do what I do. It’s not just about making people feel comfortable or happy, it’s about saving lives.
You might be asking by now, how can I continue every day with all this on my soul? The answer is that I always have hope because sometimes the ones I don’t hear from for years come back. I never know the full impact of my actions, especially my speaking, until sometimes years afterward. I do my best, give it my all, and be unashamed, but can’t control anything beyond that. And this is why I want to leave you with Mari’s Story.
Fun fact, Mari was a part of my support group that ran a couple of years ago. I met her once at one of our activities, and then she disappeared…until now. Her mom somehow saw one of the videos I published and reminded her of the support group and of what I do. She reached out to me and, and I immediately remembered her exuberance and good nature. Even though she was suffering, she wanted to make the most of it. She said she wanted to do her part in being unashamed, and I was on board. So, that’s how, just a couple weeks ago on a cold and stormy night, we developed a plan to create her mission and market it effectively. She’s since started publishing on her YouTube channel and a website is in the works. I’m so proud of what she’s done in a short amount of time.
These are real people, most of them still teenagers, who have stood up to their challenges and declared themselves to be silence free. If I could, they did, and so many others have done this, there is nothing stopping you from being unashamed.
