October 2018: Brainbow: Diverse Experiences with Mental Health
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BRAINBOW: Diverse Experiences with Mental Health
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How can we de-stigmatize mental health?
How can we support people struggling with mental health issues?
Appreciate. Learn. Accept. These are things we won’t regret.
Be patient, be kind, don’t leave anybody behind.
Learn to listen to the conversations we’re having instead of altering them.
Give everything
Give it all
You only have what you give
And take all you are given
For to receive with grace
Is not lesser deed than to offer
But be not afraid to see more, and not afraid to help others and not afraid to speak out.
Sometimes you feel like you have nowhere to go, like you need to close yourself out. And that’s okay. Wounds take time to heal.
Sometimes, you think you’re healing and doing better, but a day can be worse than others, and that’s okay. Sometimes you need to take a step back to take a step forward.
Sometimes we have to like take care of ourselves.
Sometimes as a leader, everyone thinks you’re strong and assumes you have someone when in reality that leader is the loneliest.
Sometimes we have to be nice to ourselves.
Sometimes we need a moment to ourselves to remind us who we are without the definitions they put on us.
Who are you without your social media or your big baller brands? Do you pick people off the ground or look away and avoid the trouble? Do you sit and stare or stand and react?
People struggle with themselves in silence, you have to be the one to reach. A simple “how you doing?” can save a life. Give space, listen and be slow to give advice. Listen.
Empower parents to start a dialogue surrounding mental health especially in marginalized communities.
That all starts with acceptance, love, and support. Be there for each other.
Remember
Self-discover
Loving one another-
Feel bloomed-
Assumed
That you ever owed
Anyone anything
But you
So, dear you…
Get up
The ground is dank anyways-
You were a tower long
Before you fell.
So, you think you aren’t
A tower even now?
Perhaps the seed on the ground
waiting, gestating, hesitating to grow.
Talk about mental health in minority communities. Change the mindset that it is taboo. It is not.
Be open to other’s culture, to know that not everyone is the same or goes through the same thing. Mental health is different for many cultures.
We need to recognize that getting help is OKAY. It does not make you “weak” or “crazy”, in fact you are very strong. Discuss mental health in the Arab community and never blame it on weakness of faith.
We need to recognize mental health and be an ally for one another. We can’t let people’s mental health go unnoticed until it’s too late – It’s okay not to be okay!
Speak up, speak your truth. Mental health affects us all yet we ridicule or stigmatize. We need to end this divide.
Speak up.
Know that you are not alone; tell others they are not alone. We’re all here together, for each other.
Family is where you belong. Where you feel the sense of belonging and trust.
Vulnerable is not a flaw. It’s not a weakness. It’s okay to be vulnerable. Everyone is vulnerable. I am vulnerable. And so do you.
Listen, be an active listener. Guide them to resources. Be a friend. It is the little things that count.