This isn’t the stuff that gets the biggest headlines…but it should.
DK Metcalf is 6’-4” 235 lbs of pure muscle. He just finished his 3rd season as a WR w the Seahawks…has been a pro bowl selection…& is probably one of the LAST ppl you’d picture when thinking of someone “going to therapy & enjoying it.”
And isn’t that the point? We need change in this space…we need a lot of change, STILL. We don’t make change happen by shouting the SAME campaigns we’ve seen for years – that haven’t worked – at the top of our lungs/on our social pages, hoping “ppl will finally listen & ‘get it.’”
For so long this space has been about the “1 in 5 w disorder”…& shouting to “stop stigma” against “that group.” That makes the topic binary: “those who have ‘it’ & those who ‘don’t.’”
First, that’s not reality – we all face challenges that impact our MH – it lives across a continuum – & yes some are more affected that others, even to the point of disorder. But, the topic is for “5 in 5” & not “1 in 5.”
Things that shock ppl into seeing – it is ALL of us, is what we need more of: Eddie George, the former all-pro running back, built like a diesel truck, doing yoga w a football at his mat. Same w a guy named @boombostick86 who I recommend giving a follow to for his yoga workouts & other discussion.
In the past wk I’ve shared a video of two coaches leading w vulnerability & not giving cliché answers: DJ Smith of the Senators talking abt how trade deadlines affect his players bc they are HUMAN, & Ed Cooley of Providence talking w his recruits, abt what it was like growing up not having a square meal many nights.
If we want change…if we want normalization…we have to appeal to the folks who for SO long, this space never has. We need to make this ONE big group, we are all members of…bc THAT is reality.
Some campaigns/slogans/even names of orgs divide more than they unify. It’s not us & them: the ppl who we want to change. It’s ALL of us who we want to welcome in…bc we’re all impacted.
