These were the two main messages I wanted to deliver to the 1,000 fans that came prior to the Miami Dolphins game last Sunday, to celebrate Dolphins Recovery Day.
Little bkgrnd: this is year 2 of the Dolphins event. To their credit, they are the only NFL team to dedicate 2 games, 2 seasons in a row, to this broader topic of MH. That’s huge props they deserve. We participated in it last yr as well & plan to continue to partner w them in future seasons & events.
Here’s the however: “Recovery Day” is very narrow, as far as our society sees that topic right now. It’s a very diff message than day: “SameHere Citi Field” w the Mets or “SameHere South Florida” w the Panthers. One insinuates we are all in it together (everyone in the stadium/arena)…whereas the other insinuates we are celebrating the sobriety of the “affected group.”
I tried to convey those messages ➡️slide for (2 min partial video of) my talk & then the slogan on the back of this yr’s shirts: “Everyone is Recovering from Something.”
I get it – I worked in sports. Group sales often requires you to find a NICHE group & promote to them, to sell tickets. In this case – recovery centers. But what we are doing focusing on recovery specifically is making this topic an “us & them” one, once again. Let’s celebrate those who are sober!
Here’s the reality: we ALL deal w psychological pain. It creates discomfort for ALL of us. We ALL turn to things that are maladaptive to cope. Drugs & alcohol are only 2 of them: sex, gambling, work, food, shopping, cutting, etc…the actual list is a mile long. MH didn’t/doesn’t just apply to the 1,000 we spoke to. It applies to the other 64,000 at the game that day. THAT is the broader msg we need to work towards.
S2, E1 of the We’re All A Little “Crazy” podcast now avail w a links in Stories ➡️, on any platform. Pls check it out.