This is the power of consistency in communication.
Call it serendipitous timing that the crap I went through started to lift just before more and more athletes and personalities started to come out w their stories…but when I got better and started thinking about why there wasn’t more understanding for the others out there facing their own challenges – it was clear that it was because there was no common thread tying ppl w platforms (who had courageously shared their stories) together. There was nothing out there helping society understand that this isn’t a “1 in 5” with disorders topic, it’s a “5 in 5” that mental health affects topic.
Folks like Theo Fleury, Chamique Holdsclaw, Anita Nall, Royce White, Imani McGee-Stafford, Joe Williams, and a number of others all courageously shared their stories (all with different types of challenges in different arenas) well before this topic became a “hot one.”
Now as more and more ppl with platforms come out about their challenges – like a Dan Carcillo and Steve Smith, today, we see this is not a “them” issue, but an “us” one.
When you tie stories together, you see a pattern – in this case: that everyone goes through something.
Now as more share – and you have the folks above, and a leader like Darren Rovell carrying the torch to show that – globally – these stories are all connected: athlete/performer/musician/everyday person, etc., it cuts through the clutter. We ALL have #SameHere🤙 stories to share. Little by little that is becoming apparent. And now that this is out there – ppl like the ones above, with the platforms to do so, can continue to tie the thread together and propel the message even further.
I thank them all tremendously for believing in an idea, and believing that when it comes to a societal epidemic, we are stronger together than we are alone. Rising tides lift all boats.
