Tag Me In

    As much as it pains me to pull the needle back once again into the groove of this old broken record I’ve placed on the turntable, I must admit, the record is skipping again. We are nearing the end of Mental Health Awareness Week. I knew there was such a thing, but I had no clue when I started this blog, that I was literally doing so in the middle of a week that is set aside to bring awareness to the very thing that I am advocating, shame on me.

    

The refrain is once again admitting that a more accurate title for my blog would have probably been ‘The Ignorance of Bradley Blake’ As someone who has a family history of mental illness, and who has struggled with their own mental well-being for many years now, I should have known. I suppose that I can forgive myself for not knowing before this month, but at the very least, I should have been aware of such a key piece of information before diving into a blog that is largely fueled by advocacy for mental health struggles.

    I must remove the stylus from the vinyl, or I’ll drive myself crazy, so let’s move forward, shall we? 

    Every year, during the first week of October the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) partners with people from all walks of life in effort to raise awareness for Mental Health. I discovered this while on Twitter attempting to make connections and promote this blog. 

    Something that you were bound to learn about me through this blog, is that I am a lifelong fan of professional wrestling. In fact, it is a goal of mine to one day contribute to the wrestling community through my writing. Now that you know that you can imagine how I must have felt when I discovered that men and women, I grew up watching in wrestling have partnered with NAMI to raise awareness for and normalize the discussion of mental health struggles. Please take a minute and watch the video below:

    This is something that needs to become normalized in our society. In the video you heard the phrase, remove the stigma, and that is something we must do. No one should feel ashamed because of their struggles with mental health, no matter what capacity it is that we face it in. Struggling with mental health does not make you weak. It doesn’t make you strange, and it certainly shouldn’t make you feel like an outcast.

    I have personally faced all those struggles. In the depths of the mental health fight, it is easy to feel like you are on an island all alone, out of reach of anyone who understands. Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, whatever it is; can make you feel like you are that scratched up, skipping piece of vinyl on the turntable. Often, there are no huge revelations, shifts or changes from one day to the next, so it stands to reason that when someone asks you what is wrong, even something as elementary as saying ‘I don’t know’ becomes draining. Sure, there are things that can trigger that part of your mind that is weakened by the fight, and in those moments, if you can identify the trigger, it can help to talk it over with someone that you trust, but a lot of the time, we simply don’t have an answer, so the discussion turns out like that broken record. I don’t know about you, but I become exhausted when I am faced with the challenge of expressing what is going on inside my head. There simply are not enough words in the English language to do justice to the beast of depression and its mental and physical impact on a person. The truth is, unless you have experienced it firsthand, you cannot truly grasp it.

    We must normalize that it is okay to not be okay. We must throw away the pre-conceived notions and judgements that tell us that being depressed is somehow the ‘victim’s’ fault, or that they are not doing enough to defeat it. Let’s set aside our opinions, and learn to simply listen, because sometimes all a person needs is a sounding board. It is also important to understand that there are times, probably more frequently than you would imagine, that the person does not even have the strength to vocalize what they are going through. In those times, just be present. There are times that healing can take place without a word being spoken. The mere presence of someone who cares for you and what you're going through can speak louder than any words that could ever be spoken. Let’s be that sounding board, and that loving, supportive presence  for anyone who is struggling. Let’s stand together and all say, tag me in, so that no one is left to face the battle alone.

    Mental Health Awareness week may be nearing its end for 2021 but let us strive every day of the year to bring mental health to the forefront of our lives in effort to be the hands and feet providing strength to the person who is fighting with everything they have, to just survive.

      If you want to join me in this fight, please follow the National Alliance on Mental Illness on Twitter @NAMICommunicate or follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/NAMI You can find them on the web at nami.org or reach their Help Line at: 1-800-950-6264