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The Good Men Project Mental Health Special Interest Group met for about five weeks to explore whether there was something we might be able to do to encourage men (and everyone) to get the help they need for mental-emotional distress that is negatively affecting their lives and their loved ones.
The creation of the #notweakjusthuman video stories resulted from our shared hope that people who suffer as we have suffered can find healing. I believe it would encourage many people if everyone who is in recovery from a mental illness (or addiction-alcoholism, grief, despair, loneliness, or any deprivation of psychological well-being) could create and share a 30-second video saying:
Here is my short video clip:
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Before I discovered my own version of this way of life, I misunderstood two things: What mental illness is and what recovery is. Here is what I’ve learned about that:
The term mental illness refers to features of my mind that are sometimes troublesome to me and to others, but nothing about these features of my mind wholly determines who I am as a person. The word illness is in some ways accurate, but it is also problematic—because it highlights the differences in people’s minds, not the similarities, which are in fact universal, for if you have a human consciousness, then it is absolutely certain that you possess a mind that in some way does not work very well (and when it doesn’t, this will sometimes be troublesome to you and to others). Most importantly, my mind—and yours, and everyone’s—is equipped with a thousand wondrous capabilities that express themselves in innumerable ways that are valuable to me and to others.
The term recovery refers precisely to that which ameliorates mental illness, namely, decreasing the trouble my mind causes for me and for others and increasing how much I use my mind’s capabilities in ways that are valuable to me and to others. This is difficult enough for“normal” people to accomplish, and it can be a monumental challenge for a person with mental illness. It is challenging because sometimes, before optimal recovery can be achieved, causes of the illness must be repaired and/or the person’s suffering must be relieved . . .
- because, in some instances, no means of repair or relief are available or the means available are limited in their effectiveness
- because the person who needs recovery is blamed or judged or mistreated by others on account of his or her illness
- because an insidious feature of some illnesses is that they recur unpredictably even in the midst of recovery.
These are reasons why extra help is sometimes needed.
If you need help, please ask someone to help you. Remember: You are #NotWeakJustHuman.
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Here is our team video:
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Learn more and join our Men’s Mental Health Social Interest Group by clicking the blue “Now what” photo below.
