Mental Health Month: Featuring To Write Love On Her Arms

by Julia Falk
We aren’t totally sure how in the heck it’s already May but here we are! And what an important month it is… happy Mental Health Awareness Month, ya’ll! This month is a chance for us to continue combating the stigma that keeps far too many silent. This month is a chance to tell and highlight stories of lesser-known challenges.

 

Here at Friends Do This, our #1 goal is to help you spread more good juju, one handwritten greeting card at a time. Maybe it's the 80 year old woman that lives inside Carolyn, Jordan and I or the simple belief that getting a card in the mail makes us feel special and loved. Either way, we stand by our allegiance to good old-fashioned snail mail and the good juju it inspires.

 

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’ll be bringing you resources, entertainment, behind the scenes looks at our own mental health (spoiler: we are ALL beautiful messes), and tips on how to keep your frequency high and help both yourself and the people around you.

 

But since we are professional boobie and penis doodlers and not mental health experts, fear not… we are going to leave the Mental Health talk to our friends over at To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA)!

 

TWLOHA is a non-profit dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. Since 2006, TWLOHA has been sharing messages of hope and help. They've responded to thousands of messages from people all over the world, traveled millions of miles to meet people in their community, and have shared over a 1,000 blogs (and launched a podcast!) to remind people that they are not alone. Did we mention  their FIND HELP Tool that helps folks locate free or reduced cost counseling and other mental health resources? I mean come on! TWLOHA is the friggin’ breast, ya'll.

 

Black & White Campaign

Life is NOT black and white but, and this is a very big but(t) when it comes to mental health and mental illness. Going on it’s fourth year, the TWLOHA Black & White Campaign focuses on three statements that are not up for debate when it comes to you and your mental well-being. No matter what society or your mental illness tries to tell yourself these three things:  

 

  • Stop apologizing for existing.
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    We believe your existence, as it was, as it is, and yet as it can be, is not something you need to apologize for. Your existence is complex. It warrants grace and growth and patience. You do not need to apologize for being here. For changing. For feeling. For sharing or asking for support. For struggling. For being you.

     

  • I am not broken. Who I am is whole.
    •

    You may feel broken, but maybe you are hurting and healing. You may feel incomplete, but perhaps you are searching and expanding. You may feel far from finished, distracted by milestones that seem irregular at best, but you maintain your wholeness just as the sun sets and the moon rises. Just as the tide ebbs and flows, you remain whole throughout.

     

  • Nothing can take away how far you’ve come. 
    •

    Nothing can undo what you’ve learned about the world or discovered about yourself. You can tend to your skinned knees, sore muscles, and tired heart with a bit more ease, a bit more faith. Potholes and pitfalls of relapse and backslides can never undo the you that you are. A you that we believe in. A you we proudly cheer on and celebrate every step (and misstep) of the way. A you that has come so far.

     

    This month, we invite you to join us and TWLOHA and discuss these statements. Share what these statements mean to YOU with your audience, family and friends. We guarantee that in your vulnerability, you’ll unlock someone else's ability to come clean, share, and revile in this journey we call life, together. 

     

    Ways To Get Involved with TWLOHA in May

     

    • Run like the wind: Mental health is just as important as physical health. The TWLOHA Run For It 5k is an event where thousands run, walk, jog, or roll 3.1 miles as a way to declare just how much hope and healing matter to them. We hope that you’ll join us on May 29 as we move for hope and help.

    • Find mental help support for you OR a friend: For those living in the US, we invite you to use TWLOHA’s FIND HELP Tool to locate local, affordable resources simply by entering your zip code and the level of care you’re seeking. For international resources, visit our FIND HELP page for a growing collection of options listed by country. You can also download our new daily-use self-care app, The Hopeful, for free here.
    • Send a silly card to a friend: When you mail someone a greeting card, you get some of that good juju kick-back. It’s called showing up, even when your own life feels kind of like a dumpster fire. Because that’s what friends do. Plus, when you shop from Friends Do This during the month of May, 5% of your purchase will go directly to TWLOHA! It’s a win-win, yo! Shop cards here. 


    Each day is new—challenges arise and you are ever-growing. And the journey? It continues—but only with YOU present. We’ve got nothing but love for you here at Friends Do This. And if you haven’t been told in awhile, you’re seriously the tits. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.


    Much Love, 
    Friends Do This

     

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