World Bipolar Day

March 30, 2017March 30, 2017Leave a comment

Today, March 30, 2017, is World Bipolar Day. For those who battle bipolar disorder, this is, of course, every day. But for those who do not, it’s a great day to be reminded of the importance of education and support. Mental health, to the general public, often flies under the radar – at least until the media decides to target it. But in everyday life, it tends not to be addressed frequently. It’s not openly visible, so it’s easy for those not close to it to ignore. And due to stigma, mental health tends to be a topic shied away from by many. It takes a lot of courage to stand up and be open about your mental health, and there’s still much concern about repercussion. So we need days like World Bipolar Day to bring legitimate (not media sensationalized) attention to mental health, both as a whole, and as individual conditions.

I do not personally battle Bipolar Disorder, and so it would be unfair of me to discuss the intrinsic details of this condition specifically. But as someone who battles mental health and mood cycling disorders, I can speak to those topics. And as someone who has to contend with these conditions every day, I’d like to try to keep this message positive, and to offer some suggestions. Suggestions of what you can do to help offer support, and to learn more about mental health.

Reach out. This is, to me, the absolute most important step. Whether a friend or loved one, or someone you just know is struggling, let them know (or remind them) that you are there for them. Often times, I find support comes from the most unexpected places, and I’m always incredibly grateful.

When you reach out, give it time. Mental health is intensely personal, and it’s possible we’ve been “burned” in the past by opening up to someone who stigmatized or judged us, or downright used what we told them in confidence against us. So don’t give up after the first reach out. You may just get a thank you or an “I’m OK” the first time (even if we aren’t). But keep trying, without being pushy. If and when we are ready to talk, and we know that you earnestly want to listen and help, we will probably come around.

Educate yourself. Make sure that you are learning from respected, legitimate sources that aren’t biased against mental health. If you’re unsure, ask questions. Do what you need to in order to make sure that you’re getting accurate and up to date information.

If you hear someone stigmatizing mental health, gently and nicely say something. You don’t need to preach, but there are ways to nicely say “Actually I have a friend that battles xyz and that’s not quite the case” or “That might be true sometimes, but we shouldn’t generalize”, or something of this nature. Try to educate instead of chastise, because education is key – people can’t know what they don’t know.

Volunteer with/participate in organizations that support mental health and/or specific conditions. Whether you find a local chapter and offer ways to help, or participate in a benefit walk/run/event, this is a great way to not only support, but to meet others who also support the cause. Of course, we encourage you to participate in the Spread Hope Project’s efforts, and are happy to answer any questions about how you can do so!

Be careful with language. Language may sound unobtrusive, but it can both hurt people directly and perpetuate stigma. A general rule that I offer people is this: “If you replace mental health/the name of the condition with that of a ‘physical’ condition (say heart disease, diabetes, asthma) and what you’re saying sounds inappropriate or insensitive, then the same is true when it’s said about mental health.” If you’re unsure of the best way to word something, ask – we’d love to help you!

To all of those people that battle Bipolar Disorder, we’d like to share with you this: You are courageous and strong, even when you do not feel so. Please, continue to fight each day, even when it seems impossible, because your life matters so much. Despite how you may often feel, you are not alone – there are so many others out there that understand and support you, and we are just a message or an email or a text or a call away.

Why Do You Spread Hope?

March 23, 2017Leave a comment

Starting this Sunday (March 26th), we’ll be running a one-week Instagram challenge. Each day, we’ll be asking people to share why (and how!) they spread hope, using the hashtag #whyispreadhope. It can be a picture of your efforts, with those that you’re spreading hope to, or simply a selfie explaining with a caption saying what you do and why. It can be a hand written signs or arts and crafts are fine. Heck, it can just be you wearing purple, the color of the Spread Hope Project, with a caption as simple as “I spread hope because hope matters.” However you want to share your reason, share it. Of course, we’ll be sharing our “why” each day.

Why are we hosting this challenge? It’s simple really. The more people that share their story, the more people we reach. They reach their friends, their friends reach their friends, and the spread of hope continues on. We know it takes courage to put yourself and your stories out there like this, and we want to show people that it’s OK to share. You don’t have to be an expert or a professional or a writer or even a casual blogger. You just have to snap a pic and say “here’s why I do this”.

Everyone deserves to feel like they matter. They deserve to feel like someone wanted to reach them, and that they have the ability to help someone else, even if it’s simply by posting a photo and a hashtag.

We can’t wait to see what you have to share! See you on the Instagram side!

Why I Spread Hope

Spread Hope Project – Our Mission

March 15, 2017March 15, 2017Leave a comment

We’re back! First off, our trip to Africa was incredible. The tour operators, guides, accommodations, everything! We’ve posted pictures on Instagram (shameless plug, please give us a follow!), if you’d like to check them out.

But now, back to reality, and the U.S., where we call home. As we do so, it’s occurred to me that I need to write a bit more about our mission. Of course it may seem obvious that our mission is Spreading Hope. Which is 100 percent correct. But the key piece is who, in particular, we’re spreading hope to. Now naturally, we’d love everyone to have hope for… whatever they need. Still, we have a specific group of people what we’re hoping to reach out to, and that is those battling chronic illness. While our most narrowed focus is on those with mental health conditions, we’ve broadened that a bit to include chronic illness, both well-known and rare, because we understand that though our individual experiences with illness may be drastically different, we all share one thing – we endure an illness(es) that does not go away, that we have to battle monthly or weekly or daily or hourly, and all that comes with doing so. And while we at Spread Hope Project may not be able to do much to actually physically help someone’s condition, we can let them know that they’re not alone. Sometimes, just knowing that offers hope. Which is exactly what we plan to do.

That’s where the travel piece comes in. In order to reach as many people as we can, we have to travel – whether it be to a different neighborhood within our home city (Philadelphia), to a neighboring state, across the country, or across the world. Because chronic illness can touch anyone, anywhere. It may be simply a picture of us with our Hope shirt in the destination, hoping that someone there that needs it will see it. It may be pictures with fellow chronic illness sufferers (spoonies, in chronic illness speak). It may be partnering with a hotel or accommodation to bring Spread Hope Project to their location. Whatever the method, we travel to spread our message, and hope. Always, our focus is chronic illness and hope.

If you battle chronic illness, or have a loved one who does, and think we should come to your destination, let’s hear about it! We can’t travel everywhere all at once, but we’re creating a list of spoonie contacts, friends, and destinations to for photo taking! In the mean time, we encourage you to take your own Spread Hope photos (homemade signs are an affordable and easy way!) and tag us on Instagram. Just make sure to include the message of hope for chronic illness in your actual photo/caption please!