In Honor Of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm Offering To Talk To Anyone That Needs A Friend, Right Here, Right Now
Everyone deserves to have a friend when they need one most.
As many of you are aware, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It's no secret that mental health is a topic very near and dear to my heart, and I've been racking my brain recently to figure out what more I can do to help out in mental health in honor of this month. After thinking about what kind of support I would have liked when I was at my worst, I think I've come up with something to help out.
I've heard of so many people lately that are suffering on their own, without a person in the world that they feel like they can talk to about this kind of stuff. I was the same way myself when I was at my worst. I felt so alone in the world, like there was nobody I could talk to that understood what I was going through. Sometimes all it takes is one friendly face or one person truly willing to lend an ear to make all the difference in the world.
For this reason, I've decided to volunteer to be that person for anyone anywhere on the planet that may need it. I've created an email account that anyone in the world can feel free to send an email to if they need someone to talk to. The email address is simply talkwithcole@gmail .com
Now, I'm not a therapist or a mental health professional in any way, and I recognize that. If you need professional help or are feeling suicidal, please seek outside help or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. What I'm here for is not to take the place of any of those extremely important resources, but instead just to be a friend to anyone that's going through a tough time and needs one. I check the email several times a day and always respond as soon as I'm able to. I simply just want to help those struggling feel a little less alone in the world, and like there is someone that they can talk to and that understands what they are going through.
If you feel like you need a friend to talk to, please don't hesitate to send me an email. I'm here to listen, to be your friend, and to help in any way I can within my ability. Everyone deserves to have a friend to listen to them when they need one most.
A World of Stereotypes and Contradictions
All too often, I'll see people on social media preaching about equality, self-love, etc. but in person, we don't practice the same level of morality. I am as guilty of this as the next.
We live in a very black and white world. All too often we make decisions based on what others deem as "correct", but lately, it has been difficult to decipher what this form or "correct" is. We have a tendency to contradict ourselves without even realizing it. All too often, I'll see people on social media preaching about equality, self-love, etc. but in person, we don't practice the same level of morality. I am as guilty of this as the next.
I'll catch myself preaching about topics but speak judgmentally about certain people when talking to my friends. We all do it, it's a terrible habit that we need to start making a conscious effort to break. Until we are able to stop unconsciously slipping judgment into our lives, we will never make a change. Attached below is a little commentary about this topic I'd like to share with you:
Isn't it strange to live in a world where big hearts break for small hearts to rule? Where we volunteer instead of eliminating the need to do so at all. Where we gladly help strangers but refuse to help ourselves. We medicate physical illnesses but judgemental ones; crave love but hate people who have found it. Homophobia is for religion, but unconditional love is not. We believe there is less prejudice, yet we have created more stereotypes; racism is in the past and racial slurs are in style; people change but our views stay stagnant.
The difference between a truth and a lie is determined by how loudly one can scream an idea. We "know" so much but learn so little. We ask the internet before our neighbor- all these limitless resources and still empty libraries. History repeats itself and we would never know. We memorize dates but not their importance; we test geometry before kindness. Bullying is for the weak but so is letting it affect you; 'Playing' victim and being one look all too similar. Rape is not my fault, but I'm the one being taught to avoid it. Sleeping around is slutty, while anything less is a tease; wanting attention is shameful, standing in the shadows is depressing.
So, tell us that self-harming is a disgrace and asking for help is a burden. Swear that I am more than the sum of my parts and then shuffle me onto a scale. This is a time where we stop trying- to try to fit in; where we stop caring because we care about all the wrong things. Where we value money more than happiness and plastic objects hold importance over human beings. Because breaking a phone is detrimental and breaking a heart is expected.
We set up all these perimeters just to fill them with nonsense. We are told to defy limitations, but we are the only ones limiting ourselves. Please, show me it's wrong to conform to the ideas that make my skin crawl and then call me strange when I voice the things you don't want to hear.
It's time to start thinking before speaking. It's time to stop believing we know all that is right. It's time to stop defining people by their choices and start loving without hesitation.