Our mental health system has needed to be changed drastically for a long time. Suicides and trauma statistics are just now starting to be taken seriously in educational institutions – in 2018…took long enough right? – and mental health social media organizations are booming, yet options for those struggling with suicide, such as hospitalization and hotlines, are still limited with many faults.
I remember back in 2014 when I started The Strange is Beautiful, I felt like there wasn’t much mental health news that other publications were covering. Recently, I’ve noticed a spike in coverage of this beat, from the suicide of Anthony Bourdain, to Logic’s suicide awareness song, to the American Psychology Association’s letter to Trump.
Nalgona Positivity Pride (NPP) is a xicana, brown, indigenous body-positive project run by Gloria Lucas. Their Instagram – now at 64,000 plus followers – is known for having a vocal community, but their recent post, in response to Anthony Bourdain’s suicide, has overwhelmingly surpassed the number of comments NPP usually receives. One-hundred and seventy-one commenters (so far) detailed the types of healing they would like, versus the limited options presently available in our mental health system of suicide hotlines and hospitalization.
In 2016 I held our first ever online Self-Care Gift Exchange for anxiety and depression. With 158 participants, thanks to @n0pales and @nalgonapositivitypride for sharing my post, it was a success! It was a blessing to be able to read all of our stories and current struggles with mind obstacles, and a joy to partner you all with someone who best matched what you both needed.