“Even though the search was more difficult, I knew that a big part of my trauma was racial trauma, and I needed someone who would not question that part of my experience. I understood that lack of culturally relevant care was a major reason why Asian Americans do not seek mental health care; I saw that in my own family.”
Some online resources that helped me through my dark days, and continue to help me on an ongoing basis are:
The Players Tribune – Users can search depression, suicide, or mental health to access stories, and first hand accounts of Athletes and their personal struggles with ill-mental health.
Start Today Podcast with Chris Cavallini: A personal friend and mentor of mine who went from foster care and being locked up 17 times before his 18th birthday to founding, owning, and operating Nutrition Solutions: a multi million dollar food prep company with a global presence (Language advisory)
Athletes Unheard.com: Founder Malcolm Lemmons, a former professional athlete and author built a media platform at the intersection of athletes and mental health.
“Most of our Fellas are either overweight, or very overweight. There’s a case of when both partners are bigger, and one partner struggles with binge eating and one won’t, and the partner doesn’t acknowledge the partner’s struggles. The interaction is very much like, ‘well, we just eat CRISPS every day’ and the partner with binge eating is like, ‘well, no. I actually do all this hidden stuff as well’.”
“At this time, no new laws are being lobbied in mental health; we’re primarily focusing on ensuring the Mental Health Act is executed properly and that there is proper implementation at the local-level. Like many laws enacted in the Philippines, without continuous monitoring and oversight, the national laws will fail to trickle down to the grassroots level, so that’s where the work of our organizations come in.”
“psychedelic therapy has been a pillar of my growth and development for over a decade. I wouldn’t be who I am or where I’m at without it. For me, ketamine’s therapeutic impact has been equivalent to other psychedelic medicines, and having the privilege to work in safe settings with trained clinicians and healers has helped me get even more out of treatment.”
“I struggled with my mental health as a child a lot. It was in regards to my own body. I always felt fat, and believed no one would like me or date me because of it. It was only in my 20s that I let that belief go, and then I discovered anxiety about other issues. But the main struggles in my life were always about my sense of unlovability. I just didn’t feel worthy of connection or love and if I don’t keep on top of that, it comes up in my life today.”
“There’s no reason why the conversations around motherhood shouldn’t speak to the totality of who a woman is. We have to stop telling women that when they become mothers they must become martyrs. No one EVER asks a man how he is going to have a family and hold down a job. No one ever tells a man that he must give up the parts of himself that make him human, that give him life. But we always tell women that she can’t both work and raise kids or that she must give up her dreams, whatever they may be. It’s time we stop that.”
