Team Vulnerability

Hello everyone and welcome back to the V Spot. I'm excited to be here to have this quick conversation with you because I believe it's a perfect time to shine the light on this particular topic. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and we're a couple of days away from May 1st, so I wanted to dedicate this segment to the honoring and celebration of of mental health. And in order to honor and celebrate mental health, I think it's important that we first acknowledge two pink elephants that are in the room whenever mental health is being discussed. Two pink elephants that I believe are present every time mental health is being discussed. The first one is vulnerability, and the second one is shame. So vulnerability— if you've been with me in this particular space, you know that I use Brené Brown's definition of vulnerability. Which is said to be comprised of 3 components: risk, uncertainty, and emotional exposure. And I believe that every time we're in a conversation about mental health, risk, uncertainty, and emotional exposure is present. So vulnerability is always in the room when mental health is being discussed. And the primary reason why people do not want to lean into vulnerability is said to be shame. And shame grows in secrecy, silence, and judgment. And again, I think whenever we are discussing mental health, secrecy, silence, and judgment can often be part of the equation. And so therefore, I believe that shame is always in the room when we speak about mental health. And so I wanted to begin by acknowledging those two pink elephants because I think that shining the light on them and then having the conversation in their company is the way to have the conversation, right? It's to acknowledge their presence and then talk about the stuff anyway. And so if you've been with me in this intentional healing and wellness journey, you know that in May of 2021, I launched the campaign I Am Not My Diagnosis, and we spent the month of May 2021 having conversations about, you know, we are not our diagnosis. Right? We may have depression, but depression doesn't define who we are as people. We may experience anxiety, but we are not anxiety. Right? And so that was what Mental Health Awareness Month looked like in 2021. For 2022, I'm introducing Team Vulnerability. And I'm calling you all forward to participate and get on the Team Vulnerability. And I'm proud and honored to serve as the head coach for the team. And what the team is about, it's really designed to have you demonstrate vulnerability. And we're going to kick it off by shining the light on mental health. So what is it that you're experiencing? Talk about it. Share about it. What is it that's helping you with your mental health during this particular challenging time? Talk about it. Let other people know about it. Right? What has worked? You know, what are you noticing about family members, about friends? What are people going through? Team vulnerability is an opportunity to get vocal and share about mental health from a, from an empowered place, from a celebratory place, right? It's about acknowledging that oftentimes there's like a silence around it, and we're going to get loud about it this month. That's the primary focus of team vulnerability, right? And so there's no wrong way to do team vulnerability. You can do it however you want. You can use your social media platforms to share about your own experiences. You can share a picture and, you know, create the hashtag #teamvulnerability on a little sign and let folks know that you're playing on the team. Right? It's really just about getting vocal and sharing your experiences from an empowered place, and then trusting that other people will feel safe enough to do the same thing. And so that's the essence of this particular campaign. And I'm excited to bring it to you in May. And it's something that I envision sticking around because it's not only connected to mental health awareness, but I wanted to introduce it at this particular time. And so, uh, team vulnerability is an opportunity for you to be purposeful and call yourself forth to step into the conversations about mental health from an empowered and supportive place. It's an opportunity to normalize the conversations and really allow for other people to feel safe to have the conversations as well. And so I ask you this important question. If you're tuning in right now and you hear me, are you playing for Team Vulnerability? And if so, let us know. Let us know, right? Let us— let the world know that you're on the team. And I'm excited to be playing for the team. I'm excited to be holding space for the team to play. And I believe that we are winning just by choosing on to this particular team. And so May 2022, team vulnerability. There'll be opportunities to win some cool prizes throughout the course of the month. So if you're not already with me, join me in Intentional Healing and Wellness in all platforms, you know, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and we'll be doing some giveaways and opportunities, you know, to really rock your team vulnerability. You know, loud and proud, right? Wear, wear your intention. So I'll be doing some giveaways, you know, for that. Um, and I will be utilizing this particular space as a place for us to get together and hear from some powerful mental health practitioners who are up to some great work in the world, right? And I decided to every Wednesday have someone join me who is involved in mental health work, and we'll hear from them, we'll talk about some things, and you know, really have the conversation of mental health at the forefront all throughout the course of May. So definitely tune in. These are 4 individuals that I am honored to know and that I believe that there's tremendous value in hearing from them, you know, and we'll hear what are they going through, what are they seeing other people go through, right? And, you know, what are some thoughts that they have around mental health at this particular moment in time? So, uh, stay tuned for that. You know, 4 Wednesdays in the month of May, 4 practitioners who are incredible human beings up to amazing things. And we will, uh, celebrate, you know, vulnerability and mental health each Wednesday during the course of the month. And every day in the month of May, we will have an opportunity to encourage others to Play for Team Vulnerability. And so I'm excited about May. I wanted to come to you to share a little bit about what's coming, you know. And the last thing that I'll say before I go for this particular episode is, uh, suicide prevention. Now more than ever, it's so important. And so I am doing a fundraiser to raise money to support suicide prevention and awareness. And, um, allow for the resources to continue to support people who are struggling. And so there will be a link in my bio attached to my Instagram and my Facebook account. I would love for you to, even if you're willing to support by donating $1, right? This is an opportunity to support people who are struggling at a very significant time in our human experience. And the resources aren't just there, right? We need to be able to support so that these resources continue to be provided. And so, um, my plan was originally to walk in the overnight walk, you know, that really honors the suicide prevention, but I'm not able to participate in physical, you know, form this year because of a conflict. But I want to continue to support the fundraiser and, you know, Now more than ever, people need our support. And so the overnight walk is happening in New York City in June. And if you are interested in participating, you know, hit me up and I'll be able to share some info about how you can get involved. But, um, let's come together and support a very essential cause during a very important time, you know, and make sure that resources continue to be provided to help people who are in need of support. And so I want to say thank you in advance for your generous contributions. We cannot reach these goals alone, right? So coming together to lend financial support at a time when the finances are needed, it's, it's greatly appreciated. And so Mental Health Awareness Month, there will be a team vulnerability. There will be the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the ways you can get involved there. And use your platforms and spaces as a way, even if it's not on social media, in life, in your, in your workplace, in your family, have the conversations of mental health. How are you feeling? Allow for people to explain where they are, right? Allow for people to cry out what they're going through. We want to normalize the experience of having these conversations because the feelings are happening and the struggles are happening, whether or not the conversations are happening. But let's like normalize talking about all these things. So that is what's happening May 2022, team vulnerability. I will talk about it much more in different ways throughout the course of the month, but I wanted to come to you today to let you know that it's coming, to let you know that it's happening, to encourage you to take a picture, Create a sign, team vulnerability. Let the world know that you are demonstrating vulnerability, right? We don't have to talk about it. It's about demonstrating it. And play for this team. Play for this team. Long after Mental Health Awareness Month ends, I will continue to advocate that we play on the team vulnerability. And so I want to say thank you. This was a quick episode, but something that I thought was important to let you know what's coming. I want to call you forth. To play on the team. I'm looking forward to seeing you and engaging in different conversations and hearing from you what's going on in your world. And as always, I want to say thank you for tuning in to this episode of The V Spot. To be continued.