Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Us newspaper delivery boys and girls used to say that while selling newspapers. Fun fact: This was my very first job! I delivered newspapers and so did my parents as way to earn extra cash. I found this to be very fun and taught me a lot of about customer service. Certain customers preferred their papers at the door and others preferred theirs in mailbox. Did I mention that I did this in Wisconsin? Oh yes, picture a preteen version of myself, delivering newspapers…rain or shine in this case rain or snow! I used to deliver papers and calendars door to door in frigid temperatures and below zero wind chill factors. Hey, I got paid maybe $5 a day for this and did make really good tips during the holidays. This day in age, this job is non-existent because most of us read our news either on TV or online.

Flash forward to now, I’m now a manager and I’m also a mental health blogger. The news that I report now are stories that I used to tell myself and I’m now sharing with the world. You can only share your stories with yourself for so long, it’s time for the world to hear those stories. Writing about my experiences in a stigma filled world isn’t always easy. For the longest time, if I mentioned that I suffered from depression aka The Triple Threat Disease, most people would’ve rolled their eyes. Or would say: “I’m so sorry for you.” Sometimes, people just don’t know what to say when you mention this.

It’s understandable but this isn’t a new concept. Mental illness has been around since the beginning of time. Believe it or not. Sin was introduced in the Book of Genesis. And life from then on now, was going to be rough. Maybe the Bible was right and foretold the world that your life will be HARD. Living life with mental illness filled with a lot of stigma placed on us like the stigmata is no fun. So, let’s get the word out! I started this blog to inform and to also share my 25 year journey with the Triple Threat Disease. I thought about setting up a website, had the perfect name for the blog, and have quite a following on Facebook, Twitter, but I’m planning on a YouTube channel.

I will admit that suffer from the worst stage fright possible. This is funny because I used to be a budding musician. I could’ve gone professional, but the Triple Threat Disease killed that dream and I placed that dream on the back burner. So, I’m looking into starting a YouTube channel and making informative vlogs about my experiences. These videos will be more face to face with me and I’m not necessarily doing this for fame or fortune, but to get the word out.

I’m also very self-conscious about my appearance. I’m no longer a slender girl like I used to be. Cue the Triple Threat Disease again. This nasty nuisance is responsible for my increased and decreased appetite and for my binge eating disorder. I don’t take a lot of photos or selfies (as kids today call them), so this is going to take a lot of bravery on my part.

The hardest part is content planning. I work as a manager for Starbucks and that takes up most of my time. Not to mention that I have two dogs that are basically my children and have a private life as well. In my head, I have so many ideas on what I want to cover, but I don’t know where to start. Obviously, I have to introduce myself and explaining what I’m doing. Then, introduce the blog and go from there. The vlogs would be anything from depression to anxiety or something found on the news. You can only imagine how fast my mind is racing right now.

Marketing and promoting your cause takes up a lot of time and work. You want people to get the right message and educate them about your cause. It’s up to them if they want to follow you on social media or donate money to your cause. Personally, I want people to view the vlogs and/or read the blog and think about mental illness in a new light. I’m sure I’m not the only mental health blogger out there, but this illness needs to be shed into a much bigger light than before.

I follow the news closely and check out any new articles posted about mental illness and I’m surprised as to how much it affect society. One of the causes of mental illness is environmental factors such as a traumatic event like a shooting or accident and I will always see something on the news about it. When I see a shooting on the news, I post it to Facebook and get the conversation going. People don’t realize that you can suffer from PTSD, depression and other illnesses because of an event like that. Think about both sides of spectrum. The shooter obviously has some mental health issues that causes he/she to do something bad. The victims and their families have to deal with the trauma of that event. The same goes with the shooter’s families, too. Both sides get affected and sometimes we don’t realize this. This epidemic in our society gets worse everyday and it will only get better unless change is made. My motto is “Be the change, not the problem.” It’s simple as that.

Remind you that it’s never going to be a perfect world. No way, no how. But educating and promoting your cause via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or YouTube should stir the pot and get the conversation moving in the right direction. Whatever cause you’re passionate about, spread the word. Why be ashamed and live in stigma when you can break that and inform people? This is what I do on a daily basis. What can we do as a society in order to make change in this world? Not just for the present, but for future generations, too. I will educate and advocate for mental illness until it’s over. Do the same with your passion project.