Let’s Talk 2015

It is January 28th once more, so let’s talk.

Last year I talked about me.  This year, let’s talk about you.

It’s important to the geek/nerd culture that we talk about this stuff.  It’s common to see someone with mental health issues.  There’s a good chance that you know someone, or you yourself, have a type of anxiety, a disorder, or depression.  Having it isn’t a bad thing.  Not doing anything about it, that’s a bad thing.  It can be something that goes hidden for a long time in our culture.

Geek culture is in.  It’s the top of most pop culture facets.  Who hasn’t seen Guardians of the Galaxy?  Who hasn’t sunk hours into a video game?  These outlets of expression are a double edged, (that’s 1d10 slashing damage, for those paying attention.)

The fields of expression we have allows us to get enveloped by them.  We can wrap it around us like a big safe blanket.  It keeps the monsters away, it lets us put off feeling anything until later.  What better way to deal with the hard things in our lives, than by doing it later.  It can be hard for us geeks to get out of that funk.

It’s easy to jump in.

It’s harder to pull ourselves out.

That’s why we should talk about what’s going on in our heads.  Video games, cosplay, RPGs, are all fantastic places to escape to, but we can’t live there.  I’ve tried, it doesn’t work.  This is why we should have Let’s Talk.  It’s hard to pull ourselves out, it’s easier if we have help.

There are some things to know:

You are not alone.

Chances are there is someone out there having similar troubles that you are experiencing.  There is a ton of people out there to help us.  It can be a friend, it can be a doctor, it can be anyone who is willing to listen.  The hardest part can be willing to accept help.  There’s a stigma that comes with mental health that it makes us weak, or stupid, or immature.  Those images are all false.  There’s nothing wrong with asking for help.

If you break a leg, you go to the doctor.  If you have a cavity, you go to the dentist.  When something like anxiety or depression comes along, why don’t we say the same thing?  We don’t have to live in fear of our own feelings, and we’re not burdening others with our problems.

We are not alone.

Let’s talk about what we can do to get help for ourselves, or the people we love.

It can be as easy as checking in on someone.  It can be as simple as sending a text, or just seeing how someone is doing.  The commercials for Let’s Talk have been great, because they promote an environment where we share, or know people who are going through the same thing, and then provide support.

It’s easy to put on a facade, a mask, a fake smile, to make it look like we’re doing just fine.  I used to do it a lot.  You’re smiling and saying everything is okay, but you just want to scream that it’s not.  You have to give yourself permission to get help.

There are places for everyone to get help.  In Ontario, OHIP covers a lot of mental health workers, which includes psychiatrists and councilors.  You can find that info here with CAMH

In the United States, the Affordable Card Act has great coverage for mental health.  Check out their website for more information.

Check out the Let’s Talk website, and help start a conversation in your geek community.  There may be people who could use your help.

It can be a hard conversation to start, but it’s a lot harder trying to navigate the hedge maze that is mental health.  It’s treatable, and it’s something we can do something about, so let’s do it.

I said it last year, and it remains true today, “Just remember, I’m pulling for ya, we’re all in this together.”