Simply known as TWLOHA, this organization strives to end the stigma that mental health issues (like depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide) shouldn't be talked about. In addition, they help raise awareness for those issues and seek to help those struggling through those issues.
I've never experienced depression, addiction, self-injury, or suicide and have never lost someone to those issues. I did know someone in high school who committed suicide, but we weren't close and never even spoke. So you may wonder why I support this organization other than to support a good cause. I've asked myself the same thing.
When I first learned of TWLOHA, I was in middle school and knew them as the non-profit that sells cool t-shirts. I knew what they were for, but I was too young and not mature enough to fully understand what comes with the health issues they seek to help. I simply thought it was a good cause that had cool shirts and stuff.
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| My TWLOHA rubber bracelet |
I'm not sure when I developed the older and more mature thinking that now allows me to understand all of those issues, but in recent years, I have heard too many stories about children -- who have so much left to do with life -- committing suicide as a result of bullying. I may not have first-hand experience with depression, addiction, self-injury, or suicide, but I think almost all of us have some sort of experience with bullying, whether it was just one or two comments in a day or an ongoing thing. No words should cause someone to decide that his/her life should end.
As a writer, I believe that words should encourage and inspire, not belittle or attack. And it's a shame people abuse their words to hurt others. And sometimes, people don't even realize their words are doing that.
People go around telling others to 'go kill yourself.' Some people might complain about something by tweeting 'shoot me' with a gun emoji. What these people may not realize is that there are people who take those words seriously. I am one of those people. I find it offensive when someone complains by saying 'I'm going to shoot myself' or 'shoot me.' Even if they say they're just joking, it is not funny. And it shouldn't be to anyone.
I am someone who has experienced a serious medical issue resulting in hospitalization, and not too long after that, someone in my class thought it was funny because this person at a sporting event looked like they were having a seizure. That hit me right in the heart and made me want to cry. And I almost did, because that's exactly what happened to me. I couldn't help but think that they would be laughing if it they were watching me have a seizure. That's essentially what they were doing, right? Laughing at someone having a seizure.
This boy got a few other people in the class to watch this video and tried to show me and my sister. Everyone watching laughed, but my sister and I didn't even watch. It was not funny to us at all.
Whoever was laughing at that didn't understand the severity of the words that came out of this young man's mouth. When I told them that it was in no way funny, the laughing began to stop. One of the guys who was laughing was someone I considered to be my friend. When he heard my comment, he realized why I took this matter so seriously. The others did too, so they stopped laughing.
The others didn't exactly know why I didn't think that was funny, so they didn't apologize, but they did stop laughing. So hopefully, they learned a lesson.
As I reflect on why I support TWLOHA enough to buy shirts, follow them on social media, read a book on how it came to be and promote their cause in my own writing and on my social media, I know realize it's because of my experiences. Though my experiences aren't exactly what they're all about, it reminds of what they are all about and shows me the bottom line: words are powerful.
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| Some of the words I see every day that motivate me when I'm having a bad day |
Joking about or laughing at health issues, physical or mental, is not funny, and it never will be.
So think before you say something that might offend someone.You never know what someone has gone through. You never know what might happen as a result of your words. The boy in my class didn't.
Remember to use your words for good, to help, uplift, and enlighten, because we'll see you tomorrow.
To learn more about TWLOHA, visit their official website. To help raise money for mental health treatment and recovery, please visit my sister's donation page, which is officially affiliated with TWLOHA.
If you'd like to read more another blog post of mine related to TWLOHA, feel free to read my post about meeting TWLOHA founder Jamie Tworkowski.
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Words have power. Don't abuse them.