It’s Mental Health Month 2023. And as over the years I’ve raised awareness in various ways, I am going to do something new and vulnerable. No, it’s not new that I’m being vulnerable, but I’ve been holding onto this info specifically for a few years. So here it goes—the ethics of talking about mental health on Twitch specifically.

Even though 5% (43.8 million people 18 or older) of people experience a mental illness in any given year, many don’t seek help. An advocate is the stop gap, the bridge for people going from “Mental health is all just in your head” to mental health care is just as important to our well-being as our physical health.

Did you know you can be certified in Mental Health First Aid like you can be certified for CPR and First Aid? I ask because I honestly had no idea until I started researching celebrities with mental health issues and found a football player who is very passionate about the cause. It likely won’t come as a surprise to any reader that I am not a sports ball fan, but I sure got excited like one.

Narcissism Personality Disorder is a mental health issue which does not have to be synonymous with being mean or vindictive or even a bad parent. But when all those qualities align we, as children, are forced to learn bad habits in order to survive our toxic environment. Here’s a list that may help identify negative coping behaviors we may have picked up through our shared experiences as children of narcissists.

Not only is there still a lot of stigma surrounding mental health, but the nature of some illnesses is that it’s easy enough to assume you have it under control, that you’re fine or insert your excuse here. That's why it's hard to argue with someone if they believe they are truly ok.