Trophies for Mental Health (Event)

[Beyondthegrave07]

 

 

Hello, everyone!

 

This event will be a bit more on the serious side, but don't worry! It will be fun AND maybe you'll learn a thing or two about mental health and be able to spot a mental illness and help someone with it in the future or know where to go... or at least, that's the goal. The month of May is the official Mental Health Awareness month and with all of the stuff with COVID-19, being in quarantine, and working our way towards normalcy again, I thought it'd be the best time to bring awareness to mental health by hosting a trophy event! But before we get started with the details, let's talk about mental health and what is it? Take notes, you may need it for the final exam (the trophy hunt).

 

 

What is a Mental Illness?

 

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI):

 

"A mental illness is a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling, behavior or mood. These conditions deeply impact day-to-day living and may also affect the ability to relate to others. If you have — or think you might have — a mental illness, the first thing you must know is that you are not alone. Mental health conditions are far more common than you think, mainly because people don’t like to, or are scared to, talk about them. However:

 

• 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year
• 1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year
• 1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year
• 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24

 

A mental health condition isn’t the result of one event. Research suggests multiple, linking causes. Genetics, environment and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events. Biochemical processes and circuits and basic brain structure may play a role, too.

None of this means that you’re broken or that you, or your family, did something “wrong.” Mental illness is no one’s fault. And for many people, recovery — including meaningful roles in social life, school and work — is possible, especially when you start treatment early and play a strong role in your own recovery process."

 

That's right. It's more than likely you or someone you know has experienced a serious mental illness each year, and in a time where we are in a pandemic and are fighting our way back to some sense of normalcy, it's very likely that these numbers went up. That's why I think it's important for all of us to be aware of it now more than ever and to be able to identify it for ourselves and others and seek help when needed or at the very least, be there for them while they are going through the struggle.

 

How can I help?

 

There's a few ways you can help actually! One way is to always donate money to your local mental health association (MHA), spread the news of mental health awareness and have people realize that having a mental illness is okay, and let people know that the stigma that someone struggling through it is "weak" or is a lesser person is just simply wrong, and lastly, you can always just be there for anyone who you know struggles with mental illnesses and support and encourage them as much as you can.

 

The Event

Now, hopefully, you read through the stuff above and have a good understanding of how you can help so now let's get on to the event. The event is very simple, very chill, and should be an easy dub. You just have to do 2 things:

 

1. Earn a platinum or 100% on a game that tackles mental health issues or mental illnesses. This can range from a specific character (such as Ethan from Heavy Rain or) to the entire game having a theme revolved around mental health (GRIS, Actual Sunlight, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, etc). However, games that use mental health issues as satire (Psychonauts) or is portrayed in a negative light/don't actually tackle the issues themselves (Joker from Batman Arkham games or Dead by Daylight) will not count. The goal of this is to learn something new or to see something in a different perspective, not to simply spot the obvious. I will be lenient on this rule, but try to remember the goal of this before choosing. If you are unsure if a game fits, feel free to ask here. I will also count games that help with mental health if it is blatantly obvious like Flower or Aery. However, you have to explain how it can help others improve their mental health. It doesn't matter if you are starting a game from scratch or you have all of the trophies except one, as long as you pop it during May, it will count. Late sign ups are welcome, but you must earn the final trophy AFTER you join. It's not really participating if you sign up and are done instantly!
2. After you finish your game, post here and explain what you learned from the game or explain what illness your character had (if applicable). This is important too. I would like some real thought put into this event for those brave enough to participate. Simply saying, I finished Gris or I am Bread will not count. Explain how mental health was addressed in the game, what illnesses did you observe, did the person suffer from depression, anxiety, or something else? How did the character or characters cope with it? What were your thoughts on it as a whole? It doesn't have to be a book, but some general thoughts or discussion on the game would be nice. Not just two sentences. Though, I realize not everyone is an English speaker so I'll be pretty lenient on this one.

 

EXAMPLE (bare minimum):

 

When I played Nier Automata, I learned about depression. There's a really sad side mission where you hack a robot and you are taken through his thought processes before he ultimately commits suicide.

 

(YES, IT'S THAT EASY)

 

If you complete both of the requirements above, you will receive a badge for the event created by the amazing @Ellie-nyan. The badges are awesome (Grave approved) and can guarantee you they will be worth your time. I hope everyone who wins one proudly displays them in their signatures or on their about me page here. It'll be a nice piece of virtual hardware to display. It should go without saying, but please POST HERE IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO PARTICIPATE. It's a lot harder to track who earned a badge if you just randomly post after completing a requirement, but never told me you joined in the first place!  

 

Here are some recommended games: Thank you to @Froopy the Temmie and everyone else in your Discord server for helping me compile a list.

 

Spoiler

Abzu, Actual Sunlight, Akimi Village, Akiba's Beat, Among the Sleep, Amplitude, Anamorphine, Balan Wonderland, Baldur's Gate II, Blackwood Crossing, Blair Witch, Blue Reflection, Bound, Braid, Brothers: Tales of Two Sons, Celeste, Chaos;Child, Child of light, Concrete Genie, Danganropa (series), Darkest Dungeon, Dear Esther, Detroit Become Human, Doki Doki Universe, Dream Daddy, Drowning, Either One, Farm Together, Figment, Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9, 10, 13 (series), Firewatch, Fractured minds, Ghost Giant, Gris, Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star, Heavy Rain, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, I am bread, Ikenfell, In Between, Into a Dream, Life is Strange, Limbo, Mass Effect (series), Neverending Nightmares, Ni No Kuni, Nier, Nier Automata, Night in the Woods, NERO, Oxenfree, Papo & Yo, Persona 5/P5R, Pinstripe, Rime, Sea of Solitude, Slime Rancher, Spec Ops: The Line, Spiritfarer, SOMA, Stardew Valley, Stein's Gate, Stein's Gate 0, Suicide of Rachel Foster, The Dark Pictures Anthology, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, The First Tree, The Last Day of June, The Last of Us, The Missing: JJ Macfield and the island of memories, The Witcher, This War of Mine, Three Fourths Home, Town of Light, TwinMirror, Undertale, Until Dawn, Valiant Hearts: The Great War, Wolfenstein 2

 

Also, thank you for the recommendations in the comments, I will do my best to add them to the OP. 

 

 

However that's not all...

 

Bonus Badge

 

I can acknowledge that some of you can finish a game in a day and be done with this event earlier than expected. Therefore, we will have a bonus badge for anyone who plays a game that fits this year's theme of #YouAreNotAlone. All you have to do is play a game (not the same one you used for the first badge) where two characters are companions throughout the game or you travel in a party (TLOU, Tales of Xillia, Final Fantasy games, etc), or a game that requires online trophies/Co-Op to complete (Destiny, Call of Duty Black Ops, Street Fighter V). Get as creative as you want for this one just remember that you must complete the first badge for this one to count. It can be done before the first badge, but you don't get extra credit if you never finish your assignment if you get my drift.

 

The REAL Reason You Should Join:

 

I would be a terrible host if I did not put my money where my mouth is. Therefore, for every badge earned, I will donate $1 to my local Mental Health Association. If anyone else wants to take this challenge with me, I triple dog dare you. I will shout you out here for anyone who dares to do it with me. Not sure what the total will be whether it's $20 or $200, but it'll be fun regardless.

 

S/O to @Kristen Danielle for joining me in donating to the cause and thank you for sharing your story! Also, @SnuggleButt_ has decided to join in as well in the donations! I know you wanted to join the event but studies won't let you. However, this is also a great way to participate!  Another shoutout to @Ellie-nyan for joining in as well! Making the badges AND donating! I appreciate you doing both and helping me make this event even better! May need to be prepared to make a lot of badges though.  I've known @Stand_User3 for a while on Discord and know how he is studying to become a doctor. I want you to focus on becoming a doctor first so I understand why you cannot actively participate, but I'm absolutely thrilled you've decided to join me in donating! Fun fact about Stand_user3 though, he's actually the one who came up with the name for the event. @Briste has also joined in on donating as well. I appreciate that you took the time to share your story. It was a sad read but a very important one. Really cool you decided to donate! @Together_Comic is joining in on the fun too! Hope you enjoy the event and thanks for donating. It's great to see so many people deciding to join in! @Dr_Mayus is donating $2 for every badge so it'll be easier to empty his wallet (very generous of you). @Hisuiryu is joining the club as well. Please read his comment too. It's very interesting to live with autism undiagnosed and masking your own personal struggles from your family for so long. @oxford_wolf007 is donating $1 too. Sounds like you were a great friend and really cared for your friend. Thanks for sharing! @ddracarys will donate $10 NZD for every badge earned. I wonder if that was a typo? ? That's insane, haha! The reason why I did a dollar per badge by the way was because I wanted to pick a number that would be easy for anyone else to do too. That's incredibly fantastic to hear you going the extra mile! @Starrk_01 I knew you'd come through for me, bro. ? Thanks for donating $2 per badge! We're going to make one MHA very happy at the end of the month. Haha. @Neptuos will also be donating 20 PLN for each badge earned. I had to look up the conversation rate to figure out how much that actually is, but that's extremely generous of you regardless. Maybe someone can find an organization in Poland tied to mental health, but regardless, it's going to charity and will help others!

 

Participants:

 

Spoiler

@Beyondthegrave07 ✅?

@Dead Weight ✅

@Neptuos ✅

@MissShake ✅?

@Cassylvania ✅

@JourneySilvers ✅

@MrFudge ✅

@Mesopithecus ✅

@Darling Baphomet

@Dav9834

@Han_the_Dragon ✅

@DrBloodmoney ✅?

@Dr_Mayus ✅?

@ChimJiminie 

@Cobbsquatch 

@enaysoft ✅?

@PhoenixIKN

@kindajustin ✅

@pinkrobot_pb ✅?

@Dzware ✅?

@Beth Medusa 

@Anxiety ✅?

@Berendsapje 

@AK-1138 ✅?

@Ellie-nyan ✅?

@ExistentialSolid ✅?

@kingofbattle8174 ✅

@Violino ✅?

@Zanreo ✅?

@eigen-space ✅?

@DeadlyPerfume ✅

@FoxyKatt_ ✅

@Briste ✅?

@Inuty ✅

@ValenTris7 ✅

@Animator22 

@BlackCatBurrito 

@SpaceCoresDad ✅?

@MickeyMixLipa

@rangers_lead5278 ✅

@Quixotesque ✅

@AuroraHistoire ✅?

@Together_Comic ✅

@Jens ✅?

@Tiffanniebaby ✅

@Jello ✅

@DamagingRob ✅

@gruffiiti ✅?

@GuitaristZag ✅

@s68sc ✅?

@Hisuiryu ✅

@oxford_wolf007 ✅

@KabbageDetective 

@ArchaeanHorizon ✅

@Nurse_Feel_Good 

@IntroPhenom ✅

@Weskerfan75 ✅?

@scemopagliaccioh 

@WDB_Chaotic ✅?

@TimeLordCrow13y ✅

@SupergiantStarr ✅?

@JimboUrbanian ✅

@MattbluePT ✅?

@edolusill ✅?

@cocoeggs ✅?

@ddracarys 

@Kishnabe 

@Starrk_01 ✅?

@hBLOXs 

@nrs1nrs1 

@Neocarleen ✅

@NitrousPurge 

@uncharted965 

@brosephstalin3fm ✅

@Celestial_Lily 

@Im2Fast_4U ✅?

@Cerlayjux ✅?

@InfinateEternity 

@Poptartboy54 ✅

@Last-_-Judgment ✅?

@Pieroluc ✅

 

 

Thanks for reading and happy hunting!

Edited June 3, 2021 by Beyondthegrave07

[Dead Weight]

didn't read, I'm in

[Phantochi]

Cool, i'm in, i was planning to play Celeste and Gris anyway, i'll leave both for may then

[MissShake]

Count me in too

[AJ_Radio]

I'm 32 years old and still experience mental health issues at least once a month, if not more.

 

I generally avoid games that focus on mental health awareness or send a hidden message regarding such. David Cage games (Heavy Rain, Detroit: Become Human and Beyond Two Souls) I guess dive a little into mental health awareness? I can easily pick out characters in both who suffer from mental health issues, such as Ethan in Heavy Rain, but I already did that game on two different systems.

 

Don't know if I will join this event or not.

[Cassylvania]

An event that doesn't require me to play 10+ games through to completion? I'm in.

 

Oh, and being for a good cause helps too.

 

I highly recommend Celeste. I'll probably do Gris or Night in the Woods.

[JourneySilvers]

Count me in ? I have a game or two in mind that I could go for. 

[MrFudge]

I’m interested in this, but have a quick query as to your leniency. 

 

The game that instantly sprang to mind for me was Seasons After Fall. The story revolves around issues such as a lack of trust, self-doubt and fear, and loneliness. It doesn’t explicitly tackle any certain mental illness, but the issues recounted above are all closely tied to mental health. 

 

Similarly, the way in which the story works to build up the character in need; sympathising, reassuring, and believing in her, strongly reflects the positive support and uplifting that can be used to help combat mental illnesses. 

 

If this helps sway the decision, it’s also a very soothing game that I imagine could be of great comfort for those in need. 

 

So I'm just wondering if you think it’d be acceptable? Anybody here who has played it is welcome to chime in too. 

 

Thanks  

[MarcusPunisher]

If I can recommend a game that you can add on that list.

 

It's called The Town of Light and it's a first persona horror adventure that takes places in mental asylum and was inspired by real events of psychiatric hospital in Tuscany called Volterra. Played through myself and I learned a lot from that game, although, parts can be disturbing.

 

It's an interesting study on mental health and one that would be fitting for this challenge.  

Edited April 24, 2021 by MarcusPunisher
more stuff to add

[Mesopithecus]

I would like to join please

[Darling Baphomet]

I'll join.

[Dav9834]

41 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

I'm 32 years old and still experience mental health issues at least once a month, if not more.

 

I generally avoid games that focus on mental health awareness or send a hidden message regarding such. David Cage games (Heavy Rain, Detroit: Become Human and Beyond Two Souls) I guess dive a little into mental health awareness? I can easily pick out characters in both who suffer from mental health issues, such as Ethan in Heavy Rain, but I already did that game on two different systems.

 

Don't know if I will join this event or not.

I'm in my 30s as well, have suffered myself daily from panic disorder(medicated thankfully). The pandemic realllly did no favors. 

You're not alone my friend

 

I'll join, not sure what game yet

 

btw is I am Bread really a recommendation? I've never played it, never had an interest, but now I'm curious in what the heck the game is about lol

[Kristen Danielle]

I will join @Beyondthegrave07 in donating $1 to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for every badge earned during this event.

 

I have Generalized Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive, Attention Deficit, and Major Depressive Disorders and have struggled with suicidal thoughts on numerous occasions. I'd also like to share a story about one of my experiences with the stigma surrounding mental health disorders. The following is a post that I wrote on my Facebook a few days ago.

 

"So, as you all know, I have severe anxiety that is triggered by loud noise. A few days ago, I was out of my medication and really, really suffering and struggling to breathe properly. Now, our neighbor has some kind of ridiculous contraption of a lawnmower that is like twice as loud as most. I don't know how or where she got it, but my mom grew up on a farm and she said she's never heard one like it. On this particular day, I had had a lot of triggers already and this woman had been out there on that monstrosity for the ENTIRE day, so it was really getting to me. My mother went over and respectfully explained the situation and asked her if she could cool it just for the evening due to my extreme stress. She did. Then, a few days later, I had gotten my medicine again and was feeling much better. I was also sound asleep in one of those deep, nothing-disturbs-you sleeps brought on by some muscle relaxants I had taken for my pain and my mom went out to mow our own lawn while she had the opportunity to do so without messing with my head. The neighbor sees her and comes over there, stops her, and starts yelling at her like "I can't believe you are out here mowing your lawn when you asked me to stop mowing mine!" My mom then tried to politely explain that she never actually wanted to go over and ask her to stop, but that I had been out of my medication that day and had been having a really hard time. So, this woman goes "Well, can't you just have her put into a home or something?" What a great idea! My mom should absolutely have me put into a home full of people who are a serious danger to themselves and others despite the fact that I function completely normally aside from a bit of anxiety at times so you can mow your lawn. It gets worse, though, believe it or not. As my mother, who was enraged at this point, tried to keep calm and help her understand, this woman goes "Is she abusive to you?" Um, no, but what business is it of yours if I was? People who behave like this and refuse to educate themselves are one of the main reasons that the suicide rate is so high across the world."

 

THE STIGMA MUST END.

Edited April 24, 2021 by Kristen Danielle

[Han_the_Dragon]

I would like to join, but I'm to overworked and to irritated to think about the subject.. (well, let's just say that I have been extremely overworked trying to keep my workplace afloat for the last 6 months, and while things weren't exactly improving much, I was at least able to keep things going and avoid total morale breakdown from everyone to see if things could potentially improve,  now a new coworker managed to irritated/antagonize everyone there in her first morning of work because she thinks that she is in an untouchable position, and because of that she quite likely did damages beyond repair..).

 

I should be sleeping,  but I'm to angry and restless to be able to sleep... after all,  if it was for things go wrong, I would rather have quit 6 months ago (well, I never know when to quit...)

 

Anyway,  count me in, since I may actually get something done that is fitting the theme. I'm working on Nier Automata... there's a lot of spoilers that I can elaborate in a mental health point of view, although I think that's more human society philosophy than a mental health issue theme... I'm also thinking in finishing Caligula Effect, and that's essentially an agglomeration of any and all mental health issues in a single package (in a huge way, it's the central theme).

[DrBloodmoney]

Great idea @Beyondthegrave07 - I’m in.

 

I will have to decide which game to do (I have done a few games from the list already) and will have a think about that today - but in the meantime, I would just like to recommend a game to add to the list - Rainswept. 

 

I played it a few months back, and it deals with depression and self destructive behaviour - especially in relationships - in quite an affecting way, I found.

[Dr_Mayus]

I will attempt to find a game to play ?

[AJ_Radio]

1 hour ago, Dav9834 said:

btw is I am Bread really a recommendation? I've never played it, never had an interest, but now I'm curious in what the heck the game is about lol

 

That is a very difficult platinum to get. Unless you have nerves of steel and are extremely patient with very high precision, definitely skip this one.

[ChimJiminie]

I'll join. Thank you for doing this event.

[Xenoblast91]

Don't know if counts, but Soma deals a lot with existentialists crisis (it leans more to a philosophy rather than psychology but is equally impactful), and as is played from FPV I guess the player have the experience of the main character, and s/he becomes aware of potential issues that can lead to identify mental health issues too. 

 

Good luck to everyone who'll participate in the challenge!  

[Neocarleen]

@Beyondthegrave07 

Just curious why you picked Songbird Symphony for your list? The protagonist is a baby bird that doesn’t know it’s species/who his parents are and is sad about that, but I’m not sure if I would categorize it as a game about mental illness? Unless I missed something.

 

My own suggestions to add:

In Between is a puzzle game with each batch of levels representing the five stages of grief. The protagonist goes through memories of his life as he comes to terms with his own terminal cancer diagnosis.

 

Anamorphine is a walking sim about a guy who is struggling with PTSD going through his memories of everything that lead up to “it”. Helpfully, the game warns you when the really dark scene is coming up and even allows you to just skip it.

 

The First Tree is an intertwining story about a fox looking for her missing Cubs with a voiceover story of a man’s struggles with... stuff. I can’t remember details; It’s been awhile since I played this game.

 

Three Fourths Home is a short visual novel styled game that is a college student on the phone with their mother as she travels home through a storm. Again, can’t remember details but the protagonist is depressed.

 

Then there are games like Superliminal, Asemblance, The Spectrum Retreat, etc, which are more about madness and being trapped in a dreamscape/your own mind. But if you’re going to include games about madness and insanity, then most of them are going to be horror where people suffering from mental illnesses are the monsters. And that’s totally the wrong path to go down with this event. (Like, nobody should be doing a game like Outlast, for example)

 

Another suggestion/request: Maybe as a bonus, we could play a game that would help with mental health? Like a relaxing, chill out game. Like Flower or the Aery games.

[Beyondthegrave07]

2 hours ago, MrFudge said:

I’m interested in this, but have a quick query as to your leniency. 

 

The game that instantly sprang to mind for me was Seasons After Fall. The story revolves around issues such as a lack of trust, self-doubt and fear, and loneliness. It doesn’t explicitly tackle any certain mental illness, but the issues recounted above are all closely tied to mental health. 

 

Similarly, the way in which the story works to build up the character in need; sympathising, reassuring, and believing in her, strongly reflects the positive support and uplifting that can be used to help combat mental illnesses. 

 

If this helps sway the decision, it’s also a very soothing game that I imagine could be of great comfort for those in need. 

 

So I'm just wondering if you think it’d be acceptable? Anybody here who has played it is welcome to chime in too. 

 

Thanks  

If it has to do with dealing with stress in general and people coping with it, it probably counts. When you explain after you finish though (part 2), you need to explain how the characters struggle with life and how they cope with it. In other words, as long as part 2 is easily explained and relates to the topic, it counts. Make more sense?

2 hours ago, Dav9834 said:

I'm in my 30s as well, have suffered myself daily from panic disorder(medicated thankfully). The pandemic realllly did no favors. 

You're not alone my friend

 

I'll join, not sure what game yet

 

btw is I am Bread really a recommendation? I've never played it, never had an interest, but now I'm curious in what the heck the game is about lol

The game is very interesting. It's not exactly about the bread, but the environment around it. There's a really fascinating YT video on it that explains how depression plays a huge part of the game, but I won't say any more in case you are interested in playing the game. It definitely fits... more subtle, but it fits.

 

EDIT: I'll add more suggestions later, but it's getting late. Thank you all for the suggestions. To answer @Neocarleen, for Songbird Symphony, I'm not quite sure.  A lot of the games on the list were recommended to me. I'll remove it for now though since I don't know a thing about it. Haha.

Edited April 24, 2021 by Beyondthegrave07

[Neocarleen]

12 minutes ago, Beyondthegrave07 said:

EDIT: I'll add more suggestions later, but it's getting late. Thank you all for the suggestions. To answer @Neocarleen, for Songbird Symphony, I'm not quite sure.  A lot of the games on the list were recommended to me. I'll remove it for now though since I don't know a thing about it. Haha.

It is a cute little game, and if it’s on sale I would recommend picking it up. It’s just not a fit for this theme.  The rest all look fine though ?

[Cobbsquatch]

I'm in.

 

[Beyondthegrave07]

2 hours ago, Kristen Danielle said:

I will join @Beyondthegrave07 in donating $1 to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for every badge earned during this event.

 

I have Generalized Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive, Attention Deficit, and Major Depressive Disorders and have struggled with suicidal thoughts on numerous occasions. I'd also like to share a story about one of my experiences with the stigma surrounding mental health disorders. The following is a post that I wrote on my Facebook a few days ago.

 

"So, as you all know, I have severe anxiety that is triggered by loud noise. A few days ago, I was out of my medication and really, really suffering and struggling to breathe properly. Now, our neighbor has some kind of ridiculous contraption of a lawnmower that is like twice as loud as most. I don't know how or where she got it, but my mom grew up on a farm and she said she's never heard one like it. On this particular day, I had had a lot of triggers already and this woman had been out there on that monstrosity for the ENTIRE day, so it was really getting to me. My mother went over and respectfully explained the situation and asked her if she could cool it just for the evening due to my extreme stress. She did. Then, a few days later, I had gotten my medicine again and was feeling much better. I was also sound asleep in one of those deep, nothing-disturbs-you sleeps brought on by some muscle relaxants I had taken for my pain and my mom went out to mow our own lawn while she had the opportunity to do so without messing with my head. The neighbor sees her and comes over there, stops her, and starts yelling at her like "I can't believe you are out here mowing your lawn when you asked me to stop mowing mine!" My mom then tried to politely explain that she never actually wanted to go over and ask her to stop, but that I had been out of my medication that day and had been having a really hard time. So, this woman goes "Well, can't you just have her put into a home or something?" What a great idea! My mom should absolutely have me put into a home full of people who are a serious danger to themselves and others despite the fact that I function completely normally aside from a bit of anxiety at times so you can mow your lawn. It gets worse, though, believe it or not. As my mother, who was enraged at this point, tried to keep calm and help her understand, this woman goes "Is she abusive to you?" Um, no, but what business is it of yours if I was? People who behave like this and refuse to educate themselves are one of the main reasons that the suicide rate is so high across the world."

 

THE STIGMA MUST END.

Thank you for sharing this story, and it's stuff like this is why I think it's important for us all to understand it better. Having a mental illness doesn't mean something is "wrong" with you and doesn't make you less of a person. JUST LOOK AT THE STATISTICS I POSTED. TONS of people go through mental health issues and that's fine. It's something we should be helping each other out and lifting each other up instead of putting them down and think of those who struggle as lesser people.

[SnuggleButt_]

My studies will not allow me to participate in the event, but I would also like to go ahead and join others in donating the aforementioned price, per badge, to a local association.