09/22/2021
What is Symbi
This is a work in progress, but there is a need to increase visibility of community mental health, and bring attention to how common these challenges are, and that it is absolutely OK to face these challenges. You are not alone, and you are supported. Symbi is a symbol of support for everyone experiencing mental health challenges in our community, showing that we are all here as a resource that can be counted upon.
A year and a half ago, we entered a pandemic. While we all were unwilling participants in the pandemic, we all had to bear with the experience. This exposed some very large differences between us all. Some of us had people we could video chat with. Some of us lived in neighborhoods which were supportive and had decorations and drive by trains wishing happy birthday with honking and waving. Some of us entered our home and experienced a completely different, very difficult year and a half. While some were locked in their homes with families and loved ones, some were locked with out support to battle single handedly the mental traumas that have always existed. Some now are facing the prospet of reentering the world with new traumas, new challenges.
But even with these differences and challenges, we have neighbors and community. No matter how many friends or family we may or may not interact with regularly, we all have people around us. This is the greatest resource available to support mental health in our community.
Mental health is a topic that needs to be addressed. While we can visibly see a person with a broken leg and know, that person is limited in their mobility, when a person is working through a period of anxiety or depression, they may not exhibit any obvious indicators of the severity of this feeling. In fact, the person experiencing these challenges may work so hard to NOT show any signs, that they may appear better than we’ve ever seen them. But inside, a battle is happening, and we as a community need to create a space free of additional stresses that allow mental health challenges to be confronted and overcome in a way that allows those of us experiencing the issues to not have to feel bad or additional stress for feeling the way we do.
When sitting in our place feeling anxiety or depression, or any other feeling, sometimes the hardest thing can be knowing we have to go out into society and put on a happy face and hide the feeling behind a smile. This challenge can be so immense that we just do not go out, the energy required to make ourselves appear happy, something we are not at this time, can exacerbate our situation and add overwhelm to our already challenging state.
These things make me wonder, why do we live in a world where those that are feeling mental health challenges feel compelled to comfort and present an image of ok-ness for those that are not feeling the negative impacts of mental health challenges? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t those that are having things going wonderfully want to provide space for those going through challenges?
Therefore, we as a community have an opportunity to become a resource. We can provide a space to help those that are feeling challenges. We may not be able to cure or even make people feel good. But we can find ways to make everyone feel more at ease and be as they are, where they are.
