A Silver Lining

I hope this post finds you doing OK during these difficult times. Our mental health has been put to the test during COVID-19. Not knowing when we will get back to a normal of sorts is scary. Really, it's simply a scary thought! Having your mental health be a priority is quite the challenge.

I know I've been plagued by my depression and anxiety more so in the last couple of weeks. As you may have heard me state in my personal story, my mental illness no longer defines me. The medication I take gives me a chance everyday to make a choice; a choice to allow my mental illness to overtake me or to dig a little deeper and find a silver lining.

A silver lining for me is taking apart many unpleasant situations that arise in my life and delving deeper into meaning. Now, COVID-19 is an unprecedented situation that none of us have dealt with, but I feel how we look at what we can gain (ex. learning lessons) can have a tremendous impact in how we will be in a stronger place once this moves on.

One of the biggest things that this time has given me is a chance to really focus in on my work toward becoming a mental health advocate. I have wanted to become an entrepreneur for over ten years now, but have truly never had enough discipline and self-confidence to move forward with a project. It takes time, a lot of time, and that's difficult to do when you are constantly distracted with things that take away that time. All I have, for the most part, is time right now. With that understanding, I created this website as a vessel for the future. I'm genuinely excited for where my growth in knowledge and future influence will take me. I've often had grandiose dreams of being a big-time speaker and influencing millions. I've also seen myself as someone who practices what he preaches by giving back to the community in various volunteer settings. In fact, right now I'm working with our local NAMI chapter to hone my speaking skills. I've been fortunate to be invited to give a video presentation to a local business where I live, by sharing my personal story. How neat is that? How wonderful is it that we have the technology these days to be able to move forward, even though we are practicing social distancing right now?

In wrapping this up, my hope is that each and every one of you find your own silver lining during these unprecedented times. You are worth it!

-Ben