Mental health issues are nothing new to America or even action sports.
There have been several articles about mental health issues and suicides within the community.
Sometimes mental health issues go under the radar.
I don’t think most people are particularly stoked on the current situation but personally, it sucks.
I’m usually treading a pretty thin line to hold it all together and keep trucking.
The ability to move around but have consistent employment helps me hold things together.
Being locked down, with no current job, summer job or creative hobby, has been tough.
I know I’m not the only one in a rough spot though.
That’s why I wanted to write this to reach out.
A way to say “What’s up, how’s it going?
“, and see to it you’re alright.
There are people in all kinds of situations out there.
My goal is to reach out to the fellow community members and say hello.
Are you doing alright?
No seriously, are you doing alright?
My inbox is always open and as expected I have quite a bit of time on my hands.
Personal shit, and mental health issues can be tough to talk about.
This covid situation is keeping people isolated, but I want you to feel free to reach out.
In this situation social distancing is important, but it’s also important that nobody feel left alone.
Personally I’ve never done anything about my mental health issues.
I have terrible anxiety issues as well as some learning disabilities.
I struggle with forms, paperwork, people, even talking about things with friends.
My friends are cool as fuck.
They mention that they are there for people, but I don’t engage.
Sometimes everything isn’t fine though.
I deal with some fucked up shit.
I grind through it with work and routine and ignore it for the most part like many people.
The problem is, that it doesn’t solve things.
Maybe it’s admirable but probably not.
It’s a fucked up pattern.
People judge them, they yell that they should have sought help, they should have done something.
Honestly it comes across as selfish sometimes.
Our health care system is a fucking rodeo.
I want to be real as this is a real issue that impacts a ton of us.
I posted some pretty personal stuff on this.
I usually shy away from anything on the topic outside of random forum posts.
I felt this was needed though.
A member randomly messaged me making sure I was alright the other day.
I live my life on a teeter totter more than I have my shit together.
I don’t think I’m the only one, in fact I know I’m not.
This stupid website has become a home for me.
I’ve gone on road trips, crashed with people, drank with people from this site.
I’ve posted my deepest secrets openly in the forums.
This place means a ton to me, and could be a big reason why I never really left.
It’s hard for people to put themselves out there, it’s not a fun topic to discuss.
Unfortunately that lack of discussion leads people to think that they really are alone.
That’s something that isn’t true.
This is a community, we’re all in this together, and we’ll make it through.
So I’ll shut the hell up, I’ll leave you to your quarantine life.
But I want to ask you again.
How are you doing?
Do you want to talk?
Keep your friends close, keep your ski friends closer.
We’ll get through this together.
