Hello, dearies! This is the third time this is happening, wow! That is pretty incredible, yes? Great. If you want to check out some of our past years, I’d advise starting here! So, if this does happen to be your first time, welcome! This event is pretty much all about Mental Health in the YA Community, and in YA books in general. Basically, my co-hosts and I have gotten together with tons of authors, bloggers, and bookish sorts to talk about mental health. Some share stories, some talk from a bookish perspective, but we all agree on one thing: The stigma surrounding mental health in general has to go. 
Now, since I have shared with you the past two years, I suppose I might as well share again! Seems quite rude to ask all these lovely humans to share their damn souls on my blog if I don’t plan to do some of the same, eh? Last year at this time, things were pretty damn stagnant on the mental health front. I’d been trying for over a year, in vain, to find a therapist who was a decent fit. I also said that I wanted to be back in 2017 to give you some good news.
Well, I can’t exactly give you good news about 2017 because like, you live in it, you understand. But one thing I can tell you that may be positive is that I did find someone who is a good fit! And look, I have no idea what makes one counselor a good fit and another not. But I will say that I know this one is because she somehow has encouraged me to make actual life changes. Big life changes. Ones that were very, very long overdue that I’ve been wanting to do for some time but was too damn afraid. It’s a process though, make no mistake. It took months to work up to this one (albeit big) thing, but I did it. And you know what? Overcoming one big thing makes me have a little more faith in myself to overcome the next “big” thing that comes my way.
So my message this year is this: Don’t. Give. Up. There are resources that will work for you. It may take ten tries, but who even cares, because if the tenth time takes, you’re on the right path! It might suck, it will absolutely be scary, but knowing there can be a light at the end is worth everything.
Where to Find #ShatteringStigmas
- On Holly’s Blog- The Fox’s Hideaway
- On Inge’s Blog- Of Wonderland
- On Vlora’s Blog- Reviews and Cake
- On Taylor’s Blog- Stay on the Page
- On Taneika’s YouTube Channel
- On Twitter, we hope to organize a chat this coming weekend, so stay tuned (trying to finalize a time with a bunch of people around the world can be hard, guys!)
There will be a big old giveaway again this year! For starers, there’s a SIX- WINNER International Giveaway! That’s right, six readers will win their choice of any book with mental health rep, as long as The Book Depository delivers to you! This ends on November 3 😀
There will also be a couple of Twitter giveaways going on! I am definitely doing one, and I will update this post with the link, but also check out the #ShatteringStigmas hashtag on Twitter for others’!
YAY SO EXCITED!! YOU ARE ALL FANTASTIC. ❤️ And I can’t wait to read all the beautiful posts!
AW thank you so much!! Excited for you to read them, too! ♥
I’m so happy that you’ve found a counselor who is a good fit, Shannon! I hope things work out for you. And I’m very excited for this event. I loved all the posts last year, so looking forward to it again. 🙂
Aw thank you SO much, I really appreciate that, Nick! And I hope you enjoy it 😀
Yay – I’m glad you all are still doing this. Mental Heath is an important topic and the stigma really needs to go away. We’re making strides, I think! I especially like what Princes Harry and William are doing with their whole charity/campaign.
I’m glad you found a counselor that fits and she has helped you to make a big change in your life!
-lauren
Aw thank you SO MUCH! I agree, there has been a TON of progress! One of my goals for next year (I actually thought about it this year but there just wasnt enough time to organize when I thought of it!) is to do more with a charity!
I love this event! I’m looking forward to reading the posts!
Thank you SO much, I hope you love it! 😀
I totally agree with you. If at first you don’t succeed: Try, try, try again. You’ll eventually end up finding something that sticks and it’ll make all those “failures” worth something C:
Aw thank you SO much! Yes, yes, that is SO true, it makes the failures feel much less of actual fails- since it was just trial and error!
I’m so incredibly happy you found a counselor who you gel with nicely, Shannon! I’ve been recently looking into finding a psychologist for myself lately, but it’s difficult!
Thankyou so much for sharing this and again, letting me be a part of this <3
Thank you SO much ♥♥ It IS difficult to find, I imagine it is what makes people so much less likely to seek treatment. I really hope that you are able to find someone, too! And of course, thank YOU for joining us!!
Thank you for trying to shatter the stigma of mental health.
Aw thank YOU for reading and taking part!! ♥♥
Well done on how much you have done. I have struggled with depression ever since I was a teenager.
Aw thank you SO much ♥ I am sorry that you can relate- I have too, it’s certainly not easy. Hugs.
Thanks for sharing this. I suffer from depression and anxiety, and a few years ago I needed to see a therapist/psychologist, and I found one that did help. But then I got to feeling better, not to mention I also didn’t want to keep spending the money. Now I am at a point I kind of need to talk to someone again, but I can’t find any of the information, and can’t remember her name. Thanks so much for sharing this again, it really helps knowing others out there, especially those who I admire for doing the things I like to do, have more in common that just our love of books.
Ugh, the money IS a struggle. It hurts to have to write that damn check every week, I won’t lie. But yeah, if you think you need it again, it’s a good idea to like, nip it in the bud? What I would recommend is either searching your insurance provider’s site OR googling your area’s mental health if you have an insurance that most people accept. Then kind of look to see if the person treats your specific conditions (most DO with anxiety and depression, that is what I have too, but some are kids, marriages, etc) and then if you want a female or male, what age, etc. That is how I narrowed it down! Hope it helps. BIG hugs ♥♥ And thank you for your kind words, it means the world!
So glad you found the right fit to help on your mental health journey and congrats on making your first big change!
Thank you SO much! And thank YOU for your help with this event, and your incredible post! ♥♥
First of all, I’m so happy that you found someone who’s a good fit! I literally just reread your post from last year, so I remember that you were struggling with this (and that one therapist quit to go and sell books), and I’m thrilled that you kept at it and found someone who can encourage you to live your best life. <3 Big changes can be scary and I'm proud of you for persevering. I've been making some changes myself recently, and it can be so worth it. Secondly, I'm happy to be a part of it as a co-host this year after writing guest posts before! It's such an important event and you're awesome for starting it.
Thank you LOVE! Yes, she did, which made my current therapist laugh REALLY hard hahha. I am so glad you have been making good changes too! It IS hard- especially being someone who is super change-averse, but it WILL be for the best, for both of us ♥♥
And goodness, thank you SO MUCH for joining us this year! I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to have you on board!
I love the goal of this event- kicking the stigma of mental health to the curb. There are so many people who suffer in silence for fear of being looked at side-eye, and it’s 2017- we need to get over that. Opening up and sharing can be tough but I think it’s awesome that people know they’re not alone. You and the co- hosts rock for doing this. 🙂
Thank youuuu ♥♥ It is so true, far too many people resist seeking treatment, it is so unfortunate. Because… why is there even stigma? Especially since it’s been proven that a lot of MH issues are related to brain chemicals which… is just a medical issue, at the end of the day? I figure, if even one person feels less alone from any of the posts, it’s totally worth it 😀
“and fine, maybe an errant blog tour, sorry” LOL I know you’re meh on that, but that comment made me laugh. And ahh, I’m so glad you’re sharing about finding a good fit in a therapist because I think the one you have has definitely helped your life in big ways, and maybe it’ll encourage others who are having a hard time with therapists and/or have been too scared to try one. AND I’M SO PROUD OF YOU FOR THE CHANGES. I can’t wait to see your posts, darling <3
Bwhahah right? And then I realized I’d be posting a Blogoversary post too, so I am just FULL of win ?
I agree with you, she really HAS been a great influence, and I really hope that hearing that my story of finding a good fit had a good ending will maybe help someone else take the plunge.
Damn it Holly, I am tearing up. Thank you. So much. Change is fucking scary, even though it is a change I have wanted for SO long, it’s still never easy. I mean, it isn’t something I have been super public with at this point, and I am even vague in this post so… I just keep hoping for a better tomorrow ♥♥ Thanks so, so much for doing this with me. It means the world.
Ahhh Shannon! I love your posts so much because you are a master at GIFs. I am also happy you found a therapist you connect with. Wishing you all the best and looking forward to your posts!
AWW thank youuu! It is hard to find that fit, but I hope it helps others who are struggling to find good help hope too 😀
So good to see you guys doing this for the third year! I am not a big fan of books dealing with mental health… mostly because i find most of them cliche and it annoys me that I feel like most books are writing about this because this is the ‘hot’ thing to write about right now. I love when a book really deals with mental health really well.
Thank you SO much! I agree that some ARE cliche- and the ones that fry me the most are the ones where some dude cures the girl’s MI. No please no. But some… wow, some just NAIL IT. Hopefully we’ll get more of those!
Oh sweetie, I’m so happy to hear that you’ve found a counsellor who is actually helpful and encouraging. You’ve been looking for this one for so long. I’m so happy. <3
Thank you SO much! So true, it has been a looooong time. I appreciate your support, as always ♥♥♥
This event always teaches me so much, and I’m so glad you’ve found a good fit with your therapist!
Aw thank you SO much for the kind words! I hope you enjoy it ♥♥
Wow, I remember when you first started this feature, congratulations on making to year #3! I told myself that when I relaunched my blog, that you were one of the first people I needed to visit, so tadaaaaa here I am lol. Also, I’m super proud that you’ve found a great fit in a counselor, and have made some life choices that at one point in time, were difficult to do. Definitely, keep pushing girl, you got this!
Now I’m off to see if you still do those cute bite-size mini reviews I was always jealous about lol.
YYAYY TIKA! This makes me so happy, I am SO GLAD your blog is back! I shall be checking it in a minute! I thought I saw you in my Bloglovin feed but then I thought maybe I was seeing things ? Thank you SO MUCH! It is tough, change always is, especially BIG change, but it’s a really good thing. So thank you so much for the support!
And YES mini-reviews are still happening! And there will be a LOT of them after this event because I am sooooo behind with reviews hahah.
HAVE I MENTIONED HOW PROUD I AM OF YOU MOM? WELL I AM. I REALLY AM 😀
Let’s make this another great year of Shattering Stigmas <3
THANK YOU, DAUGHTER. I feel like you are way more supportive than your sister Lena. She hasn’t cared at all about my event ? Hope you love the posts!!
I’m so excited for this event! There are pockets of society that are so much more open and understanding about mental health issues than when I was younger, but overall–we still have a long ways to go. I am also really glad you’ve found a good counselor. It is so exhausting to keep searching when you are already just feeling like curling up in a ball somewhere. So, yay for that, and thanks for reminding us all that it is WORTH IT to keep trying.
I’m so happy to hear that, Shannon! I’m really proud of you for not giving up and for not settling. I’m also really glad that YOU can see the progress you’ve made, since that’s the most important part. Thanks for always being so open about your struggles and successes. You’ve always been such an inspiration to me! *hugs*
I’m so glad that you managed to make the one big change! Now I hope you can find your way toward making more—and toward happiness!
I am so late to reading this but I am glad to hear that you’ve managed to find a therapist who works for you and helped encourage you to make a change for you. It’s scary but having someone encouraging you to do something which is right for you always helps and you do feel more prepared for the next thing. It’s always good to remember the things worth working on take time and it won’t always work out first time around but it will if you keep trying.