MHM 2022 - Are you doing okay? Guest post from Brian Eagan

A lot is said in mental health month about "it's ok to ask for help" and it definitely is ok to ask for help. And it's important to say that it's ok to ask for help. But in the midst of a crisis that can often be as useful as telling someone that it's ok to climb Mount Everest.

Sure, you're allowed to climb Mount Everest and it's theoretically possible, but that isn't going to fucking happen. When someone is, literally, fighting for their life the prospect of trying to figure out who you can talk to, who is going to get it, who won't be judgmental, who you won't feel like you're burdening, who is even around to pick up the phone or read a text makes climbing Mount Everest seem easy in comparison.

So it's important to know the signs that someone is struggling and to get comfortable with the idea of asking if they're ok. It's important to be explicit too. "Are you doing ok?" is a great start. "Are you thinking about killing yourself?" "Do you have a plan for how you would do it?" "Do you have the means to complete that plan?" can be the difference between life and death.

Maybe it'll feel weird to bring up but sometimes the most meaningful things can be the hardest to do.