A Reminder That It’s Ok Not To Be Ok

Although it may be Mental Health Awareness Month elsewhere, this week in the United Kingdom marks the annual Mental Health Awareness Week. A theme usually surrounds the week, and the theme that has been chosen for 2020 is: Kindness.

Kindness: the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.

Throughout our lives we come across hundreds and thousands of people, yet we have no idea what they are dealing with inside. An act of kindness can make a huge difference, even if for just a few moments. It takes a second to be kind.

Do not only be kind to others, but be kind to yourself. Yes; you are worthy, yes; you deserve success and happiness, yes; you are beautiful the way you are.

Kindness can reduce stress and our emotional wellbeing; improving our self-esteem, mood and happiness.

Social Media and the internet in general can be a tough place, and it is our duty as human beings to promote kindness and build each other up, not tear each other down. Think about what you’re posting next time you post something online – could that affect someone’s mental wellbeing? Think of the consequences, the impact that it could ultimately have.

Year on year, more and more people are being encouraged to open up and talk about their thoughts and feelings. Our heroes, current and former wrestlers are not immune to having mental health struggles.

Former WWE Superstar, AJ Lee, who lives with bipolar disorder, is an avid advocate for mental health, and released her memoirs entitled ‘Crazy Is My Superpower: Triumphed By Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules‘ which discusses her journey.

She was quoted saying for Child Mind Institute: “Mental health conditions can be scary and intimidating, but I choose to believe that they just mean that we’re able to see the world in more beautiful more vibrant colours and getting treatment is a way to learn how to paint with those colours.”

AJ is an inspiration for many who struggle, as she regularly posts updates about how she’s getting on, but in the most quirky way possible.

AJ has recently been involved with the ‘#HowAreYouChallenge’ on Twitter, where people are encouraged to openly talk about how they’re feeling, sharing stories and providing tips. The post received an enormous amount of replies, with many sharing their emotional health.

NXT Commentator, Mauro Ranallo, also lives with bipolar disorder, and even has a documentary detailing his battle since he was young. Mauro has been open and honest about his brave daily struggles, although quitting social media last year, we haven’t seen many updates from him, which were usually inspiring and encouraging for those struggling.

In a fascinating, heartbreaking and powerful watch, Mauro sat down with boxing heavyweight, Tyson Fury, who openly detailed his struggles with his mental health, which almost came to ahead whilst in his car, driving towards a bridge ready to end it all. Tyson thankfully is still with us today, and spreads mental health awareness at every moment he can. He shared his journey in his recently released book ‘Behind The Mask‘

Smackdown Women’s Tag Team Champion, Alexa Bliss, is also no stranger to having struggles as she battles with an eating disorder. She told Sports Illustrated “I take it day-by-day. Dealing with eating disorders, anxiety, and depression, I’m no stranger to mental illness. Every few years, I deal with a really bad spell of depression. You have to know it doesn’t have to overtake your life.“

Former WWE Champion and box office movie star, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson also revealed his struggles recently: “One of the most important things that I know helped me with the multiple times that I had gone through my own episodes of depression, was making sure that I was talking to people.”

Former WWE, ROH & NJPW star, Mike Bennett, has been very honest about his past struggles with addiction. Bennett was documented with a mini-documentary on WWE’s official YouTube page about his journey not long after he joined the company. In turn, this brought a new outlook for Mike moving forward during his recovery, and wanted to use his story and his positivity for motivational speaking.

No matter who you are, where you come from, what job you have, what wage packet you have, your mental health can be impacted.

Unfortunately, men are less likely to speak about their mental health which has lead to a grim statistic. The leading cause of death in the UK is by suicide, by men under the age of 40. That has to change. Men should be encouraged to speak about their feelings and feel confident doing so, because after all we’re all human.

Seeing people like The Rock, Tyson Fury, Mauro Ranallo, and guys performing around the world like Chris Ridgeway, who have all shared their stories, their struggles, their battles with us, is a great step to encourage more men to do the same and seek help and support.

Wrestling Travel were proud to be a part of ‘Fight The Good Fight’ wrestling event put together by Lucy Openshaw in November 2019. Lucy raised money for mental health charities Mind and Papyrus.

The event itself saw over 100 people in attendance at the Fairfield Social Club in Manchester City Centre, and raised over £4,000.

Lucy, who is a ring announcer, interviewer and social media ambassador in the wrestling world, has come along way, and Wrestling Travel are extremely proud of her. Lucy is just one of many inspirations in the wrestling world who promotes mental wellbeing.

Times can get tough. Those dark clouds can come over you at any time. Remember, those days will pass and the sun will creep from behind those clouds and shine on you like it has never done before. Be kind, not just to others, but also to yourself. Better days are coming.

Below are some emotional support contacts for your country. We encourage you contact them if you’re struggling. Reach out to a friend or family member if you think they’re struggling. Look out for eachother, check in on one another, and ask twice if you need to. #KindnessMatters

______________________________________________________________________________

List of Emotional Support Helplines

????????
Lifeline
a 24-hour nationwide service that provides access to crisis support, suicide prevention and mental health support services. It can be reached at 13 11 14. They also offer an online chat service

????????
Crisis Text Line
a free, confidential 24/7 national crisis-intervention text-message service. Crisis Text Line can be reached by texting CONNECT (English) or PARLER (French) to 686-868

????????
Suicide écoute
01 45 39 40 00 (24-hour) : suicide prevention helpline (volunteers).

????????
Telefonseelsorge 
(http://www.telefonseelsorge.de/) (24/7, no cost): 0800 111 0 111 (Protestant), 0800 111 0 222 (Catholic), 0800 111 0 333 (for children and youth)

????????
Servizio per la Prevenzione del Suicidio (SPS) (http://www.prevenireilsuicidio.it/) ) is a suicide prevention helpline whose mission is to give psychological and emotional support to anyone in suicidal crisis or to anyone who lost a dear one for suicide, through a confidential listening from an equipe of doctors, psychologists and volunteers . The helpline is operating from 9.30 am till 4.30 pm, from Monday to Friday, and it can be reached from all regions of Italy.

????????
Lifeline Aotearoa
(http://www.lifeline.org.nz) is a New Zealand organisation providing free 24-hour counseling and phone help lines. It provides support, information and resources to people at risk of suicide, family and friends affected by suicide and people supporting someone with suicidal thoughts and/or suicidal behaviours.

????????
Voz de Apoio 
(http://www.vozdeapoio.pt) is anonymous and confidential. You can speak to them by calling 225 50 60 70 or through Skype, face-to-face, or writing.

????????
Teléfono de la Esperanza
(http://www.telefonodelaesperanza.org) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, allowing callers to discuss a range of challenges from trauma and suicide to relationship issues.They can be reached by calling 717 003 717.

????????
Anxiety UK
Charity providing support if you have been diagnosed with an anxiety condition. Phone: 03444 775 774 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 10pm; Saturday to Sunday, 10am to 8pm) Website: www.anxietyuk.org.uk

Bipolar UK
A charity helping people living with manic depression or bipolar disorder. Website: www.bipolaruk.org.uk

CALM
CALM is the Campaign Against Living Miserably, for men aged 15 to 35. Phone: 0800 58 58 58 (daily, 5pm to midnight) Website: www.thecalmzone.net

Men’s Health Forum
24/7 stress support for men by text, chat and email. Website: www.menshealthforum.org.uk

Mental Health Foundation
Provides information and support for anyone with mental health problems or learning disabilities. Website: www.mentalhealth.org.uk

Mind
Promotes the views and needs of people with mental health problems. Phone: 0300 123 3393 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm) Website: www.mind.org.uk

No Panic
Voluntary charity offering support for sufferers of panic attacks and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Offers a course to help overcome your phobia or OCD. Phone: 0844 967 4848 (daily, 10am to 10pm). Calls cost 5p per minute plus your phone provider’s Access Charge Website: www.nopanic.org.uk

OCD Action
Support for people with OCD. Includes information on treatment and online resources. Phone: 0845 390 6232 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 5pm). Calls cost 5p per minute plus your phone provider’s Access Charge Website: www.ocdaction.org.uk

OCD UK
A charity run by people with OCD, for people with OCD. Includes facts, news and treatments. Phone: 0333 212 7890 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) Website: www.ocduk.org

PAPYRUS
Young suicide prevention society. Phone: HOPELINEUK 0800 068 4141 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 10pm, and 2pm to 10pm on weekends and bank holidays) Website: www.papyrus-uk.org

Rethink Mental Illness
Support and advice for people living with mental illness. Phone: 0300 5000 927 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 4pm) Website: www.rethink.org

Samaritans
Confidential support for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair. Phone: 116 123 (free 24-hour helpline) Website: www.samaritans.org.uk

SANE
Emotional support, information and guidance for people affected by mental illness, their families and carers. SANEline: 0300 304 7000 (daily, 4.30pm to 10.30pm) Textcare: comfort and care via text message, sent when the person needs it most: www.sane.org.uk/textcare Peer support forum: www.sane.org.uk/supportforum Website: www.sane.org.uk/support

YoungMinds
Information on child and adolescent mental health. Services for parents and professionals. Phone: Parents’ helpline 0808 802 5544 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 4pm) Website: www.youngminds.org.uk

????????
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
(http://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/) is a 24-hour, toll-free, confidential suicide prevention hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255

Veterans Crisis Line 
(https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/) is a 24-hour, toll-free hotline that provides phone, webchat, and text options available to military veterans and their families. It provides options for deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

Samaritans USA 
(http://www.samaritansusa.org/) is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in distress or at risk of suicide throughout the United States