Hey there! How are you? Thanks for visiting our Website! We're super stoked that you took the time to scroll this far!
Just in case you had no clue, Let's Unpack It is a non-for-profit community organization, based on Instagram, which aims to bring about Mental Health Awareness!
(Follow us @letsunpackitco) In general, and especially in a COVID-19 environment, it's important that we cherish and tap into our Mental Health. Unfortunately, up until now, as a society, we haven't been making the monumental changes necessary to advance and address the Mental Health Crisis. Part of our reluctance to pursue these advancements must be the stigma that surrounds Mental Health; and, pushing back against this stigma is what Let's Unpack It and this blog is all about!
As an organization, we just turned 1 year old (Woot Woot!) on January 30th, 2021, and we thought it was about time we expanded our movement to become more community-centric! On our IG page, we post tons of interesting and informative materials; and, while we've been able to garner some engagement in the comments and Q+A sessions, we're really interested in getting to know our community and fellow advocates on a more intimate level. So, we launched #Demystified: The Blog to do just that!
Some things you should know about us - the Writers:
Though the majority of us are from Caribbean nations, as well as from Sri Lanka, we still bear diverse educational and socioeconomic backgrounds, distinct perspectives, unique writer's craft, and all approach the topics of Mental Health quite differently - determined, of course, by our personal experience, degree of exposure to the literature, and our own views. If you're not from the Caribbean, however, please don't fear or shy away from commenting! We welcome your engagement, and we're really interested to find out about your experiences juxtaposed to our "small island" experience. Who knows? We may just have more similarities than differences!
We take pride in what we do! That means that we hold ourselves to a high standard, especially as it relates to being nondiscriminatory and inclusive. We'll review all of our pieces before posting to ensure they are free from discriminatory undertones! But, should we ever have an oversight and post something offensive, please let us know by comment, query or by email.
We're NOT all Mental Health Professionals (MHPs) or Psych Majors. We strongly believe that you don't have to be an expert to be an advocate! Moreover, Mental Illness can affect all of us - it does not discriminate! Thus, it's important that our team of writers adequately represents our target audience! Having a range of writers from different fields means that we are all equipped to speak on our individual experience of Mental Health; but [BIG DISCLAIMER], we are not all certified to offer you unique clinical advice on coping with a Mental Illness. If you or a loved one is coping with a Mental Illness, we're happy to give you a platform to share your story and feel heard; but, we do recommend and encourage you to seek help and clinical advice from a physician or a Registered Mental Health Professional! #seekhelpearly #mentalhealthmatters
We LOVE feedback! It's how we know you're listening, and that the content we're putting out is interesting and helpful. We'll try our best to post frequently and to respond to every comment! Do us a big favour - MAKE an account so you can like and comment on our posts; SUBSCRIBE to receive email newsletters and alerts; and, SHARE our blog with your friends! Let's let everyone know that Mental Health Matters!
So, here's what you can expect from #Demystified: The Blog:
It's your SAFE space. Our aim is to provide a platform for all of us to discuss, explore and demystify all things Mental Health! We're all bringing our own experiences, unique perspectives, biases and challenges to the table. That means sometimes we'll agree with, somewhat agree with or completely disagree with another community member. This may require that we launch further dialogue, ask for clarification, offer feedback or suggestions, or simply refuse to comment. However, let's all agree to respect that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and try our best to communicate our differences in a respectful and nonjudgmental matter. Let's also agree that Mental Health can be a difficult topic to discuss, and that some topics can be triggers for other members. Take care in how you phrase your comments, and respect that we are all at different levels of understanding or different levels of recovery. Our Blog Team will carefully monitor the blog and remove any comments that are offensive, racially-charged or otherwise intended to ostracize or discriminate against other members. No gaslighting. No abusive language. And, certainly, no spam please.
FUN, ENGAGING content! We've got a line up of solid ideas and topics to explore, including the What's Trending, Taking Off My Mask, Advocacy Up Close and The Music We Love segments. Have other suggestions? Run your ideas by us in a comment or email us at letsunpackitco@gmail.com
Informed discussion, based on evidence, but open to varying perspectives. Our aim is to provide you with informative, inspiring and thought-provoking content. We'll do our research before posting tips and treatments, just so you can be sure it's trustworthy info. But, again, we're open to hearing directly from you [because we all know textbooks don't tell the whole story ;) ].
How you can get involved:
Firstly, Subscribe and make an account! This gives you access to a Member Page, so you can interact with our posts!
If you're a seasoned writer or feeling inspired lately, then you can request to become a Writer on the "Get Involved" tab on our website.
You can express yourself anyway you'd like: Essays, poetry, songs, stories etc. are all acceptable! We can help you with editing if you need it! Now accepting entries by email. Please send us your contact info so we can give the appropriate credits and attributions!
You can also enter your story about how you are coping with a struggle or Mental Illness in our Taking Off My Mask segment.
Share how you, an advocate you know, your workplace or your organization is pushing back against the stigma around Mental Health in our Advocacy Up Close segment.
Also, don't forget to send us ideas or topics you want us to explore!
So, here goes nothing...
Welcome officially to #Demystified: The Blog!
We think you're gonna like it here, and we can't wait to interact with you in our future posts!
As always, stay safe, stay well, and remember to make your Mental Health a PRIORITY!
Cheers,
The #Demystified: The Blog Team
Comments