A MESSAGE FROM Dani
Hi everyone,
This coming October, I will be running the 2022 Bank of America Chicago Marathon in support of NoStigmas, an organization whose mission—to end the stigmas surrounding mental health disorders—is very close to my heart.
As many of you who know me are well aware, I battle an anxiety disorder that affects my everyday life. At times, my anxiety has intertwined with a deep depression and has brought me to dark, scary places. I spent so many years unaware that the suffering I felt every minute of every day was not normal. However, for a long time after I woke up to this realization, I sat in silence for fear of the criticism I would face for being “weak” or not “sucking it up”. While I eventually swallowed my pride and received a diagnosis, medication, and therapy—all of which have been absolute lifelines for me and which I am so grateful and fortunate to have as tools—I still feel ashamed to acknowledge my mental health at times, constantly existing as a type A overachiever and failing to make room for my own humanness. I am scared to take up space, I am afraid to let my anxiety exist within me, and I live in fear of being judged and misunderstood.
The stigma surrounding mental health disorders is VERY real, and evidently continues to plague the world around us. The importance of acknowledgment, safe spaces for discussion, and education surrounding these issues cannot be overstated. To be frank with you all, if I had not come to the realizations that it is okay to not be okay, that suffering alone is not an option, and that asking for help goes WELL beyond personal pride, I can guarantee you that I would not still be here today.
A stigma-free future begins with childhood education surrounding mental health. If I had learned about mental health issues in school, if talking about mental health was normalized at a young age, I may have been able to recognize this in myself and felt more comfortable reaching out for help. So many lives would have been saved. So many loved ones would still be on this earth. So many more people would feel comfortable simply being themselves. So, let’s change that.
All donations will be allocated directly to NoStigmas’ programs with a focus on education and advocacy in the Chicagoland area. This year, the primary goal is to bring the You(th) Matter mental health education program into schools to help teens understand more about their brain health and how to advocate for themselves.
Please help me meet my fundraising goal so I can run my first ever marathon in support of such an important cause. Running has enabled myself and so many others to find inner peace, and it feels only fitting to use it as an opportunity to give that right back. Let’s make the world a more inclusive, more open, more caring place. Thank you for your support. 💜
Love,
Dani
