A MESSAGE FROM Lindsay
I am so proud to be running on Team AFSP in the 2021 NYC Marathon.
AFSP’s cause is one that is close to me because they help people of all ages and stages find light in their darkness. When I was a teenager, I didn’t know how to find my light or ask for help to do so, which led me to deep feelings of loneliness and hopelessness. I attempted to end my life in my junior year of high school because I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t know how to talk about the way I felt so I hid it, and the longer I hid it, the more I performed that I was okay. The more I outwardly pretended, the darker I felt inside. This darkness blinded me from all the wonderful things I currently had, and all that I had to look forward to. It blinded me from resources and people in my life who would have dropped everything to help me if they knew.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention works to de-stigmatize talking about mental health, suicide, and healing. They work towards choosing life and reminding us all that we are not alone. I was lucky enough to survive my attempt and get the help I needed, both professionally and from my personal support system, and to move on to a beautiful, bright life that I couldn’t see for myself at my darkest time. Caring for my mental health is still a daily practice, and running has become one of my tools. I am overjoyed and honored to be able to run toward a world where we normalize discussing mental health and depression, a world in which we are all reminded that we are not alone so we can choose life.
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