I was excited to give my first mental wellness presentation Zoom lesson to middle schoolers since the pandemic started. I'd presented to high schoolers, parents, teachers, and staff virtually before, but this was different. My new audience was made up of a classroom of impressionable 8th graders joining me during their health class period. Thirty-two students from a charter school in Los Angeles would watch me present from their home computers, unable to have let off steam during recess, unable to socialize and run around with their friends.

My goal that October 2020 morning was to rid the shame and stigma against mental illness. My intention was to spread love and compassion by sharing my family's stories to make the presentation more meaningful and to help the students find their own connections. I was there to educate them with correct vocabulary, show them warning signs and red flags to look out for while offering resources and most importantly hope. Clearly, I had good intentions.

I had no idea how my act of kindness would backfire. Instead of being a positive influence and helpful, I was making a student, and possibly more, feel worse than before I began my presentation- not at all what I signed up for.

Listen to hear how my ego pushed me to go too far and what happened next.

SHOW NOTE LINKS:

Read- The Time My Mental Health Advocacy Backfired- on Invisible Illness

Adam Kallen, my brother on Dear Family, Episode #1- Success Story Overcoming Addiction, ADHD, and Homelessness

NAMI Ending the Silence

Dear Family Podcast- I'm Still a Failure and Still Proud of It

Write Now Rachel article- I'm Still a Failure and Still Proud of It

Write Now Rachel- original article in The Startup- I'm a Failure and Proud of It

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