New Heights - YouTube
Don't like to link my YouTube channel a lot because I find that people don't want to make that extra click but thought fuck it this time.
Lately I've been opening up about my mental health and recovery. I've found that I've been losing subscribers because of it and to tell you the truth, it doesn't phase me. I'm happy to shed what isn't mine because if sharing my reality is enough to scare people away, they were never in my corner to begin with.
Skateboarding literally saved me from myself. I was at rock bottom when I picked it back up at the start of the pandemic and slowly but surely it has lifted me out of the grave I had dug for myself. If I wasn't skating I'd be lost in active addiction.
I think it's important to be open about your mental health, especially if you suffer from an ill state of it. Showing people how much skateboarding has helped with mine can only inspire others to take it up or at least become proactive about their own mental health.
This shit is still taboo to a lot of people and even to some that find it hard to admit they struggle from mental health issues. 1 in 4 adults in Scotland suffer from anxiety, that really shows you just how many people you're paving recovery for when you open up about your own and reduce stigma.
Doctors should be prescribing skateboards, or at least some form of artistic physical exercise. The thing is they are quick to put you on medication and call it a day, when really there is a lot more to recovery from mental illness. Don't get me wrong, sometimes the medication is necessary, but we as a modern society often look for shortcuts and quick fixes, when in reality there are none.
You have to do the work to overcome the odds and some people just aren't ready to admit to themselves how much work they have on their plate. It doesn't happen all in one go though. You have to take it day by day and build upon a better life for yourself. Just like you can't become pro at skateboarding in a day.
If this is relevant to you, it's never too late to start doing something about your circumstances. I've been to the absolute bottom of the rocks and I can tell you with enough will power and the right attitude you can overcome any odds that have piled up against you but you have to take it one day at a time and find gratitude in the day you have.
Anyways I've probably bored you enough, enjoy the edit.