The Healing Power of a Story

The history of storytelling goes back thousands of years. Telling stories gives us a sense of culture, history, and personal identity. Storytelling passes on personal, historical, or cultural events or experiences so they transcend to shared experiences.

Storytelling alters individuals, changing them into families, groups, communities, and even nations.

Our days are either filled with color or not based on the choices we make.

Far too often we convince ourselves that we don’t have any control. While there are certainly many things that are outside of our locust of control, there are still certain aspects of our day that are.

The way we choose to react or perceive situations that occur in our life is one of them.

You can either let that current moment pull the light out of your day or you can choose the opposite.

My hope, my belief, my vision is that together we can accumulate more bright days for one another.

Because we all have a story to tell.

Personally, I believe storytelling, in its many forms, has become a core piece of the mental health movement.

According to data from the National Institutes of Health, nearly one in five Americans — 43.8 million people — live with mental illness.

Storytelling accomplishes more than most probably realize.

It helps people feel less alone, and it cultivates empathy and compassion.

Additionally, it’s a great form of education for the aspects of mental illness that are hardest to understand.

With that as my foundation, I have begun a project, “Dark Days, Bright Nights,” which seeks to bring together those who have suffered or are suffering from the challenges of mental health.

Be it trauma, depression, addiction, anxiety, or anything else in between.

I want to help people heal by encouraging them to #tellyourstory.

If you are willing, I would love to hear your story.

You can fill out the form by heading to (veritasfit.com/tellyourstory) and share a brief summary of your personal story from tragedy to triumph.

Together we can shift the conversation surrounding the stigma of mental health towards one of compassion and grace which ultimately leads to support and better quality of life.