Always Keep Fighting and Jared Padalecki
Jared Padalecki’s #AlwaysKeepFighting campaign sold over 327,000 items (source, SPN Wiki, Represent) – for gross proceeds of $9.81-million (at average of $30 each); however, #AKF isn’t just a T-shirt campaign – it’s how one person, one actor, could impel an entire movement toward accepting depression as a disease, and taking it out of the shadows into the light.
In a 2015 interview with Variety, Jared said that he had battled with clinical depression – and stated, “There’s no shame in having to fight every day …” Since then, Jared has been upfront and open about his constant fight against – and with – mental illness. He and the #AKF/#AlwaysKeepFighting movement have become a beacon for not only for the Supernatural fandom, but for society as a whole.
As Jared says: “It’s not just people who can’t find a job, or can’t fit in in society that struggle with depression sometimes.“
Jared made it okay to have depression. He made it safe for people to express that they were having a bad day, to ask for help, rather than hiding it with a fake smile.
Although depression, or melancholia as it was called back in the ancient Mesopotamia (source: https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/historical-understandings-of-depression/), has been around for a while, the stigma related with being depressed didn’t begin to clear until recently. I believe Jared, a well-known and well-loved celebrity, had something to do with that.
On the surface, you would think that Jared had everything – as he stated: “I mean, I was 25 years old. I had my own TV show. I had dogs that I loved and tons of friends and I was getting adoration from fans and I was happy with my work, but I couldn’t figure out what it was; it doesn’t always make sense is my point.”
Sometimes our feelings don’t make sense. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t valid – and it doesn’t mean that we should ignore them.
Always Keep Fighting wasn’t just a T-shirt campaign; it wasn’t just a charity to raise money. Always Keep Fighting is a battle cry; it is a rallying point for all those who deal with depression. No matter what bad day you’re having, what mistakes you have made, what issues you’re dealing with …
By thereisakeytheremustbealock
Thank you for your lovely tribute letter on Jared’s AKF campaign.
To see how others were deeply affected by Jared’s committment to destigmatizing mental illness, please visit our Always Keep Fighting tag
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