#strong minds

[makestrongminds-deactivated2021]

#strongminds #strong minds #mental health #mentalhealth #self-care #therapy #africa #women #african women 

[justbeingnamaste]

“Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.” ~ Socrates    

[pota-motrygon]

Strong Minds Pt. 1

Travelling all my life, I’ve learned that experience makes a world of difference. I’ve been flying since the age of 16 months old. Yes, that’s right. I was probably one of those babies who cried throughout the majority of the flight, probably uncomfortably claustrophobic or maybe the ear popping was unbearably intense during my drooling phase. Three decades worth of traveling to my family in Jamaica rectified any anxieties and now I catch up on sleep every flight.

I couldn’t drink the first dozen times I got on a flight, but at this time in my life, no one would bother asking for ID and there would be no loved ones to police my limit. Needless to say, I was downing mini bottles of Wray & Nephew rum like it was the cure to a faster flight. So much so, the woman next to me had to comment and ruin the good mood I was in. ‘The guy next to her didn’t seem to mind during the flight’, I thought to myself. ‘I’m the one overpaying for these baby bottles. Sure, I may have gotten over-zealous with my newfound right to intoxicate on a flight, but it wasn’t like I planned to do anything but piss and sleep. I hadn’t been on a plane for more than six years so it almost felt like a new experience with booze as a factor. Six mini-bottles downed and I was ready for a nap. I slept through half the flight before I was awoken by the subtle tremble of the plane. It vexed me because we weren’t on the ground yet and whenever I’m involuntarily woken up, its nearly impossible for me to get back to sleep. Especially since this would be my first trip to Tokyo, there was no way I was going to get back to sleep before we landed. I woke up just as we were passing over the lush forestry of Muko Island, according to one of the pilots. Those mini-bottles had predictably filled my bladder, so I got up and made my way to the bathroom. Apparently, somebody was stealing my thoughts because when I turned towards the closest bathroom, another passenger opened the bathroom door. With a dramatic sigh, I rolled my eyes and made my way to the front of the plane.

As I left the bathroom, I heard a voice over the speakers. The co-pilot, Russ Parker, I think he said his name is. “Due to the closeness of the mountain we’re currently passing over, the turbulence will be pretty hard for the next 3-5 minutes, but no worries. We’ll arrive at Narita International within the next 20 minutes.”

Not to say I follow every rule, but I’ve come to believe that some of the rules we’ve all agreed to live by do keep us safe and generally in order. A lot of rules could use a good review or immediate abolishment like illegal climbing of a tree or shoot shoot until the threat has stopped. Needless to say, I don't want those problems for any reason and so I made my way back to my seat. Just before I reached my row, the seat belt sign lit up. I expected the turbulence to follow soon after so I made my way back to row Q3. The plane began to tremble roughly, quite suddenly. I remembered reading somewhere that if there’s a strong wind pushing against the plane, the air may be steered upward when it encounters higher mountains. I thought nothing of it and walked past each aisle and made note again that only about half of the seats were taken. A lot of people had an empty seat between them, surprisingly for such a big aircraft. My row was nearly empty, besides another guy who seemed to sleep through the trip. I noticed one aisle was completely empty and a number of other aisles had vacant seats.

Moments after I sat down, the plane shook and violently swung back and forth. I heard what sounded like a dying car engine, from the outside of the plane. The plane was still shaking, but less than before. I pulled my window curtain up and saw clear skies. Nothing out of the ordinary, not even any clouds. But when I looked to the other side of the plane it looked like we were passing through some form of darkness. The plane dipped suddenly, and the dark cloud I was seeing was much smaller than I had perceived. The smog was following the flight pattern of the wing. I hesitated to unbuckle my seatbelt because of the intense shaking, but all I could think about in the moment was where the cloud was spewing from. I felt the plane begin to plummet, causing every unfastened object to lift up in the air and float. The plane wasn’t shaking as heavily anymore. The gas masks dropped out and I put mine on. I knew everyone on board was probably as panicked as I was, but everything had escalated so quickly I felt like I was plummeting on this big, dumb metal bird alone. I spun my head left and right, trying to get a look at everything as we all fell. I could hear the plane creating a loud whistling sound from the outside as it ripped through the air. I looked out of my window, hands clamped to the armrests. All I saw was the horizon and the quickly approaching ocean.

[makestrongminds-deactivated2021]

What inspired you to create Strong Minds?

StrongMinds began when our founder, Sean Mayberry, met a young man with mental illness in Uganda who was being kept hidden away from his family and community. Sean separately had heard of a research study showing that group therapy was an effective way to address depression in communities in Uganda – but was shocked to learn how little attention and resources mental illness was receiving.

[makestrongminds-deactivated2021]

how do you reach women who live in smaller towns?

StongMinds believes treatment for depression should be available and accessible to everyone, no matter where you live or how much money you have. We like to say that in our work we diagnose depression on a woman’s doorstep, and treat it under a tree in her community.  About two-thirds of our current therapy groups meet in rural and semi-rural settings. The other third takes place in poor urban sections of Kampala and Lusaka.

[natashaferguson7]

"Similar Mind, Similar heart, but yet a unique heart and a unique mind."

Natasha Ferguson

[dailyquotesbank]

We must have strong minds, ready to accept facts as they are. - Harry S. Truman