The Syndicate

Today, we're kick starting things for Mental Health Awareness Month by sharing a story piece received by a highly esteemed member of our Admin team and most adored friend, @juliets. We thank her for being so brave to share her story for the first time. She was moved by the initiative and felt like she had an experience to share which may help someone else.

PLEASE NOTE: We have shared juliets' story in spoilers below since we appreciate how experiences may trigger other users, and would like to point out the story does contain elements of ADD/anxiety/depression, please open only if you're comfortable reading such material.








We received a lot of great feedback in our discussion threads and privately via PMs and DMs. We appreciate all the feedback we’ve received, and try to take them to heart and adapt, to make this experience a meaningful one for as many as possible.

First and foremost, this is meant to be an information campaign, but also an opportunity to connect people with new friends. As such, other than the Buddy System, we will have a Movie Night on the MU Discord server, somewhere between the 14th and 19th of May. A poll will be posted on MU later to see what date fits bets, which we will link to here. If you have any suggestions for movies to watch, feel free to submit them, and we will vote between these!

Finally, there were concerns regarding privacy - and we take this very seriously. Therefore, we will limit the group of people involved in this: dobby/Roro__b is primarily responsible for this project. He has previous experience with similar projects and treating mental health issues on a daily basis in a professional setting. Arapocalypse will be responsible for the anonymous form, and nutella will also have access, as part of both the MU and TS moderator teams. dunya and juliets will be responsible for the TS end of this project and dyachei will be involved if needed, but not initially.

For the duration of this month, moderators on Mafia Universe and The Syndicate will be cooperating across numerous events to bring awareness on all of the above. Mental health struggles are real. They exist. They’re not going anywhere and they need our attention. Our communities are filled with people from all kinds of backgrounds, ethnicities, sexualities, gender identities, etc. We are overrepresented when it comes to mental illness, and many of us have personal experiences with people who have taken their lives, or are struggling on a near daily basis.

Most recently, we suffered the great loss of our dear friend Turnip Head/TH/Oddy. They were loved by everyone who was lucky enough to know them, and their presence always made the room shine that much brighter. All they wanted more than anything was to be loved and accepted. They taught us all about forgiveness, shedding our prejudices, and being the most positive versions of ourselves. TH’s passing weighed us all down, made us reflect on what we could have done differently, and yes, even some thoughts of not doing enough when we could have.


Some of the events planned for this months are announced here, today. Some will be announced further into the month. During the whole month, you can always reach out to any of the moderators on either site - or to this account, with any input or questions you might have.

• ‣ Story-sharing: We will be sharing some of our stories. Anyone who feels comfortable sharing their own story can do so. Every story counts, whatever your experience is. Your story might be the one that someone else relates to and identifies with; knowing that the path has been walked before - even partly - might do a whole lot of good for them.
  
  Sharing your story anonymously, or with a name attached, if only to receive a single supportive comment in return, might make you feel that little bit better, and know that you are not alone in this.
  
  Stories or poems, songs that mean a lot to you and want shared, a piece of art that you created or that made you feel something, or ANY other piece or text you want to share is accepted. It could be something like a “coming out” story, sharing struggles with either/both bipolar or unipolar depressions and anxiety disorders of all kinds, suicidal thoughts, relatives or friends who committed suicide, psychotic diseases or personality syndromes, eating disorders, etc. - every story counts and is immensely appreciated.

• ‣ Information Campaign: We will be sharing helpful information directly related to the abovementioned topics as part of the month-long event. We will be keeping it mostly concentrated towards information shared through www.nami.org, which is focused on the USA. If you need information for any other country, or think it should be added - please let us know and we will help you figure it out!

• ‣ Buddy System: We will attempt to introduce a buddy system. This may seem like a cheesy concept, but we would still like to offer the potential support achieved through this arrangement, and strongly believe in it.
  
  Every person who signs up will be assigned a second person from MU or TS who has also signed up. This gives both parties the option to connect with a safe "buddy" who can listen and support them through ups and downs. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to sign up for this! What’s the meaning of this? It could be to simply… make a new friend, with no actual questions regarding health involved. It could be to have one person that you can ask "how are you?" to, every day. It could be to get one person that you share that little bit of extra information with. It could be that you might find a person you feel comfortable asking for advice. Even for sharing the good days, or achievements you’ve had. Sharing your happiness. Both the ups and downs. It’s an opportunity to have your social network extend just that little bit further, and other than that it's up to you both what you make of it - and we feel like it is worth trying.

To optimize the buddy matching, a little info on yourself, or what you might be looking for would be helpful. Either way, we will do our best to produce as good a matching as possible. All of this will be anonymous unless you agree otherwise.

!	Message from: The Syndicate and MU Mod Team
	If you are ever in need of help, whether it is a crisis, or if you are uncertain how to take the first step, here is a collection of helpful numbers and links, and other useful resources. These are USA-focused, but don't hesitate to reach out if you would want any other countries added, and we will do that.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the USA. While it is not internationally acknowledged, and mental health in general is still a topic that isn’t openly discussed often, we feel it’s as much a reason as any to raise awareness for this tremendously important topic.

During this month, we will have a few events, as well as share some helpful information near daily, and all this will also be shared, and done in cooperation with Mafia Universe.



We are doing this for several reasons, and if it helps even one person in any way, it will have been worth it.


Our goals are:

• To raise awareness: Mental health issues are extremely common, and they come in different shapes. This is incredibly important to stress. You are not alone. It is common. Being down - or being depressed; having anxiety issues - even to the point of feelings of pending disaster and not knowing what to do; having an identity or existential crisis; etc... It takes on different shapes and forms, but it is all secondary. You have the right to feel any of this. You don’t have to justify why you feel a certain way to anyone. Sometimes, you don’t even know why. Your disease does not define you as a person. Mental health illnesses are just as real and legitimate as physical ones are. Your health is your own, and cannot be compared to anyone else’s.

• To spread knowledge: You can get help. In more ways than one. There are registered healthcare professionals dedicated to helping, wherever you are in the world, who you can turn to. Family and friends may also be a great source of support. Sharing your struggles with people you trust can provide you with a huge sense of relief, even though initiating the topic of your issues may be tough in the beginning. Asking for help or support is never easy, but it can often mean taking a giant step in the right direction towards your recovery. We are surrounded by people who care for us, often more than is expressed. Asking for help is never a sign of weakness; rather, think of it as your attempt to feeling better.

• To provide guidance: How to support someone with mental health issues. While it is important to note that it is not an obligation or duty to help someone who is going through a difficult time or struggling mentally or emotionally, recognizing red flags and acting upon them is also never wrong. There are different levels to it. Even the most casual dialogue goes a long way. Asking someone how they’re doing is never wrong. If you notice any red flags, no matter how trivial an issue it may be, talking about them may help make them feel noticed and cared for.

• Self-harm and suicide are two of the worst outcome scenarios of mental health issues. Talking about it - specifically asking about it or saying that you are worried - does not worsen a struggling person’s condition. Don’t be afraid to be upfront and clear. Self harm and suicidal thoughts are often impulsive decisions, but often also something that has been on their mind as a solution to their issues for a long time. Allowing a person to come to terms with what they are going through, to recognize the severity of their struggles, can possibly encourage them to seek professional help.

• Not being comfortable enough to talk to someone struggling with these issues, or with someone you suspect is going through a rough time, is completely normal. You should not be burdened to act upon your suspicions, especially if you feel out of your depth. If you feel like you cannot reach out personally to someone struggling, sometimes reaching out to people close to them can help. But again, this isn’t your responsibility alone and you should never feel guilted into action! Don't feel like it is your responsibility and you have to do something; it's not, you don't.

•To stress that someone cares, and there may be something more that can be attempted!

• To FIGHT the stigma surrounding mental illness!

• Stigma is when someone, or even you yourself, views a person in a negative light just because they suffer from a mental health condition. Some people describe stigma as a feeling of shame or judgement from someone else. Stigma can even come from an internal place, confusing feeling bad with being bad.

• Navigating life with a mental health condition can be tough, and the isolation, blame and secrecy that is often encouraged by stigma can create huge obstacles to reaching out for support or help. Learning how to avoid and address stigma is essential!