DENVER — I’m so excited to be part of this campaign because I find it incredibly important for as many people who are willing to speak openly about their struggles with mental health. By doing so, it gives others a sense of permission to be honest with themselves about their own.
I have struggled with severe anxiety for many years — longer than I can even remember — and continue to do so even today. I was only able to give it a name about five years ago when someone who heard what I was going through was able to identify it by comparing my symptoms to their own: a knotted stomach, inability to eat, struggling to sleep, feeling paralyzed when it was time to get out of bed each morning.
That person shared with me their own battle with anxiety and how they learned to manage it daily, which gave me perhaps the greatest tool we all need to battle some of life’s most difficult hardships: hope.
Since then, I’ve shared my story more times than I count - on 9NEWS, at happy hour with friends, over coffee with strangers-turned-friends who needed to feel they weren’t alone, and in the video on this page.
I vow to speak as often and as loudly about continuing struggle with anxiety in hopes it may give you or someone you love the tools they need to find success in the midst of their own battle.
With love,
Jordan
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9NEWS encourages you to watch, to share, and to join the conversation as we take 'The First Step'. Please visit 9NEWS.com/MentalHealth for more.
If you or a loved one needs immediate help, please contact the Colorado Crisis Services Hotline. There are four ways to get confidential and immediate help: by phone at 1-844-493-8255, over text message (text the word “TALK” to 38255), via an online chat service, or at walk-in centers throughout metro Denver, northern, the southeast region and the Western Slope. Many of these services are available 24/7.
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