2020-March-09

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We’re Stronger When We Fight Our Battles Together

BY ANTHONY MORRIS · SOFTWARE ENGINEER · CANADA

“So, what would you like to talk about today?” My counsellor’s words reverberated in my ears, and it took a minute for me to comprehend the question.

Counselling was new to me. In fact, I wasn’t even sure I was ready to talk to someone.

I’ve been navigating my mental health journey since high school. I’ve experienced extreme lows and euphoric highs. For a long time, I thought I was unique.

It was easy to look around and see happy people, but that didn’t reflect how I felt inside.

The first time I ever thought about suicide, I wasn’t even 18 years old. I hadn’t yet experienced life as an adult. Eventually, I got to a point where I knew I needed to take action. If I didn’t, I might never make it to adulthood.

When I started working at Cisco one year ago, I was extremely pleased to see open communication about mental health. Now, I’m a firm believer that we don’t need to hide our feelings. We’re all human. We’re stronger when we fight our battles together.

Last year, I started seeing a counsellor for the first time. Because of my Cisco benefits, I was able to add another valuable tool to my mental health toolbox.

My counsellor suggested that I take up journaling in between our sessions. Counselling sessions are valuable, but the work you do in between them is even more important. I was given a few prompts and started to write as much as I could.

After a few sessions, I started to think about why it took me so long to go talk to somebody.

The truth is, I was ashamed of how I felt.

Expressing Myself Without Fear

I realized why journaling had been so impactful for me early on. It allowed me to express myself without the fear of being judged. But building a journaling habit isn’t easy.

I decided to build a new tool for my toolbox, one that could be shared with the world.

Wrabit launched in December of last year. It’s a platform for building a daily writing habit. Users start small by writing 100 words on day one. Each day, their word goal increases until they establish a consistent routine. The more they write, the more money Wrabit donates to mental health research.

I’ve been supported a lot during my journey. From friends, family, and companies like Cisco. I decided it was time for me to give back. I built Wrabit to help others build their tools just like I have over the past 10 years or so.

My mental health journey will never end, but today I’ve got a toolbox to help make the journey smoother.

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