Progress Report, Day 1

     Today has been quite productive for gathering resources to get this going and spread the word about this movement. We've begun the process of gaining a connection with district, then county, and possibly state mental health professional administrations. 

     Additionally, connections have been confirmed with the theater and film departments at Western State University with the proposal of the production of PSAs and other media exposure for the movement, and we already have movement members speaking to similar resources at CU Boulder. We have received advise from an expert on productive social movements, and reaffirmed some of our techniques, as well as the possibility of further assistance and advice.

     It may not seem like much yet, but for a first day, this is great. Let's get this going! Good luck, everyone!

Progress reports will likely be published weekly from now on. Please don't forget to send your stories in! We would love to hear about your experiences!

Movement Components and Objectives

     The fundamentals of our campaign are simple; building on sociological principles that have dominated successful movements, we are to take a multi-tiered, responsive approach to mental illness awareness.

     First and foremost, the step for which the movement is named: Breaking Out. This step requires individuals affected by mental illness to tell those around them that this is a facet of their lives (keep in mind that you shouldn't do this for other people; they have to make the choice themselves). We need to make people aware that mental illness happens to those close to them, not some mysterious, inept stranger that we are represented as in the public eye. This is the hardest step of joining this movement, and we recognize this, but it is also the most important, the foundation on which our inevitable success will be built. We cannot enact any of our goals without this step's realization.

     Second: Reaching Out. We need to grow the size of our movement, and make those around us aware of this movement, allowing more of us to break the silence we suffer under. Each individual within the movement will not only talk about their own mental illness, but the necessity of those around them to Break Out as well, hopefully reaching as many people as possible, making us, consequently, more and more visible over time. This step is also fundamental to the success of our movement. With each person we light another ember in a spreading flame. With each person who joins us, we have another signal flare to light the way for two, for three, making more embers, more flares, more of the growing tide of light that we will sweep across the world until we cannot be missed.

     Third: Acting Out. Without stepping out of the molds set for us by society, we cannot affect the image those around us put over us like predefined stencils we need to fit in for their comfort. Though the first two steps are the principle methods by which our movement will be successful, it is still necessary to obtain some form of official, national recognition as a movement, and as a unified interest group. This is the final culmination of the movement, and may not truly be possible for quite some time, but this is where we will eventually be aiming to go.
If these steps sound possible to you, please, please join us. We need you, and we welcome you.

     This blog will be to showcase movement successes and stories submitted by our readers. Send any stories to the blog, and I'll pick a couple to put up every week. I may ask if I can edit it, but that will only be for fluidity and grammar, and I will try to preserve your message, as well as running it by you before posting it.

Our Mission

     This is not just another site discussing mental illness. We are not here to simply remind people that we're still here, still alive. We are not attempting to maintain some semblance of recognition, a basic objective of becoming another note in a symphony of causes pulling people in one direction or another, a minor string maybe moving a big toe or an index finger every now and again.
We are here to fundamentally change the discussion concerning mental illness. We are here to create a recognition of our "problems" as more than problems, but as very real illness with very real effects that cause very real damage to our lives that isn't curable simply by manning up and pushing ourselves just a bit harder.

     We are here to show everyone that mental illness is not shameful, not something to be swept under the rug, and not something that happens to other people, to people they don't know. Mental illness happens to people all around us, all the time. Almost everyone knows someone suffering under the weight of some form of mental illness, and that mental illness affects not just our world, but their world.

     We are here to pull back the covers society pulls over its eyes, hiding from reality with a scroogelike "reduce the surplus population," letting us simply slip away between the cracks, or burn alive until we burst like fireworks, beautiful explosions before we fade from this world. We are not to be ignored, we are not to be forgotten, we are not to be told to get over it, to grow up, to move on. Not anymore.

     We are here to let the world know that they know us. We are your brother, we are your sister, your mother, your father, your friend, your lover, and we are strong. We are not simply possessed of a weakness of character, but the will to move beneath a weight they cannot know, but can recognize exists.

We are here to Break Out, and we are here to do it today.