TN Voices is pleased to release this impactful and instructional video “Story of Hope: From Languishing to Flourishing,” along with a mental health toolkit, available NOW on TNVoices.org. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, TN Voices has been able to assist those in need for as little as FREE. This video and toolkit are crucial to ensure that no Tennessean goes without the mental health support they desperately need. Story of Hope, additionally released on Facebook LIVE and YouTube, is a 20 minute educational show that provides practical tools to move from languishing to flourishing, bring hope, and seek continual support to expand our reach to serve more Tennesseans. Along with the video and this episode, TN Voices is releasing FREE resources including:
The public is encouraged to take advantage of these FREE, informative resources. The video is produced in partnership with TN Voices and GSF Media, and TN Voices would like to thank the following generous sponsors who made this video possible:
Those wishing to donate to TN Voices can log onto TNVoices.org/Donate. Tennessee residents unemployed or without insurance and in need of mental health services can contact the TN Voices Hope Fund hotline at 615.269.7751. Tennesseans who need mental health support services can contact staff at 1.800.670.9882. Those who would like information on mental health advocacy in Tennessee, and to receive updates from us can email TN Voices at TVC@TNVoices.org to join our mailing list. For a full list of mental health resources, log onto TNVoices.org.
Rikki Harris:
Candide is a podcast of Tennessee voices about mental health, featuring stories of people who have overcome mental health challenges, as well as those who have helped people overcome mental health challenges. This podcast is about authenticity. And it's intended to give a voice to those who are passionate about mental well being. We hope that by sharing stories, listeners understand mental health and just how important it is in our day to day lives, and they will help us reduce stigma. We want you to know that so many who have struggled with mental health can and did overcome their challenges. And if you are struggling, you can too. I'm your host, Ricky Harris, CEO, Tennessee voices, and with me is my favorite co host Wilbur Ross, CEO of Tennessee voices. Welcome to our podcast, let's get candid.
Erika Lathon:
Tn voices is now hiring qualified applicants to fill positions all across the state, you can be part of a growing team that puts the mental health of Tennesseans first and thrive in a compassionate work environment to apply to join our team log on to tn voices.org/employment.
Rikki Harris:
Welcome, welcome to the candid podcast here with my co host, will Voss I am Ricky Harris. And we represent tesi voices, which is a mental health nonprofit organization serving the state of Tennessee. One of the reasons why we started this podcast has to do with our story of hope that you're going to hear today. So let's let's dive in. We started the podcast so that we could have candid conversations with people.
Unknown:
Let's be authentic. Let's be candid.
Rikki Harris:
Yep. And we knew that. podcasts were cool. Podcasts with a new platform.
Unknown:
We wanted to be cool, too.
Rikki Harris:
We, I don't know about you. Well, I had never posted a podcast. I didn't know how to hook up a microphone. And I had only just started listening to podcast during the pandemic when I was looking for something besides bad news. Yeah,
Unknown:
I was right there with you. It goes back to saying my grandmother used to say you live in you learn. I think we think we've learned it. podcast is the way to go. And we'll be I think we're pros now at hooking up the microphones. Okay, I
Rikki Harris:
can I can definitely plug it in and get the right speaker and microphone connected now. So yes, I'm better than I once was. But what what grew out of that was this. I guess sort of stirring in our thoughts in our hearts about how do we reach more people with some kind of story to help them understand what they might be feeling as a result of the all the things that have happened in Tennessee and across the country in the last 20 months? And then if they're feeling this feeling, which we're going to talk about in the story, what can I do? And the podcast was one sort of way of addressing that feeling. It's something you could do, which I said is listen to something other than bad news. So encouragement of lifting, but we needed people to have some tools.
Unknown:
You know, Rick, in your, in your, in your recent Monday motivations that you sent out to all staff? You had a stop, or you told us he suggested that we stop and think about everything we've been through in the past year has 18 months. And when we stop and think about it, we have experienced a lot in Tennessee, you know, as a lot of people will be reminded when they watch the watch the story of hope. And you ended it with we've got a lot of lessons that we've learned and a lot of good stuff that has happened to you. There's so much to be thankful for during this time. And you know, when you came up with a vision for calling this a story of hope and what was going to be the purpose behind it. You use the word languishing. And you described it and all I could say like many other people was, oh, that's me. That's what's been going on. I knew it had to be something. So you know, we'll talk about languishing, but just Do you give listeners a little teaser on what they're going to hear? What is languishing for those who've never heard the term?
Rikki Harris:
Okay? So languishing, is literally being stuck in an unpleasant situation for a prolonged period of time. And every time I say those words, I get chills, because I think Never have I ever been in that moment until now, the last 18 months of my life, stuck in an unpleasant situation, and not knowing when the end is coming, not knowing when better is in my future. And I think we all understand how bad it felt to worry about what's going to happen to my friends and family members, if they get COVID. What's going to happen with the election, what's going to happen with people who are angry and upset, what's going to happen with continued mass shootings. And I'm already kind of dreading that, that one year anniversary of the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville, not because I was there. I certainly didn't, you know, lose my home like some people did. From that. I didn't lose my business, like some people did from that. But I woke up to news on what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of the year after a really crappy year. And the news was bad again, and it was new. And it was surprised, and it was sad. And it hung over me and everybody in in my world all day, that that Christmas Day. And we were languishing, we were languishing in that entire day. And we had so looked forward to one day, that was going to be joyful, that was going to be just watching the kids open gifts and make the most out of what had been a tough year. We weren't seeing family because of COVID. So it was just just, you know, my little crew. So that was already tough. And I just remember thinking, what, what else could happen? This is this was tough. I don't know. Oh, it
Unknown:
was it was tough. You know, and I will say what else happened is that we continue to really have have to head to isolate. You know, I think we didn't expect that we would still be where we are in 2021 especially getting ready to close out the hearing go into 2022 Still with a lot of uncertainty. You know, I have said it before, you know, yes, we're coming up on an anniversary. And that's an area where I've been to plenty of times. And when I saw it on the news, you know, I was back home in West Tennessee. And all I could say was Thank the Lord. That wasn't near that area, you know, and it, it was just kind of the opposite. The cherry on top of the pack is some folks would say, you know, as we had already gone through the tornado earlier that year prior to lockdown. And when we provided relief to those families mental health therapy during that time, it was so surreal, having to tell people to stay hopeful. I know all of this is going on right now and you've lost your home. And it may not seem like you can see tomorrow, but stay hopeful. You know, and I think that's really something that I would say we did well with a story of hope and a hope. A lot of times, I'm hoping that people find hope in after they see the story of hope. Because you know, languishing is real, but you can get through you can get through it.
Rikki Harris:
Yeah. So what we're gonna we're gonna play for the listeners is our about 25 minute show that we produce called the story of hope. It'll occur right after commercial. And they'll have the opportunity to hear the story of hope show if you want to see it. There's visual. You can go to our website at tn voices.org. It's right on the homepage. Click watch now. You'll be able to view it there but if you if you're driving like me and you I listened to a lot of shows, we I think you'll enjoy and relate to what you hear in this story of hope. Quick story. My one of my daughters loves the melting pot. It's a restaurant downtown. Yes. Yeah. Our day is pretty close after Christmas. So right after the bombing. She said what are you doing for my birthday? I want to go to the melting pot and I had to say the melting pots Not really. It was destroyed. smallest that isn't in, in the grand scheme of all the things that have happened in the world. It's, it's like there's so much that have happened, that it's infiltrated into our little tiny, everyday life. Stuff that we think doesn't matter. But it does matter when you have to tell your kids, you can't go to their favorite restaurant, because someone actually set off a bomb that destroyed it. You're not just saying, sorry, you can't go to your favorite restaurant, you're telling you're having to tell them this thing that happens in the world. That doesn't make sense. They're like, looking at you. What? It was just a reminder that we've been through a lot. And the story of hope covers that. And for me, well, I had to think I had to think if it weren't for my faith in God, I don't know what hope I'd be hanging on to anymore. After 20 months of languishing and knowing that, of all of this, God can use it for good for a purpose that is bigger than us, somewhere down the road. And I yeah, I don't know why I shared that with you. But there you go. You
Unknown:
shared it because it's something as we always say is on your heart to say you say that, we realize that we want to make sure people are hanging on to hope don't lose it, do not lose it. It is possible to still have in things things will get better. You know, and we are we are hopeful of that. So I really really hope that you know, those of you that that are listening share the story of hope. I hope you guys enjoy.
Rikki Harris:
Yep, story of hope from languishing to flourishing. Here we go.
Unknown:
All seven tornadoes that touched down on March 2 And third and Middle Tennessee were spawned from this same super self the Coronavirus has changed life as we know it across America. But how did we go from zero cases to having more than any other country
Brian Sullivan:
2020 will be the toughest year of our lives.
Rikki Harris:
So 2020 and 2021 have obviously been unprecedented years in our nation. And one of the things that we have learned is that people have really struggled and their mental health based on everything that's going on in the last 18 months or so. And we started to understand that more people are reaching out needing mental health services because there's, there's a feeling that they don't really know how to deal with it's something new. It's something that is not pleasant. And sometimes it's described as you know, feeling anxious or depressed. But we're finding that not everyone is clinically anxious or depressed but rather they're feeling a feeling called languishing.
Unknown:
Christmas in Nashville was one more confirmation of a world coming apart at the seams, medical personnel aid anxiety feelings of loneliness. Tonight we are taking a deep look at the mental toll COVID-19 is having on most of us
Rikki Harris:
and languishing is simply just being stuck in an unpleasant state for a prolonged period of time. When you think about that definition, I feel like we're
Unknown:
in that breaking news about a shooting at a Memphis Area grocery store. It happened at Kroger in Collierville Tennessee 13 people were shot. One person has been killed the shooter giant retreat as they continue to fire off canisters of tear gas. It's kind of been this back and forth. For the last hour there's been a big wave of kind of retreat out into Union Avenue to
Rikki Harris:
be in Tennessee specifically, we've experienced even more things than a pandemic. Much like the rest of the nation. We've experienced a lot of tension around the election we experienced racial injustice that created a lot of tension among us. We experienced, you know, just natural disasters, a number of them from flooding and tornadoes. This is a lot at one time. And so in mental health, we know a lot about trauma and we know how trauma affects people. And we know that people need to process trauma. But this has been a lot in 18 months more than the norm And so for people who don't have regularly any struggles with their mental health, they're now saying, What is this? Am I depressed? Am I anxious? Do I need help? Should I be reaching out for therapy? Some people are asking, Will I snap out of this when everything goes back to normal? And a lot of us thought that, but things didn't go back to normal. And so where are we now, mind washing,
Unknown:
it's a feeling of stagnation, feeling of emptiness. And to keep it simple, it's the opposite of flourish. That feeling of emptiness is something that I've felt. And I realized, I've poured so much out, I need to be poured into. That is what I'm missing in this moment. I'm not interacting with others as I normally would. I don't feel myself, you know, wanting to get up and do those things that I truly enjoy that I love. And I'm lacking motivation. To get things. I consider myself to be the rock of the family. I'm coming around, always joking, always want to make sure that everyone is well taken care of, and trying to figure out how do we continue to stay close as a whole? Family is everything. And starting with my nephew, seeing, you know how he's got to get going and getting back into school after a year of being virtual? I have to make sure that I'm taking care of myself, so that I can help him. What can I do to work on this? What's wrong with me? And I had to realize, where am I growing? Where am I empty it? We think about four areas that we focus on, which is growing mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Where am I feeling empty? And I thought, How do I increase my spiritual sense? I began reading the Bible verse on a daily basis, being intentional about it. A lot of times we read and we don't read the comprehension. But what is what is truly behind this, what can really inspire me to continue to move forward? languishing is something that I can really relate to, I'm probably in it now. Honestly, I think different people kind of have gone in and out over time, but especially at the very beginning, it seems like oh, well, there's kind of hope. And and then some, maybe not, and then up here some hope, oh, well, maybe. And it seems to go up and down. But honestly, I think that's probably what I experienced as well that I probably go in and out of languishing. I know a lot of our families have as well. And it's, it's very, very, it can be very difficult. I think a lot of mine was a numb kind of kinda going through the day, getting everything done, you know, but just not really having the highs not really having the lows. And I think what I learned that I had to do was proactivity, you know, I had to take some proactive steps. You know, being a being a therapist, and I would tell someone else I had to do myself, I had to do a little bit more organization, a little bit more proactive thoughts and things that have to do and put it on my calendar, and kind of work through that proactively. And once. Once you kind of start it's like the the rock that kind of rolls. And once it starts going a little bit, you start getting more motivation and more motivation. I think that's what I found. So due to COVID, in our pandemic, and my previous position, I was placed on remote working from home and I felt very stuck in that place with the same four walls, doing a job that I did not love or feel purpose. For the moment I started here, I felt like I had been here for years, though, I actually found a purpose within this because I myself struggle with mental health, and so does my child. And so I was able to help other people find a resource to help guide them through their struggles.
Rikki Harris:
If a person's experiencing languishing, there's several things they can do. One of the first things I want to say exercise and great eating is not enough to address this feeling is just not so we have to recognize that we as humans are in four parts where biological, psychological, social, and spiritual. So we need to be addressing our self care in all those areas. So exercise and nutrition are great. But there needs to be more. And so things like practicing mindfulness or meditation are great things for addressing your spiritual needs. Obviously, if you're a person of faith, prayer and being part of your faith community is really important when it comes to social This is probably the hardest hit area because when we were asked to isolate or be six feet apart or, you know, be cautious, we all stopped talking to each other. I'm grateful now that things have shifted with the vaccine. And I feel like our social lives are starting to come back together. But I noticed I'm hesitant to shake hands, because I don't know if everyone's comfortable, certainly not sure if anyone's hugging anymore. And that's a good southern thing to do. So you know, taking care and being mindful of making sure you have those interactions that you have that time with others. If you're an extroverted person, this is a really hard thing to go through a really hard thing. If you're an introverted person, you were probably okay for a while. And then it started to wane a little bit. Because we are made for community, we are not made to live in isolation. So there is a deep need within us to have others in our lives. And that's important. So setting that up is really important structures, routines, making sure you get enough sleep, these are all really obvious things we can read. But pairing them with all these other aspects of self care and taking the time to invest in making sure that you're healthy health is more than exercising nutrition, it really is.
Unknown:
It's important for listeners to understand that mental health affects us all, be it directly or indirectly, everyone has been faced with some sort of mental health challenge. And there's so much stigma this the allies around the word, no one wants to feel labeled, and no one wants to seek that support. And then there are certain people who want that support, and their lack of resources in their areas. We speak about the pandemic and to, to a certain extent, the pandemic is helping reach individuals who struggle with lack of transportation.
Rikki Harris:
My CEO and I started a Monday and a Friday email, we just started thinking through what are we experiencing? What do people need to hear? And how do we help keep them feeling strong and confident and cared about? People were super appreciative to be in an organization who cared about them so much, and, and I was appreciative to be in an organization with people who would allow us to be part of their self care and to allow us to be part of a culture of compassion.
Unknown:
And being able to provide that support from our end, we're able to help others understand that it's okay to not be okay. And that help is available.
Rikki Harris:
The other thing that languishing does is make you rethink everything. So what am I doing? Do I? Do I like how my life has turned out? Am I okay with my circumstances? Should I be thinking about change? Is this feeling making me unhappy? Or was that unhappy before? And so that that may be how languishing feels? If first of all labeling that feeling is really important, and understanding that, okay, I have a name for this. Now what? But for some people I've talked to they would say just knowing that name, languishing made them feel so much better. It's odd to say that just the label will make you feel better because sometimes we feel the opposite. Please don't label me I don't want to feel that I'm a blank type of person. But it's almost a release to this feeling that okay, I don't have to keep struggling to figure it out. I now know what it is. What can I do next? So it moves people from struggling through the unknown into action. And that begins to start the conversation about languishing. One of the ways we decided was important to help the community beyond just news media interviews was really talking to the people in the community, one on one, and we
Unknown:
know COVID-19 can make you physically sick. But what about your mental health Tennessee voices wants to help. The organization is visiting some of our more rural areas handing out supplies. Dozens of people volunteer today to help people struggling with mental health. Tennessee's leading mental health support service got out of Memphis today to spread the word about suicide prevention month, Tennessee voices I decided to make sure that people here in Memphis knew where they can go to talk about their mental health needs. Teenagers lined up at the Morristown housing authority for free backpacks filled with mental health resources and other supplies. Tennessee voices and mental health support group is behind the effort.
Rikki Harris:
So I asked Will to co host a podcast with me. I didn't know the first thing about a podcast I listened to them. But I did know that listening to positive, inspiring stories was better for me, as I address my own languishing and I wanted to do that I wanted to offer a place where people could hear from others about how they addressed whether it was languishing or their own mental health and For successfully, so we started a podcast and we called it can plus did candid. And we wanted to hear about people who can believe they can. And they did move forward successfully, despite whatever mental health challenges that they had. I've written this guided meditation that we'd like to offer, the community that we're calling rekindling joy. And the purpose of that guided meditation is to help people mindfully move from languishing to flourishing and experiencing joy. Again, we as an organization, understand that it's time to really help the community, it's time to help the community understand, label this feeling, and then understand how to help themselves. Because we also have a workforce problem in mental health. And we're concerned, I'm concerned about how we're going to be able to address these feelings and these issues that are being created based on the mental health challenges because of all that we faced us Tennesseans in the last 18 months. So we get
Unknown:
a overwhelming amount of calls for our therapy services. And you know, we need to meet their needs, but also have the staff to do that. And right now, we need more, and in order to fulfill all of our client's needs,
Rikki Harris:
and so it's imperative that we increase the workforce so that we can increase the services that we need to deliver to help people move forward. The sooner we do that, the sooner we all get back to normal, much as COVID-19 is a problem that is definitely impacting our physical health, mental health as a problem, and it's impacting us so much that it's being called the second pandemic. So we're here to make sure that those services are available, that there are options for people that there's access to mental health services for anyone anywhere. A lot of people have lost jobs this year, and have lost insurance. So we just continue to find more and more people who are on hardship and the support of a scholarship to get the help that they need. So funding that is easy, it's$50 to have a therapy session, that $50 gift gets one session. And you know, that's one one more person who's getting the help they need and getting the services they need to move on through their life successfully in the way that they want to.
Unknown:
We need your help. We know that $50 can help one individual that is struggling with mental health concerns, and we need your support. Mental health doesn't just affect us one time, it is a walk that we take with individuals. Being able to have your support will truly help them understand that hope is possible. Because during this time, we're realizing that many people are losing hope, or don't even believe it exists anymore. And your donation can help someone understand that hope is possible.
Rikki Harris:
We want to close the story of hope show with a song entitled together. This video collaboration will give you hope to move forward out of languishing into flourishing. But first, here's how you can get help for yourself and others get free resources and help other Tennesseans get the help they need. Through the services and support we provide a Tennessee voices. If you or someone you know needs mental health support, you can go to our website at tn voices.org and submit a referral by clicking the green button completing the information and someone from Tennessee voices will contact you. One $50 donation can give one Tennessee and the mental health support they need from Tennessee voices will you help us reach the Tennesseans who haven't received the help they need by texting 44321 and the words T invoices to receive a link to give or go directly to our website at tn voices.org/donate. All gifts are tax deductible. Tennessee voices currently reaches over 60,000 Tennessee ends each year with a message of hope. But the need is still great. With over 300,000 More Tennesseans that need mental health support every $50 donation helps. How many Tennesseans will you support? Please text 44321 and the words T invoices or go directly to our website at tn voices.org/donate. The Tennessee voices Hope Fund was started by our founder and former CEO Second Lady of the United States, Mrs. Tipper Gore. The Hope Fund helps Tennessee in need pay for mental health services at Tennessee voices each day requests for this fund increase. We want to offer you some free resources to help you move from languishing to flourishing. These resources are available on our website at tn voices.org. There you will find a link to our story of hope show a one page summary of what you've heard tonight to help you move from languishing to flourishing, a free download of our guided meditation called rekindling joy and access to our online Mental Health Resource Library. Additionally, we invite you to download our podcast can plus did available on all podcast listening platforms and coming soon a free app called my health coach. To help you track your mental health daily. We invite you to share this story of hope moving from languishing to flourishing with your friends and family. You can easily share the link you're watching now, or find it on our website at tn voices.org. And now we close our show with an inspiring song written and performed collaboratively during the pandemic. Brothers Luke and Joel Smallbone from the band for king and country along with Tori Kelly and Kirk Franklin. This song entitled together is a joyous celebration of moving from languishing to flourishing together The video features people like you and me I hope you'll enjoy the song and stay till the end for some final reminders of how to get our free resources
Unknown:
this is for the question marks this is for the El caso loss control center for the Cancun bag Singapore The Singapore that just found is now signs if you're looking for hope
Rikki Harris:
if you we this thing over came. I can promise
Unknown:
together without your friends. Together, we are bolder, braver, stronger
Brian Sullivan:
Thank you for listening to story of hope from languishing to flourishing. For free resources go to tn voices.org. There you'll find a one page download on how to go from languishing to flourishing a guided meditation called rekindling joy. Our online Tennessee voices mental health resource library a link to subscribe to this candid podcast. And coming soon, you'll be able to download the My Health Coach app free to track your mental health. Donate $50 today and give one Tennessee and mental health support. You can check you can text T invoices 244321. Or just log on to tn voices.org/donate. to you or someone you know need mental health support, just go to tn voices.org and click on the referral button. Share this story of hope with your network of family and friends and help them move from languishing to flourishing that can easily be shared again at the website tn voices.org. Thank you to our sponsors. The Omni family of services Service First Bank Dollar General Lamar advertising, Edward Jones, elemental technology solutions, HCA healthcare Tristar health, Tito's handmade vodka, and Vanderbilt behavioral health
Erika Lathon:
thank you for joining us. If you enjoyed today's program, like subscribe and review this podcast. If you or someone you know is in need of mental health support services, log on to tn voices.org or call one 806 70988 to join us next time as we get candid
