Not every day can be a great day. Some days are filled with sadness and doubt about who you are. Some days, it will seem like the entire universe is going against you and everything happens exactly how you do not want it to happen. Sometimes, you are stuck in a string of these kind of days, one after another, to the point where you start to feel like there is nothing you can do. You feel completely alone in the way that you feel and think.

In this instance, the important thing to know is that you are nowhere near alone.

It is estimated that there are 7.125 billion people in the world today, 316.1 million in the United States of America, 5.24 million in Minnesota, and 723,393 in North Dakota. In the United States one out of every four people have been diagnosed nationally, that does not count the countless others who suffer without a diagnosis. 

Looking at those numbers it should be impossible that we would ever feel alone, that we would never have someone to talk to.  You are one in over 7 billion, to say that there is no one to talk to is impossible when you realize how big the world is. 

However, knowing there are people out there who care about you is completely different from reaching out and asking for help. That is usually the hardest part. Letting down your walls and letting someone in. However, as humans we are not meant to live this life alone. We are not meant to be on our own with our emotions, whether it be joy or sadness. It is with our friends and with our families, that we find the joy and contentment that comes with reaching out and being a part of a community.

There are countless people for you to turn to, whether it be a school counselor, a family member, a national hotline, a principal or just a friend who will always listen to you. Letting someone in with your emotions and being connected can be one of the most powerful tools to helping you get better. A strong support group can bring you to THRIVE. 

There are days were it might seem easier to shut yourself off from the rest of the world, trust me I know, but it will not do you any good in the end. Take that risk and allow yourself to enjoy the company of others and allow other to enjoy everything that you have to offer in return. 

Remember that you are never alone; there are over 7 billion people in the world and what are the odds that you cannot find a friend in one of them?

-Student Board Members Abbie and Dylan

Imagine Thriving-Poem

The dark night pulled but still am resisting its charm.
Yellow balloons do dot the blue sky, I am saved;
 sunlight streams down bathing the somber in light.

For I did drag up that long hill to get here.
As deep as deep can get is now behind me.
Light as a feather and as free as the bird it resides on.
beats of hearts fixed on the beating of life-
just imagining thriving.

The dark night pulled but still am resisting its charm;
for sunlight streams down bathing the somber in its light.
As deep as deep can get is all behind me now;
all beats of hearts fixed on the beat of life.

Yellow balloons dot the sky; for I am saved!
I DID drag up that long hill to get here-
now am light as a feather and as free as the bird it resides on.
Just imagining thriving.

The dark night did pull but am still able to resist its charm
As deep as deep can get is all behind me now.
Sunlight is streaming down bathing the somber in its light.
Just imagine thriving.

-Student Board Member Abbie

Know That You're Helping

Access To Care Fund
There is a family that would like to thank you. They have no insurance and very few means, but a loving heart to want to help their child. The Access To Care Fund helped these parents get their child the help he needed. The grand total was nearly $400 for appointment with a counselor, prescriptions and cab rides. Moving forward, the *Student Wellness Facilitator they are working with is helping them to find long term medical assistance. This is a prime example of how vitally your support is needed, because mental health care can be exorbitantly expensive.

Today, these parents had the strength to reach out for help to get their child care and because of your financial support, their child and so many others are on the path to mental wellness. Thank you so much! These parents and the entire family thank you. Please continue to help students who are struggling with mental health concerns. They need you.

Everyday your support is directly impacting the lives of our struggling youth! Because of your generosity and support, The Goetz Mental Wellness Initiative's Access to Care Fund can help defray the costs of mental health care.

*A Student Wellness Facilitator is a specially trained and designated school employee who connects & supports a struggling student and their family with services needed for mental wellness. With community and grant support, The Goetz Mental Wellness Initiative has funded three Student Wellness Facilitators in Fargo and Moorhead Public Schools. As funding is available, this programming will be expanded into West Fargo Public Schools, additional staff in Fargo and regionally.
-Goetz Mental Wellness Initiative President, Stephanie Goetz 

Essential Steps to Thriving: Moving

One of the ten steps to thriving is to keep your body moving. Being in sports has kept me healthy both physically and mentally. If I am ever having a bad day, nothing clears my mind better than going for a run on a brisk, fall day.  

While partaking in physical activity, the mind seems to forget the stresses of everyday life. The beauty of this is that you have endless options when it comes to choices of physical activity. 

Once your body is in motion, your brain releases “feel-good” neurotransmitters called, endorphins. I personally prefer physical activity as a stress reliever because you can work out your brain and body at the same time. 

 If your mind is busy remembering occurrences of your day, often times you will become oblivious to just how far you are actually taking your workout. There are many ways in which you can thrive. Keeping your body in motion is an excellent way to accomplish this!
-Student Board Member Danielle

Essential Steps to Thriving: Tending to Your Spirit

Think of yourself as a garden.  Imagine the negative thoughts and actions as the weeds and the positive thoughts and actions as flowers. If you were a garden you would want as many flowers and as little weeds a possible. You would take a hoe and pick out all the weeds one by one until you were left with nothing but a field of colorful flowers.              

The thing about weeds in a garden is that they will keep growing if you let them. The same thing is true for us; if we let the negative thoughts run rampant in our minds then it will become all we think about. You wouldn’t let that happen to a garden so why would you let it happen to yourself? Why would it be easier to weed a garden than it would be to weed yourself? It seems like ‘weeding’ yourself would be more important, maybe even a priority, and yet so many people would rather head outside and pick unwanted plants than sit down and think about their own weeds.

Although hard, it is important to take the time and tend to yourself. You are taking the time to do something important; you are taking the time to care for yourself. Allow yourself to get rid of all the weeds, and be left with nothing but a beautiful blossom. Take the time to rid yourself of all the negative things present in your life until you are left with nothing but the good. Take the time to become a thriving field of flowers, because it is worth it.  -Student Board Member Abbie

Imagine Thriving

Imagine Thriving is dedicated to educating students on mental wellness in a way that will erase the stigma of mental illnesses. It is about providing hope, healing and inspiration. For me, Imagine Thriving has become a passion. It has brought me to help others who are struggling with something that I have seen my friends and self deal with in the past. This action project provides me with the privilege to educate myself and others on a problem that, with the more that I work with the foundation, I have realized is extremely misunderstood.

Mental Illnesses are a very real problem in students. According to the North Dakota Youth at Risk Survey of 2013, 16.1% of students “seriously considered attempting suicide during the past 12 months.” This should be reason to motivate everyone to stand up for mental wellness. This is one reason why Imagine Thriving exists.

With educating students, and providing early intervention for those who are struggling, so many lives can be changed. This is why I work so passionately with Imagine Thriving, and love everything that comes from this action project. I want to take a stand and help every student be in an environment that helps him or her THRIVE. -Student Board Member Dylan