Pain With a Purpose
In April of 2023, I created an Instagram page—@lucidosportspsych—devoted to mental health advocacy and motivational content. My page has strengthened and evolved since I started posting personable videos, touching on critical subjects involving anxiety and depression. Despite my camera shyness, I create consistent videos to inspire viewers and allow followers to feel heard and respected. In my first video, I discussed my experiences with mental health and shared my hope that this page would support individuals experiencing similar struggles. My first video was approximately 15 minutes long, and each subsequent video progressively got shorter to keep my followers engaged. It was not easy being vulnerable and talking about some very personal topics, but after doing so, I felt a wave of strength roll over me.
Due to my video’s popularity—consistently receiving between 30 and 100 likes per post—a friend of mine had the idea of interviewing fellow college athletes. I created questions for six of my friends to answer on camera, urging them to acknowledge and share their mental health struggles; it was a memorable experience as my friends and I rarely talk about mental health. That was the entire point of my page, though—to be vulnerable and open up about difficult experiences. I continued making short 3-5 minute videos discussing topics such as optimism, discipline, resilience, and confidence. My videos became more efficient over time and I grew more confident speaking into a camera; I made less speech errors, I was able to keep eye contact for longer periods of time, and I felt more confident in talking to people!
Creating this Instagram page is one of my biggest accomplishments so far. By no means am I a social media influencer or any sort of famous mental health advocate, but being able to make this page and help people who are struggling with difficult mental health experiences is particularly special to me. My sixty videos range from me speaking about mental health to working out at the gym. I currently have 144 posts and 263 followers and I plan to continue this page and see what I am able to accomplish with it in the future.
