Welcome to The Happy Heart Blog!
Hi! I'm Mallory. I am currently a student at Texas A&M University with a passion for spreading joy and hope to those who need it most. I created The Happy Heart Project to address suicide prevention through our every day interactions. I believe that by finding joy even when it’s not evident and spreading that beyond ourselves can help to prevent suicide.
Why the Happy Heart Project?
I have been an advocate for teen suicide prevention for the past five years. Did you know that before 2015, teachers were only required to complete one suicide prevention training before they were certified to teach? However, in April of 2015, I had the amazing opportunity to testify on behalf of the Jason Flatt Act at the Texas Capitol. Now it is mandatory for teachers to be trained in suicide prevention annually. The Jason Foundation has created amazing training materials that are completely free and accessible to anyone on their website. While I continue to advocate for suicide prevention education in schools and the public, I recently realized that suicide prevention is so much more than training teachers to recognize warning signs. Suicide prevention starts with our every day actions.
“Suicide prevention starts with our every day actions.”
What to expect
I had the crazy dream to create The Happy Heart Blog when I was sitting with a friend at coffee one morning. She has the most incredible story of hope and overcoming suicidal thoughts. I remember thinking, "the world needs to hear her story." Throughout this blog, I want to share stories of incredible people just like my sweet friend. I want to shed a light on the stories of hope, joy, and survival. It is my greatest hope that I can meet just one person who may be struggling with a glimpse of life on the other side.
Another way I believe that we can prevent suicide is by normalizing conversation surrounding suicide. In The Happy Heart Blog, I will share the knowledge that I have learned from my years of being an advocate for suicide prevention. Myths surrounding suicide, warning signs, risk factors, and knowledge of how to have hard conversations are all extremely important in preventing suicide. Along with information on how to prevent suicide, I will have guests who are more educated than myself to provide tips for maintaining your mental health.
Lastly, I want to create a space for real talk to happen. We live in an age where social media is overwhelmingly prevalent. For many of us, it's the first thing we see in the morning and the last thing we see before we go to bed. With social media use being so central to our lives, we often compare our reality to someone else's highlight reel. We constantly compare ourselves to the images we see on the internet and forget that other people have real struggles as well. I want to create a candid, open conversation to show that the perfect image seen on Instagram is not always so perfect. You are not alone in your everyday struggles.
Important Disclaimer: I am not a mental health professional, just a girl with a passion for creating a happier world.
I hope you will join me on this journey of spreading a little more joy in this world. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people. While this statistic is staggering, there is hope. We can prevent suicide. I hope you will join me on my journey to prevent suicide by creating happy hearts. Together, we can saves lives.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the suicide lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Visit http://jasonfoundation.com/ to learn more about how you can prevent suicide.
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