Lift the Mask: Now an Ambassador
As a goalie I follow a lot of goalie-centric accounts on social media. One of those accounts is the Goalie Guild. In February 2018 I saw this post about Lift the Mask. My first thought was – awesome logo, but then I started reading the captions, and clicking on the links.
What is Lift the Mask
Lift The Mask is dedicated to providing mental health support for the goaltending community. It raises awareness by connecting goalies in need with mental health care providers and by offering financial aid for those seeking professional help.
Lift The Mask is a program that provides goalies in need with a way to access to the ADAA’s full directory of professional mental health providers.
To remove the financial barriers associated with mental health therapy, our foundation will help cover the cost of an individual’s first consultation, chat, or meeting with a trained provider, up to $100 USD.
Goalies in need can reach out at any time by submitting a short and simple form on our website.
If you see a goalie with a Lift the Mask helmet sticker, you know you can reach out to them. They’ll listen to you, and help you seek professional help if needed, or just listen and be there for you.
Why I’m Passionate
As I shared in my My Head Hurts #SameHere post, I deal with anxiety, headaches and irritability regularly. These are symptoms that I’ve seen impact my quality of life. I wouldn’t say these symptoms keep me from enjoying life, but they slow me down at times.
Aside from that, I have family and friends who struggle with issues of their own, and many of them for much too long chose to keep their struggles to themselves despite pleads for them to accept help. If I could have gotten them to talk sooner, or share their struggles, I wonder how things could be different.
At the same time, for nearly 30 years my Dad was a Chicago firefighter who saw a lot of tough stuff. For many years he was not ashamed to say he talked to the department Chaplin, and other guys on the department, but then he was part of a crew the city sent to New York after the 9/11 attacks. After returning he not only talked to his brothers he was there with, but he talked to us and others because everybody had questions. He told me that he didn’t expect it to, but talking to people about his experience, as hard as it was reliving the experience helped him cope with it. He noted that sharing his experiences helped others understand some of his quirks.
How you Can Help
If you are battling issues of your own, find somebody to talk to. Talk to another goalie, talk to a family member, friend, professional. It doesn’t matter who, just start talking. It might be scary or uncomfortable, but you’ll be happy you did. If you think you are pretty stable (which if you are a goalie, let’s not kid ourselves, we’re not 😜), reach out to Lift the Mask and get a helmet sticker so fellow tendies know they can come to you.
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