Bemused

From time to time I see people wearing shirts that say "To Write Love On Her Arms" and "Love is the Movement". But it wasn't until recently that I really understood what it all meant. It wasn't until I found the TWLOHA website and read what it was all about that I really understood the impact those words could have.


TWLOHA started because some people wanted to help their friend get the treatment they needed after being denied entry to a treatment facility. They created and sold the t-shirts in order to raise the money to save their friend's life.


The mission
To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for those struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

Depression is something that runs rampant in society, though no one really talks about it. It's even made its imprint within my family, though my story is the only one mine to tell.

When I was in high school I was treated for depression and at one point kept overnight in hospital one night because my mum didn't know how to help me. But I was lucky to find a great group of people, both socially and professionally, to help me learn how to deal. What probably helped the most was my sessions with the psychologist just talking it out, but I'm sure the anti-depressants influenced that too (though mild they were effective lol).

I consider myself really lucky because I learned early on how to properly deal with things and be constructive about it instead of shutting down. I know a lot of people who have confided their own struggles to me, none of whom would dare to post something like this in such an open forum as a blog for fear of who would find it. But there's no sense in hiding things like depression - if you do, you can't get help and you can't help others.

Here's my favourite part of the TWLOHA vision statement:

You were created to love and be loved. You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you're part of a bigger story. You need to know that your life matters.

This is what everyone needs to know.

This is everyone's truth.

To find help: www.twloha.com/find-help/
To buy merchandise: www.zambooie.com/twloha/
To donate : www.twloha.com/move/
On YouTube: www.youtube.com/TWLOHA