WHAT’S THE LINK BETWEEN FAILURE AND SUICIDE PREVENTION?
ONE WORD.
SHAME.
FEAR OF FAILURE
31% of adults in the United States say they’re biggest fear is failure. That means more people are afraid of biffing it than they are of giant spiders. GIANT. SPIDERS.
FAILURE IN BIZ
45% of business owners & entrepreneurs say fear of failure is the #1 thing they’re afraid of, even above home break-ins or ghosty haunted things.
FAILS VS. GOALS
Half of all American adults say that their fear of failure is the biggest reason they don’t go after what they want. Failure is literally a destroyer of dreams. (Too dramatic? Nah.)
FAILURE = SHAME
Failing almost always causes uncomfy feels like shame, embarassment, and guilt to bubble up. It’s completely normal — but doesn’t need to hold you back.
FAILURE CAUSES SHAME.
BIG WHOOP, RIGHT?
WRONG-O.
Shame is a really big deal. Like, shame that’s left to fester feasts on self-worth, erodes wellbeing, and does a doozy on mental health.
SHAME & BRAINZ
There’s a direct link between shame, social anxiety, ADHD, major depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, OCD, psychosis, PTSD & suicide risk.
SHAME AND IDEATION
50% of people worldwide who struggle with suicidal ideation and self-harm report shame being a major driving factor in their desire to die.
SHAME & SUICIDE
Studies show 100% of people worldwide who attempt suicide consider shame to be a central reason for their attempt.
IT’S CALLED A SHAME SPIRAL FOR A REASON.
OR A SHAME VORTEX, TORNADO AND/OR SHARKNADO.
Shame can suck you down, burn you out, and fill you to the tippy top with self-doubt.
SO, WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT OUR OL’ BUDDY SHAME?
LEANING IN
Shame can’t survive a nonjudgey sharing sesh & kind community where you’re heard, seen, and celebrated.
GETTING VULNERABLE
Ditch the need to seem perfect and embrace being an actual person. Failure is inevitable.
NORMALIZING FAILS
Failing is normal. As in: literally everyone in the entire world fails on the reg. Once you drag your dirty secrets into the light, you’ll see how squeaky clean they truly are.
NOT BEING A D*CK TO YOURSELF
It’s hard to be kind to yourself after you feel like you’ve really messed up. Trust us, we know. But getting down on yourself is only feeding shame’s lust for loneliness & hurt.
THAT’S WHY THIS NONPROFIT EXISTS.
To give a microphone to our biggest embarrassments. To let human imperfections take center stage.
And to normalize failure for us all.
FAILURE IS SIMPLY A SIDE EFFECT OF EFFORT.
AND GOSH. HOW COOL IS IT THAT WE TRY?
Never again face failure alone, fantasize about running away to live alone in a cave*, or get sucked into the shame spiral.
*Okay, the cave thing sounds pretty sweet. Still maybe do that.
