What is it like to live with mental illness? Mara Wilson and Wil Wheaton speak.

project-urok

Actress, playwright, storyteller and What Are You Afraid Of? host Mara Wilson (follow her on @MaraWritesStuff) has OCD. She knows what it’s like to live with anxiety and how difficult it can be. In this wonderful video with Project UROK, she thinks about what helps her when she’s feeling anxious. In particular, she shares a super breathing exercise that might really benefit others…

Actor writer and internetty webber Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: Next Gen, The Big Bang Theory) lives with generalised anxiety disorder and, like Mara, he’s made a video on behalf of Project UROK to share his experiences.

What is Project UROK? It’s a nonprofit org whose mission is thoughtful and incredibly kind – it’s a hub for videos that are funny, positive and intended to be useful to teenagers living with mental health issues. Jenny Jaffe has, in fact, made her own Project UROK video in order to share her struggles with suidice, OCD and medication with others so they needn’t feel alone. She created the project as the resource she wishes she’d had as a teenager, and believes with all her heart in the importance of this project. So does everyone involved. People like Mara Wilson. Like Wil Wheaton.

If you have appreciated these videos, you’ll find more to explore on Project UROK, and can make your own video, too. All the Project UROK videos are made by people who have been there, to help destigmatise mental illness. Sharing tips and experiences like this can do so much to help build that sense of belonging and hope.

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