Patsy, Connie, and Audrey volunteered on behalf of our Club at the Skagitonian Auction, which was a great success.
President Connie – Welcomed Bruce Eskeberg and Steve Miller to the podium. Steve said a few words about his friend Bruce and why he introduced Bruce to the Rotary Club of La Conner. President Connie formally inducted Bruce as our newest member of the Rotary Club of La Conner, pinning him, and providing him with his package and Rotary Badge Welcome Bruce, we are so lucky to have you as a new member to our Club.
Brandon Burbank is a mental health advocate, author and speaker. He was born and raised in Whatcom County. Brandon has an AA in Arts and Sciences with Business Classes. Brandon is the author of the book "Comeback 2 Success: Relentless Commitment for a Better Tomorrow" and several UTube videos. Brandon specializes in doing talks on mental health speaking from a peer-to-peer perspective. He has his peer-to-peer counselor certification from the Washington State Health Care Authority. The title of Brandon's speech is "Embracing Your Mental Health."
Brandon Burbank – Thank you all for having me this evening to share with your Club. Brandon shared with us his passion for sharing his story and that doing so, allows him to help others in similar mental health challenges and darkness and helps him find his purpose which also keeps him in a healthy place. Brandon shared that when he graduated high school in Bellingham Washington, he went on an adventure to Barcelona to help him discover and grow. He was always independent and driven, and this type of change he felt would help him discover his purpose and career choices. When he came back to Bellingham, he started having real struggles with depression, and was diagnosed with Bipolar. He felt isolated and totally lost with no sense of purpose or hope for the future. Brandon was in and out of Hospitals, therapy, and halfway housing which he hated. It was a very dark and difficult time for him. He had lost his sense of purpose and hope. Brandon shared there are 50M people which is about 1 in 5 people who struggle with mental illness and have similar struggles that Brandon faced. Brandon started his journey by doing personal journaling, as suggested by his treatment and therapists. During those times of self-discovery, he realized there are (5) steps that can provide hope and allow him to take ownership of changing his life and struggles. He describes the (5) steps as:
Brandon Burbank – Thank you all for having me this evening to share with your Club. Brandon shared with us his passion for sharing his story and that doing so, allows him to help others in similar mental health challenges and darkness and helps him find his purpose which also keeps him in a healthy place. Brandon shared that when he graduated high school in Bellingham Washington, he went on an adventure to Barcelona to help him discover and grow. He was always independent and driven, and this type of change he felt would help him discover his purpose and career choices. When he came back to Bellingham, he started having real struggles with depression, and was diagnosed with Bipolar. He felt isolated and totally lost with no sense of purpose or hope for the future. Brandon was in and out of Hospitals, therapy, and halfway housing which he hated. It was a very dark and difficult time for him. He had lost his sense of purpose and hope. Brandon shared there are 50M people which is about 1 in 5 people who struggle with mental illness and have similar struggles that Brandon faced. Brandon started his journey by doing personal journaling, as suggested by his treatment and therapists. During those times of self-discovery, he realized there are (5) steps that can provide hope and allow him to take ownership of changing his life and struggles. He describes the (5) steps as:
1) Self Awareness,
2) Confide in an advocate,
3) Take charge of your situation and life,
4) Accept change,
5) Be patient for change to come.
Click "Read More" for details of his speech.Brandon brought some books to sell to the Club members and also had a drawing to sign one, which Pam was the lucky winner. Thank you, Brandon! What an inspirational message and program!
Brandon’s thoughts around each step and how it helped him, and how he tries to help others:
- Self-Awareness – What am I going to do to get better. Running, walking, exercise are examples. Don’t let your challenges define you. A part of the journey takes life to the next level. Every recovery is different and can include medication, therapy, activities such as exercise- discover what works for you.
- Confide in an advocate – Confide in something you trust. Many people stay isolated and don’t ask for help. As a part of self-awareness, discover who you can confide in and take the step. For the advocate, they can help by being nurturing, a role model, and most of all listening. Keep an open ear, be authentic and empathetic. If you see someone struggling and you are an advocate, help them see that you are available to listen and be an advocate. Many people don’t know how to ask for help and might need to see a safe place and person is available. Many people let depression and darkness fester under the rug, where suicide can then feel their only way out of the darkness. Everyone is susceptible to depression and mental health challenges, no matter what type of childhood or family situation you were raised in. Be looking for the signs and we all can get it out into the open and more freely talk about it.
- Take charge of your situation/life: Brandon got out of the hospital in 2020 and entered a half-way house. He remembers that being an extremely difficult dark time for him. He hated it. Rather than stay in the darkness, he realized he could not immediately change the current living condition, but he could find new ways to help him grow. He decided to head out to California to change his surroundings and get new perspective. He learned to not look back with regret or to beat himself up for the past. 10 months later, he started writing a book from his journaling. He reflected how blessed he felt for growing up in beautiful Bellingham. He also realized that no one gets to choose their parents or family, but you do get to choose your advocates. An advocate will see your potential and help you see it. Take accountability and responsibility for your life, don’t be a victim, move forward. Lose the negative attitude, learn each day from your lessons, the decision and actions. Own them, grow with them, learn.
- Accept Change – Brandon hated his living situation in the half-way house and the best thing he did is to realize that it was temporary, he could not change it right then, and to accept the current state. It was his current reality so accept it, embrace it, and make small shifts and changes that will shift the current situation into a future state/job/passion/purpose and stay focused on that.
- Be patient for change to come – Brandon realized that in accepting the changes, good and bad, understanding the current reality and making small shifts to move the reality in a better direction, that you have to allow yourself the time it takes for the next change to come. Step by Step. It is a marathon not a sprint. What do you need right now to take charge of your life and current state. What do you need to do to focus on your mental health and making small improvements to allow you to move from darkness to light, step by step. Brandon stated that God was there for him. H placed trust in God that each day could be better and better with focus, taking accountability, make small changes and shifts and watching the improvement over time. Go get what you want, Go do it-make improvement.
