Eric Kussin was a senior professional sports executive when his mental health began to rapidly decline. He had more than he dreamed of and didn’t understand what was wrong.
While he felt helpless and searched for answers, professionals helped him realize that a number of difficult life events had negatively impacted his mental health and crippled his body. Kussin had let these traumatic experiences build up over time and did nothing about them because he felt the topic of mental health did not apply to him.
After learning from practitioners how to properly heal his body and nervous system, Kussin has dedicated his life to changing the conversation about mental health and teaching others that it is a topic that applies to everyone rather than a privileged few. He founded #SameHere, a global mental health movement whose goal is to educate others about how mental health works on a continuum, with people experiencing more severe declines than others at different periods of their lives. life, while spreading the message that everyone in the world is affected by the trauma and stress of life.
The Buffalo Sabers brought Kussin to Buffalo to host a #SameHere mental health event on Tuesday to engage Western New York schools in this important conversation and give students steps to take when they need help.
“The goal of the organization was to start spreading messages about the challenges everyone faces in life – divorces, job loss, breakups, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, bullying, cyberbullying, illness of loved ones, loss of loved ones. » said Kussin. “All these things that we all go through that contribute to the way we feel, think and function. If we can shift the narrative away from mental illness and disorder and instead talk about what happened to you and what you’ve been through, it becomes inclusive.
“…With over 200 schoolchildren here, they can feel like they are all on the same team and working together. And if someone is going through something terrible, it’s not, “Who’s the bad kid and he needs to go see a counselor and there’s something wrong with him.” It’s, “How can we rally around you and help you?” »
Participating local students who gathered at the KeyBank Center for the event included students from Lake Shore, Eden, Forestville, Niagara Falls, Iroquois, Lockport, Starpoint, Sweet Home, St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, Springfield-Griffith Institute, Buffalo Academy for Visual & Performing. Buffalo Arts and Seminary.
