Recently, Simone Biles has been a trending headline as she took a step back from her gymnastics competition in the Olympics. Most likely, you have already read and thought about it, as many people are chiming in with their thoughts on Simone Biles. It raises the question, was it OK to take care of her mental health? Yes, I am not going to take any space in this post to make a justification for that, she deserves the respect and dignity to trust her and her own decisions for h

May is mental health awareness month, so I want to start with thinking about what mental health is and what it means to be aware. These questions may seem overly basic, but I am often concerned that we are not thoughtful about framing mental health in truly helpful ways (not just ways that feel good for a short-term solution). Want a fun place to start the conversation?! How about we talk about suffering!? Okay, suffering may not be the most fun place to start, but it is an i