share your story

Sharing your story and joining the conversation about mental health is the best way to fight the isolation and stigma of mental illness. By submitting a video, you are helping us show others that they are not alone and tell them "you are okay". Let's get to it! 

How to Make a Video

Step 1: Read the guidelines.
Step 2: Film your video!
Step 3: Upload the video as UNLISTED to YouTube.
Step 4: Email the YouTube video link to urok@childmind.org and let us know: your name, diagnosis, and social media handle(s).
Step 5: Wait for us to process and publish your video to our channel! It takes 2-5 days. We will email you when we post it.
Step 6: Share that link! Be sure to follow/@/RT/tag us!

Guidelines

Your video must:

  • Be about mental health.
  • Be 2-3 minutes long.
  • Be unlisted and unpublished. 

Your video must not:

  • Contain any hate speech, overly sexual content, or curses.
  • Advocate for or glamourize suicide, self-harm, violence, drugs, or alcohol*.
  • Contain any copyrighted material. That means you can talk about how inspired you are by Janelle Monae (aren’t we all?) but you can’t show her music videos.

*This doesn’t mean you can’t talk about those things - we want you to be honest about your experiences! We just want to make sure viewers don’t think suicide, self-harm, drugs or alcohol are good options for people who are in pain. If you or someone you know is suicidal, call 911 or the suicide hotline: 1-800-273-8255.

Your video can/should:

  • Reflect you! You’re awesome!
  • Use the phrase “you are ok.” That’s how we end all of our videos! Feel free to do the same.
  • Be creative! Tell a story, sing a song, make a list, show photographs or art, do a Day in the Life video. 
  • One thing a lot of people do is give their younger self advice. What do you wish you’d known when you were struggling the most?

FAQs

Why does my video have to be unpublished?

  • We want to be the first one to share it!
  • We want to monitor the video comments because Project UROK is positive, supportive and inclusive community.
  • It’s the best way to get the most views on your awesome work!

Why does my video have to be so short?
It doesn’t have to be, but we’ve made over 200 videos and we’ve found that 2-3 minutes is the ideal length of time for people watching.

What should I talk about?

It's up to you! It's most important to be honest - we want to hear your thoughts, your stories, and what inspires you! Here are some suggested topics:

  • Why are your passionate about sharing your story?
  • Why are you committed to raising awareness about mental health?
  • What would you tell your younger self?
  • What do you wish others knew about living with a mental illness?
  • What are some ways you’ve learned to deal with your symptoms?
  • What are some self care tips that work for you?
  • If you could offer advice to people dealing with a situation like yours, what would you say?

Thank you for sharing your story! 
#UROK