About 2 months ago I was the 7th speaker on a roaster of incredibly, passionate, driven individuals selected to speak at a TEDx Conference organized by Dar es Salaam International Academy. If you don't know what TEDx is, just imagine a room full of people, and strangers on stage talking about things they like or are driven by or "ideas" about life and a great many other topics! I chose to talk about mental health (obviously), and specifically, how deeply shrouded in stigma and ignorance mental health issues are in Tanzania. I talked about how maybe all human beings are just stories and if we can be open to read different people's stories then perhaps stories on mental health need not be taboo, then perhaps authenticity and connection can be found in simply saying, "I'm not okay," and having that reciprocated and validated with kindness and compassion. I'm not a doctor nor a mental health personnel so maybe there are nuances I missed in my talk. So please listen to this with your heart, and defy some of the stories you've heard about mental health. And maybe, write a couple too...