Tips to try to get yourself out of an anxiety attack:
Shayley is my daughter. She was homecoming queen, cheerleader, and always wearing a smile. She was hiding a deep depression none of us knew about and died by suicide on August 31, 2016. This tragedy rocked our small community to the core. During this nightmare, we realized that we have little to no resources, training, or awareness nearby. She had left a suicide note in which she requested #realtalk about her and wanted anti-suicide songs played at her funeral. Since losing a part of my heart, I along with many community members, have vowed to honor her last request and raise local awareness about suicide and depression. I will honor this request until the day comes that I get to see her beautiful face again.
In the first years that we've suffered her loss, we have: organized bbq's/bake sales to raise local awareness start up funds. Held an auction with proceeds going to suicide awareness. We held a rock painting event where we placed awareness info on painted rocks to hide and let people find within the community. Designed a billboard along the highway to promote depression/suicide awareness including the suicide hotline and texting numbers, had a poker run in her memory, walked in the Christmas parade handing out awareness info on candy canes, sold shirts to raise awareness, and had a legal holiday declared in our county on the day we lost her called Random Act of Kindness day as well as our county naming September Suicide Prevention Month in Washington County. We had people participate far and wide in this new holiday, spreading awareness in large numbers. We distributed good deed cards to people with awareness info as we did a kind act, we walked in several Out of the Darkness walks in her memory, held a butterfly/balloon release on her birthday, became a non-profit organization, and this was all in one year. We are looking forward to spreading so much more awareness in the upcoming years!
We plan to get more trainings held in our local area to provide mental health education. We plan on continuing to spread awareness though fundraisers, advertising, participating in walks, setting up informational booths at events, increasing the random acts of kindness while supplying depression/suicide awareness, become better educated ourselves in order to better serve our community, begin speaking publicly, sharing our story in hopes to save others. Participating in any activity we can in order to promote local awareness of suicide and depression.
July 13, 2021 marks the culmination of years of work, let downs, and frequent trips to the Capitol. Today, instead of the 31st of every August just being the day we lost an absolutely beautiful person who was one of the most giving people I will ever know, it becomes a legal holiday for the entire state of Missouri called Random Acts of Kindness day in honor of suicide and depression awareness. I will hold her picture next to the Governor and silent tears will fall, my very casually dressing son will put on a suit and tie to stand beside me. All because we don’t want anymore families living our daily hell. It’s so fitting that this happens right before her birthday, what a gift to her. This took 4 years and 72 steps/processes (in just this round alone)to get this signature. Getting a bill to become a law is no easy undertaking by any means. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a very political person, but this goes so far beyond politics. A huge thank you to Michael McGirl for understanding the importance of this and supporting it! Today is for you Shayley Akers and everyone else who’s ever fought the battle of depression.
We work very hard at the beginning of each school year to make sure that every school has journals so that students have a healthy outlet to explore their feelings and emotions. This is especially critical during the Covid pandemic quarantines.
Sculpting Easter bunny contest with free snacks & prizes! ALL ages welcome! Date night, girl’s night, family night, everyone welcome! Play dough donated to DFS for foster children. Come make new friends and have some fun for a good cause! Starts at 6PM!
I’m so VERY excited to say that Shayley’s Angels has arranged to offer a FREE training for our community called QPR training. It stands for question, persuade, refer and will be a great tool for ANYONE (age 16 years and up) who wants to learn more about how to handle a suicide crisis and safe, appropriate ways to respond. It will be held at the Washington County library from 10-12, snacks provided. This will be conducted by an amazing certified instructor, mentor, and friend, Rick Strait and here’s the best part…Shayley’s Angels will be covering ALL the costs for you!! This is an ideal training for anyone who has children, students, staff or just want the general knowledge. Due to us covering cost of the manuals etc., we do need to know the number of people planning to attend. Again this is 100% free to you! If interested in this training, please leave a comment below so we can keep a head count. Shayley’s Angels crew, this is the only training we have not had that we said we’d like to acquire! Super excited about this guys!! Everyone age 16+ is welcome. This isn’t just for teachers or any one group, it’s open to EVERYONE age 16+! Free knowledge of suicide awareness and prevention, free snacks, open to anyone 16 yrs. and up held on Saturday June 25th from 10:00 a.m. and you’ll be out before noon! Who is interested? Let’s raise mental health awareness in our community!
Save the date! October 2nd will be our auction/dance. Doors will open at 5:00, live auction begins at 6:00. $20 per couple/$15 per person if staying for dance. You will get stamped at door if staying for the dance. Auction only is free entry. Draft beer included. Come support a good cause with a good time!
We are currently accepting auction donations from now up until day of auction. We are a legal 501c3 trying to help our community raise awareness about suicide/depression. If you’d like to donate, just send us a message (or contact Lela Thompson or any member of Shayley’s Angels) and we’ll be more than grateful to come pick it up
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In reality, some of the saddest people may appear to be the happiest people who smile all the time. You never know what someone is struggling with. Never judge a book by it's cover. Shayley hid major depressive disorder hidden behind the biggest smile you've ever seen.
No one would ever say someone who died of cancer or suffered diabetes was selfish...but when the mind gets sick, because it's an invisible illness, some blame the person suffering. If someone reaches the point where they are thinking of ending their life, they are such a dark place that their brain is no longer functioning properly. Many suicidal people feel that they are a burden and that they are actually helping others by this act. The disease makes them feel this way, not themselves. To say someone is selfish who is suicidal is a result of not understanding the sickness they suffer. Just because it's an illness you can't see, it's a disease nonetheless. It's one we need to take seriously because someone completes suicide in United States every 40 seconds!
Imagine struggling from a disease no one can see, being judged by stereotypes and dealing with this alone. Depression is so much more than sadness. It can cause physical pain, cause lack of or extreme amounts of sleep, lower your immune system, effect your appetite, and have many various effects on the physical body as well as the mind. To tell someone to just get over it is the same as telling someone to get up out of a wheelchair and walk. It's still a disease, it's just one of the mind. We know oxygen is there but we can't see it, yet many continue to stigmatize depression because it can't be physically seen.
The fear suicide has created this idea that if we don't talk about it, it will just go away. We would never sweep cancer under the rug or keep it hidden for fear of the spoken word may make it contagious, yet that's exactly what happens with suicide and depression. One cannot put an idea such as suicide into someone's head, but shying away from the topic shows them that we are embarrassed about the topic which can lead to inferior feelings of the person suffering and cause them to further isolate themselves. Talking about depression/suicide with your family or anyone who needs it shows them that we are all not ok sometimes and provides an ideal way to talk about healthy ways to handle these feelings safely. We talk to our kids about stranger danger, we talk to them about drugs, but we tend to stay away from touchy subjects such as depression and suicide. We can't teach them healthy outlets if the subject never comes up. I sure wish I had known to discuss this with my child....
Suicide ideation and/or depression can hit any age, any race, any financial status, etc. The ONLY barrier it encounters is education and awareness. The more we believe the stigmas associated with suicide/depression, the more we feed this terrible disease. We see more and more suicides from all walks of life, from the rich to the poor, to the average Joe. Suicide can strike anyone and 1 in four people suffer from depression so odds are someone you know or you yourself may suffer. It's OK to not be OK sometimes, the key is to have a healthy plan in place on how to handle it.
Even during a pandemic, we still want to promote awareness everywhere we go. We offered masks with suicide awareness and information on them to the public FREE of charge to help keep our community safe.
Milo is the newest member of Shayley's Angels! He is currently being trained to be a therapy dog to assist us at events and help with emotional support. We look forward to what he can provide to the organization and community!
Helping break the silence, our amazing team dedicated their motorcycle to mental health/suicide awareness in memory of Shayley and to help others.
Similar to CPR courses, we are now trained to offer courses on depression, anxiety, substance abuse, suicide, and other mental health disorders.
We have new merchandise in stock. Tattoos, lanyards, clip reels, buttons, bracelets, shirts, hats and more! Contact any Shayley's Angels team member to get your latest Shayley's Angels Inc. merchandise!
We would like to thank each and everyone of you for making our 4th RAOK Day a huge success! So much kindness was spread everywhere. We are looking forward to what next year brings. We couldn't have made it so successful without you! Thank you again!!
Thank you to each and everyone of you who supported our event. Due to your generosity, we raised over $15,000 for suicide awareness! All of this funding will stay local and help fund Shayley's Angels for another year. We appreciate each and every one of you!!
We would like to thank the community for the AMAZING turnout we had at the Christmas Parade! We were able to spread lots of awareness and even took 1st place in the parade! THANK YOU!
Due to Covid, we celebrated a little differently. This year for Shayley's birthday, people took her with them all over to celebrate. People would take pictures with her card and post them to social media and we handed out 24 prizes for her 24th birthday!
We teamed up with The Lunch Lady again this year for RAOK Day. We hope everyone enjoyed their delicious lunches that were provided!
We know how hard the pandemic was on many people so we wanted to hand out yard signs so people knew they were not alone. Depression affects many people every year and a pandemic and quarantine didn't help. Each sign had awareness information printed on them.
We prepared another round of journals to be ready before school started back up. These are journals that look regular (for both boys and girls) that have the texting app., etc. should they reach a point they may need a little support. Journaling is a healthy way to get out your thoughts and feelings. If you'd like some, PLEASE let us know so we can get these out before kids leave for summer breaks. Feel free to share this information! Counselors, if you'd like some to give out to students you know who may benefit, let us know!
These journal kits included a journal with resources inside to help people such as the texting no. for a free counselor, the hotline no., our website, and tips to use to get out of an anxiety attack. We included cool ways to use the journals such as color-coding your writing so you can see the progress visually, and we included pens to use as well.
It is with our deepest condolences that we pray for strength for Summer's family as our community mourns the loss of another Angel. Summer, may you have found peace...
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Due to your gracious donations, we were able to provide masks to our community free of charge!
Since our push to raise awareness has begun, we have had not one, but two local schools hold an awareness game where Shayley's Angels, Inc. was able to speak to the crowd of teenatger and their families,throw out awareness bracelets and wear awareness t-shirts. GREAT JOB KINGSTON K-14 AND VALLEY/CALEDONIA!! HUGE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
Our theme "Mental Health and Happiness Go Side by Side". We had a wonderful turnout and want to thank each and every one of you who took time out of your day to come support us!
We work very hard to ensure all schools in Washington County have journals when school starts to give to students who may need a healthy outlet to channel their feelings. These journals have resources in them should they ever need them. These are provided for all schools, home-schooled as well as virtual students.
We've been handing out cards to people who may need them that contain local resources and numbers that may help them in time of need.
We have been able to get hats, hoodies, and buttons made to promote awareness and get some real talk going about suicide and depression.
Great big thank you's go out to everyone who donated, supported, helped, came out and/or walked with us. This event was a great way to end Suicide Awareness and Prevention month. We had informational booths, music, a tribute to our Veterans, police, emergency rescue workers, firefighters, food, face painting and much more. We could not do these types of events without your support!
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Key points to remember:
If you find yourself in the middle of an anxiety attack or having suicidal thoughts, THIS TOO SHALL PASS! Give yourself 20 more minutes to calm yourself down because it can't get better if you are not here! EVERYONE at some point has experienced depression and YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
Your generous donation will help us provide resources, education, and awareness within our community. Your donation is protected by PayPal from fraud and we have also increased your peace of mind by adding our site as a TrustedSite through McAfee Security. ALL DONATIONS WILL HELP BETTER OUR COMMUNITIES AND ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!