To further democratise his research around topics such as mental health and suicide awareness, John Rattray has worked with Dr. Bruce Perry, Push to Heal, and the Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport to develop a very special Why So Sad? comic, which has been masterfully illustrated by John's longtime collaborator, Jon Horner.
The physical comic has been widely distributed by Nike SB, though John has just released a quarter-of-an-hour long narrated version on YouTube, which is free to watch and accessible to all. Why So Sad? uses John's personal story as a way to "explore the roots of depression and anxiety, and the chronic stress that, unchecked, can lead all the way to suicidal ideation".
As John puts it: "It does not claim to provide all the answers or solutions, but it does discuss how skateboarding, as well as sport and other rhythmic activity, can be used as one part of a healing tool-kit. Developing a basic understanding of the physiological components of this thing we term ‘mental health’ has been a game-changer for me. I hope it can help you too".
Watch the whole comic below, and if you want to find out more about John and his mission, please pick up a copy of The Skateboarder's Companion issue 8, in which John and Neil Macdonald discuss John's journey, and the evolution of his The Good Egg and Why So Sad? projects.
Note: The intent of the following story is to shine a light on recent work that helps us better understand our own mental health. With that, it touches briefly on the topic of bereavement by loss due to both suicide and alcoholism.