Acting with Brotherly Love, Relief & Truth (Comments Section)
I share the story of Bro Mitchell Brown's initiative to support Brethren for Mental Health
When we say our Grand Principles are Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth, we can and do fall into the same trap that most comapnies do. Many Corporations stick their values on the wall to point to them and say, that’s our company values. Box Ticked.
Even though today Freemasonry is speculative not operative, we cannot mistake this to mean that we just say things and not take any action. Part of speculative masonry is moving the operative efforts from building physical temples to building metaphoric temples, but never the less, in order to build, we still need to take action. We still need to labour and we still need to work, it’s just the tools are now symbols and stories of lessons that we must apply.
So today in the comments section, I want to share the story of a Brother who is championing Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. A Brother who is labouring and working to live and act out these Grand Principles and has the right hand of fellowship outstretched for anyone.
But first I want to touch on the importance of Truth for a monement and why it’s a Grand Principle.
As Masons, I know we like to put a positive spin on things. There is a lot of negativity in the world, and Masonry is meant to provide repreive from the profane world, but we do have the tendancy to avoid dealing or facing the turth sometimes.
Truth is objective. A stone can either be square, level, perpendicular or it’s not.
This means we have to realise that facts and reality and dealing in Truth is not always going to be positive. It can be harsh. But Truth is also about to Fidelity, Honesty as well as dealing in the the real state of things. Truth is also Sincere.
Brother Mitchell Brown has had to confront the Truth, he faced it with the courage of Hiram Abiff and now he also challenges us to confront the Truth as well.
Through Brother Brown’s initiative, He is helping Men confront the truth, a truth that we really don’t want to, or know how to and a truth that we try to avoid. He does so with Sincerity, with Brotherly Love and he provides Relief. Mitchell has confronted his midnight storm and is standing side by side with Brethren to confront the same.
Mitchell shares the story of his battle with Mental Health and has started Masonic 3:5:7 Coffee Club as a Sacred Space for Men and Masons to air their problems and be reminded that you are not alone.
Please take the time to read Mitchell’s story, like the Truth it deals in facts that we often don’t want you.
Please note Mitchell’s Story Below is about Mental Health Issues and Suicide:
🇦🇺 Lifeline: 13 11 14 | Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 | Mens Line: 1300 78 99 78
🇺🇸 Crisic Lifeline: 988
🇳🇿 Lifeline: 0800 543 354 | Samaritans 0800 726 666 | Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865
🇨🇦 Crisis Helpline: 988
🇬🇧 NHS: 111 | Samaritans 116 123 | SOS: 0808 115 1508 | CALM 0800 58 58 58
Masonic 3:5:7
They say there are no strangers in freemasonry, only friends you’ve yet to meet…… isnt that the truth…
When we think of health, we have been trained to think about physical health only.
While I believe it uis really important for men to address their physical health such as and not limited to prostate and heart related matters, there is an equally important co-health item;
Men's Mental Health
It is okay to talk about this. It has been unfortunate that when this equally important health issue gets raised, too many are far too quick to simply say “suck it up”. But it’s okay to say you’re not okay.
We know how to discuss physical illnesses, but mental health issues? Not really.
It’s one of the most common remarks I hear. We don’t have an accepted vernacular and we’re not practiced at it.
High blood pressure is not the only silent killer…
Approximately 12 people die by suicide each day in Canada according to Stats Canada. Men being the majority. The highest deaths by suicide in men is between 50 and 64. There’s over double the amount of males dying than females according to statistics gathered by the government of Canada’s health info base.
Please take notice of the words I just used. Die by, deaths by.
I want to you to understand, REALLY understand….. My people do NOT commit suicide, we die BY suicide. I’ll say that again. We do not commit. You die because of a disease….just like Cancer, Parkinson’s, heart disease. Ect….. Mental Disease deaths are the unfortunate part of the disease for some.
So, How does this affect me? Why am I standing before you?
Persistent Depressive disorder with anxiety distress. That’s the invisible disease I live with. A mental disease, a disease that affects a great number of men. A disease that when not talked about can have very bad repercussions.
Allow me the safe place to be vulnerable.
Persistent Depressive Disorder with Anxiety Distress…
What, does that look like for me?
It looks like feelings of sadness, of loneliness. It’s periods when I just want to curl up in the fetal position. It’s sometimes periods of days…. weeks that I don’t shower, periods of no hygene, whatsoever. periods of not wanting to get out of bed. Depressive episodes of a constant internal battle. A battle just to stay alive.
I fight the voices telling me I’m worthless, telling me I’m a burden. Its voices, sometimes whispering, sometimes screaming the world would be a much better place with me gone.
My body aches, my muscles ache. It’s a constant state of tension, every movement hurts. It’s being exhausted from having to put on a game face while out in public. Putting on a smile. Pretending life is fantastic just so I won’t be a burden.
That’s the depression.
The anxiety keeps a constant watch on me. I don’t do crowds well, I get scared. I get paranoid. I cancel plans often. I can not be outside alone when it’s dark. My heart races. I pick at my fingers, sometimes to the point of them bleeding. I pace, get anxious and get overwhelmed very easily.
I lack concentration and memory, I lack the ability to understand basic instructions. I avoid conflict. I can’t handle noise.
The medication helps keep me stable but they cause severe dry mouth which promotes at the least bad breath, the dry mouth wreaks havoc on my teeth. Constant cavities, root canals, extractions. My biggest anxiety’s are darkness and the dentist.
I get paranoid, I feel people laugh at me, talk about me.
These are just a few of many symptoms of this disease. I’ve given a glimpse of the surface. I don’t want you to know the rest. I won’t talk of the absolute pits of hell we live in.
My story is like a roller coaster of highs and lows. Mis diagnosed and treated for bipolar disease led to years of severe low periods. Suicidal ideations turned into a plan which eventually turned into an almost devastating end of my life.
Thankfully I thought of my girls, my wife and mustered enough strength to drive myself to the Barrie hospital where I spend the next 72 hours in mandatory lockdown on the psych ward.
I learned more tools in there and I’m thankful for the understanding nurses and doctors.
After some time my depression spiralled down once again.
It was suggested I try a new procedure called rTMS or Rapid Transcrainial Magnetic Stimulation.
A series of magnetic jolts fired into your head to provide relief from Depression.
The first round of 10 treatments were not very successful so I did another series. It worked. The thoughts of suicide subsided.
Fast forward a couple years. The thoughts came back.
I was still being treated for bipolar at the time. RTMS was not an option, instead the doctors highly suggested I undergo shock therapy which I did. 10 sessions, starting Unilateral which means one side of the brain then to Bilateral treatments…..both sides. Shock therapy or (ECT) consists of a series of low voltage shocks to your frontal lobes, causing small seizures which jump start electrical and chemical changes.
I showed positive results only after the 8th treatment… that was in 2013. It worked. I haven’t had any bad suicidal periods since then but it came with a price. The treatment left me with a severe
short and long term memory disability which I still live with. My loving wife had to provide me with the treatment details as the memory is very foggy. During that period the doctors finally came to the conclusion that they had been treating an illness I didn’t have all those years and properly diagnosed me.
I’m properly medicated, have a-great support group surrounding me and I have learned tools to help me fight a disease that will never leave me.
I’m here to raise awareness, I’m here to let my fellow brothers know you are not alone.
I’m here as a voice for those who feel they can’t speak. I’m here to let you know there’s nothing embarrassing about this disease, in fact we are strong men. Very strong. We are warriors. We fight a battle 24/7, a battle most can’t fathom. I need you to know there are supports out there for you. Reach out to me. I’m not a councillor and can’t give you any medical advice but I am a good listener and might be able to point you in the right direction. I urge you to seek help. Please don’t stay silent , it’s the silence that kills us.
Thank you Brethren.
Mitchell Brown