Am I crazy for wanting to create the worlds largest travel minded mental health business?
**TRIGGER WARNING**
I am honest in the way I write, it comes from my heart and my personal experiences.
This introductory blog discusses suicide and suicide ideation.
6-7 minute read
Who am I and why do I have a crazy dream?
I am Arthur Maddocks-Brown, I am an English-born Australian, 30 years old, I love football, skiing, travel, spontaneous adventures, board games and motorsports. I am passionate about living life to the fullest and making every moment count with great people by my side. I have the say “Yes” attitude and let that lead me to amazing moments.
I am a kind-hearted person who is also very cheeky with a fun attitude. I like to make jokes and laugh at myself, I don’t take life so seriously and I have always been that way, but that doesn’t mean I am not a serious person, I think that was just my personality on the outside. Internally I am a perfectionist, always needed a plan and direction and a routine and this led to my mental health struggles.
My crazy dream comes from a place where I simply want to Live for those who can’t.
I have seen people in my life die by suicide, people attempt and survive, whilst I personally battled for years with suicide ideation. To the contrary, I know people that had a passion for life, who had the world at their feet and had that taken away from them by others or a freak accident. Subscribing to the Live for those who can’t mentality is part of the dream whilst showing people struggling that life is worth living.
My inner battle
My entire adult life I have struggled with depression, anxiety and panic attacks and it destroyed my career progression, my friendships and my marriage. Above this I nearly lost my best friend to suicide, twice, and my mission in life to make sure people can escape the black hole of depression and live a long life full of meaning and purpose.
15 years after I was initially diagnosed, I am proud to say I have no requirement for medication, and I am free from the black hole I was living in. I genuinely believe it’s because of a few life events the shook me right down to rock bottom, hard work on self-development including gaining respect and love for myself, travelling and building a supportive and likeminded community.
There’s people in the world that don’t get a choice at life, where they are taken from us too soon, my grandad died 4 days before my mums tenth birthday aged 32 whilst on the job. My best mates little sister was murdered aged 21 and my same mate also lost his best mate at 18 in a motorcycle accident. An old work colleague lost her older sister aged 19 in a hit and run accident, when the man came forward he felt so guilty he took his life leaving his wife and 3 children behind. Life really can be brutally unfair.
Surviving the hold of suicidal ideation that led me to thinking of multiple different ways I could CTRL + ALT + DEL myself multiple times a day, I am here and here with a mission, a mission to save people, show that that Life is worth living, and living for those who can’t.
There are so many different forms of depressive symptoms and throughout my 30 years, I experienced a variety of symptoms and impacts from poor mental health including; Loss of appetite, lack of sleep, lack of energy and fatigue, low self-esteem, feelings of hopelessness and trouble with concentration and decision making and losing interest in nearly everything, including things I love the most.
The effects of these for me have been different, from mental paralysis (FREEZE) where I have been unable to leave my bed for an extended period of time (3+ months), or unable to do simple tasks such as putting on shoes or going for a short walk, to functional depression where I have been able to still perform duties and do the bare minimum but still felt the darkness of each day.
The constant for me has been isolation, low self esteem and virtually no self worth. Lack of desire to live and feelings of “what’s the point”, it has been a horrible place to exist in the power of a mind not my own, it’s like another person within me tells me these horrible things, and curates these terrifying desires and plans. Thankfully, I have been able to switch that off for the most part and I am finding forgiveness for myself, turning to things I love doing for me and accepting the situation and the past self, ultimately it’s all shaped me to be a pretty awesome person!
When I was in school, there was no such thing as mental health education and I believe if I had access to education on mental health along with tools and resources I quite possibly could have led a different life. On the bright side, without my journey, I wouldn’t be doing what I do today.
What is the worlds biggest travel minded mental health business?
This business was born out of necessity, something that in my head and heart, I know the world needs. JUST ANOTHER MOMENT (JAM) is a business that aims to build a global community through creating world class travel experiences whilst tapping into mindful practices that have huge impacts on peoples mental health.
I want to help people see the world, show them that its big bright and full of opportunity. With the right support, love and mindset, I believe building a global travel community that supports the pursuit of a healthy mind the world will be a much better more peaceful place.
Through Just Another Moment I will be able to save lives, create meaning and purpose in life for people and create that inner peace and memorable moments. Ultimately, I want to help as many people as possible in this life overcome their blocks and live a long, purposeful and meaningful life through Just Another Moment.
The foundations of JAM
The foundation exists from my “ACE” approach to mental health.
Adventure | Community | Education
This tackles mental health head on, proactively, doesn’t allow it time to consume the mind, prevention vs reaction.
A – Travel, Adventure and Exploration. Getting out into nature, creating moments, memories and friendships.
C – Building the travel and mental health minded community through these shared experiences whilst opening up about mental health and sharing personal stories.
E – Educate people on impacts of mental health and provide tools and resources to overcome the challenges, whilst beign able to equip people to help others.
Here we provide Workshops, One on One coaching and share our stories with public speaking engagements.
The Pillars of the business that sit on the “ACE” foundations are incredible and this is
Dream | Share | Inspire.
We help people dream, achieve that dream, share that story to inspire others to dream too.
The End Goal
My goal is to achieve 2 things with JUST ANOTHER MOMENT.
1: Create a sustainable travel minded mental health business that can fully fund peoples mental health treatments
2: Help people realise and achieve their dreams.
To do this we need your help!
We need your involvement to build the community and grow together so we can ultimately all win together! Join us on a trip, help us spread the word, share your story on our upcoming podcast!
Join the JAM FAM on instagram @just.anothermoment
I leave you with my favourite quote and a question…
Dreams without goals are just dreams and ultimately they fuel disappointment. On the road to achieving your dreams you must apply discipline and more importantly consistency. Because without commitment you’ll never start and without consistency you’ll never finish. – Denzel Washington
What dream do you have, that if you were to share the story of achieving that dream and your story you would inspire others to dream too?
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