“Wired Different”

May 21, 2022

WARREN, Pa. – Finding ways to help those struggling with mental health requires understanding. Understanding that many of those with mental health issues are just “wired different.”

That’s the message Kendra McBride is sending with the artwork featured on the billboard in Sugar Grove.

“A lot of my friends and some of my close family friends have mental disorders, and they’re just everyday people in my life,” McBride said. “I don’t see them differently, and I don’t think anyone should ever be viewed differently simply because of a mental illness, or anything they cannot control for that matter.”

McBride’s piece was inspired both by her experiences and something she read that resonated with her.

“I read this book titled ‘Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key’ when I was younger, and in the book, they reference how he was ‘wired’ due to his ADHD,” McBride said. “And I have friends who have ADHD who get themselves into difficult situations due to this just because they are ‘wired different.'”

Once she settled on the message, the concept came together quickly.

“People with ADHD, and similar mental illnesses, simply have a different way of going about life than others due to the fact they have a neurological disorder,” McBride said. “The choice of the brain was obvious, but I specifically chose to do wiring within the brain because ADHD affects the neural pathways.”

McBride’s is one of six pieces featured on a billboard throughout the county as part of CORE’s (Choosing Openness Regarding Experiences) recognition of Mental Health Month. Students across the Warren County School District submit their art, which is then voted on by a panel of judges. The top six vote-getters see their artwork displayed.

Knowing that much of the current messaging about mental health centers on depression, McBride wanted to focus on another common mental health issue. That her piece was one of the six chosen was exciting both from the aspect of seeing her work on a billboard, and that she could share her message.

“I was very excited, a lot of mental health awareness, not necessarily the billboards, focus around depression, there isn’t a lot of branching out,” McBride said. “ADHD is very common, there are more than 3 million cases per year in the U.S. alone and I feel like in proportion to how many people actually have it- it isn’t really recognized. I was also just excited because who wouldn’t be.”

Though bullying wasn’t directly identified as an underlying reason behind why two students completed suicide in December, the fact that many communities will experience suicide “clusters,” and that youth suffering from mental illness are more likely to be victims of bullying, had McBride concerned for her friends.

“A lot of kids with ADHD will experience bullying in their childhood, a Swedish study found that kids with ADHD are 10 times more likely to be victims of bullying, and another study stated that kids with ADHD are more than 6 times more likely to have suicidal ideation,” McBride said. “In short I was worried for my friends, and I was worried for kids who have been bullied.”

McBride said it’s important to her that the stigmas surrounding mental illness be eliminated, to help both those with mental illness feel comfortable seeking help, but also for those without to better understand what a person dealing with mental illness may be going through.

“Stigmas are negative, anyone can see that, and these stigmas can scare people,” McBride said. “When there is a stigma commonly associated with an illness, someone who genuinely has the illness might feel a sense of shame or feel self-conscious. On top of that, it can negatively impact help-seeking and early diagnosis and treatment.”

         

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