Suffer Out Loud

We officially enter the Summer season this weekend! 😎 Here’s to meeting yourself where you’re at this summer. What’s your goal in the coming months?

🩷 More lazy days filled with books and popsicles?
🩷 Old school entertainment like bike rides & sidewalk chalk?
🩷 To take care of your mental health?
🩷 To just get through a difficult season in life?

If you ask us, hot girl summer is overrated.

Please take the time to read these important stats from The Trevor Project’s annual survey on the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people. This survey provides data-driven ways we can all show support and acceptance for the LGBTQ+ young people in our lives and confirms the life-saving benefits of creating affirming spaces and communities.

A special thanks to everyone who bravely shared their experiences in this survey so that we have the data to uplift LGBTQ+ young people. 🏳️‍🌈

To find more resources and get support, visit https://www.thetrevorproject.org/ or text START to 678-678.

We hear a lot about SAD (seasonal affective disorder) in the winter months, but seasonal depression can also impact people in the summer. Summer-pattern SAD is associated with irritability, anxiety, insomnia, appetite loss, and agitation.

Here are some common causes of summer depression:

☀️ High temperatures & humidity discomfort
☀️ Seasonal allergies
☀️ Limited finances for vacations or activities
☀️ Disruptions to regular routines
☀️ Fear of missing out/pressure to be doing things
☀️ Anxiety & shame about your body

If summertime feels hard for you, you’re definitely not alone. 🧡 Things that can help include talk therapy, medication, staying cool indoors (showers/ice packs/AC), using light-blocking shades, limiting or avoiding social media, and going to bed on time.

Do you suffer from summer SAD? What tips do you have that help you cope? 💬

MENTAL HEALTH CARE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE BACK 👏

And they’re coming with some exciting updates!

1️⃣ Award Increase

Recipients will once again receive up to $150 per session for up to 12 counseling sessions. 🎉

2️⃣ Lottery-Based Selection

To balance high scholarship demand with our available funding, we’re testing an approach to awarding scholarships via a lottery system rather than a first-come, first-served waitlist, ensuring equal opportunity while keeping wait times manageable.

This means eligible applications will be selected at random rather than prioritized by application order or personal circumstances.

3️⃣ Eligibility

The scholarship remains open to legal Montana residents with no other active Suffer Out Loud scholarship in the household. Two updates to note:

- Parents/guardians are once again welcome to apply on behalf of their child under 18 and use the funding for that child’s counseling.

- For returning applicants, at least 12 months must have elapsed since the last scholarship was awarded.

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Applications are OPEN NOW for our June award cycle and will close Wednesday, June 10, at 12 noon MDT. All applicants can expect to hear back about the status of their application by Friday, June 12.

👉 Visit https://www.sufferoutloud.org/scholarships or our link in bio for more info and to apply!

June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month.

This image is a powerful reminder that pain doesn’t always look the way we expect it to.

The men shown here were talented, successful, admired, and loved by millions. Yet behind the applause, the achievements, and the smiles, some were fighting battles that few people could see.

For generations, men have been told to "man up," stay quiet, push through, and carry their struggles alone. Too often, vulnerability is mistaken for weakness when, in reality, speaking up is one of the bravest things a person can do.

Mental health does not discriminate. It affects athletes, musicians, actors, fathers, sons, brothers, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. No amount of success, popularity, or strength makes someone immune.

This June, let's work to break the stigma surrounding men's mental health. Check on your friends. Ask the hard questions. Listen without judgment. Create spaces where men feel safe saying, "I'm not okay."

You never know what someone is carrying behind the smile they share with the world.

💜💙 If you're struggling, please know this: asking for help is not weakness. It is strength. And you do not have to carry it alone.

💙💜

A Stanley Cup champion. A hockey legend. A father. A teammate. A friend.

Last week, the hockey community lost Claude Lemieux to su***de at the age of 60.

It’s a painful reminder that mental health challenges can touch anyone. Success doesn’t make someone immune. Achievement doesn’t eliminate struggle. And often, the battles people face are invisible to those around them. As fans gather to celebrate the Stanley Cup Playoffs, we’re also reminded of something bigger than hockey: struggle isn’t always visible.

Check in on your people. Reach out when you’re struggling. Ask the hard questions. Have the conversation.

You never know who might need it.

Awesome opportunity with Su***de Prevention Coalition of Yellowstone Valley 💙

🌟 Attention Businesses and Organizations! 🌟

Do you have a wall that could become a mural? Want to help spread hope in our community?

The Su***de Prevention Coalition of Yellowstone Valley is seeking locations for our next round of murals, to be painted in late summer/early fall 2026. In collaboration with RiverStone Health, these murals will share positive messages of hope and resiliency and include a reference to the 988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline.

Ideal mural spaces include:
• Public-facing, highly visible locations
• Areas with strong foot or vehicle traffic
• Schools, businesses, and neighborhoods ready for more color and connection

A call for artists will be announced soon—and everyone is invited to apply! Participating wall partners will be invited to take part in the selection process, including helping choose the artist and approving the final mural design.

Interested in offering a wall or learning more?
Submit entries by June 30th via email: [email protected]

Let’s work together to create lasting messages of hope. 💜