Frequently Asked Questions about this site and AFSP’s Out of the Darkness Overnight (aka The Overnight).
Q. Do you work for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention or The Overnight?
A. No. My only affiliation with AFSP is that I believe in the organization and its mission. This site is my own and in no way part of AFSP.
Q. Why do you feel so strongly about the AFSP and its mission?
A. Like most people, I have been affected in multiple ways by suicide and mental health issues. Read About Me to learn more about how depression has impacted my life personally.
After researching the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, I discovered that this is a remarkably well organized non-profit group who not only works for a cause I believe in, but also does so in a financially responsible way. As someone who works in the non-profit sector, I read the annual reports of the AFSP with a critical eye and was impressed. This is an organization that I am confident will make the most of each dollar I raise.
Q. In order to participate in The Overnight, I have to raise at least $1,000. Can I do it?
A. Yes! I was overwhelmed by that number at first (it’s $700 for students or military personnel), but I met the minimum in two months.
Q. How did you raise $1000 in only two months?
A. The most important thing I did was to tell people why it was important to me in a very specific way. I talked about how depression and suicidal ideation have affected my life.
Q. Was it scary to reveal such deeply personal information?
A. It was frightening. I titled the post on my private family/friends blog Exposing Myself due to the vulnerability I felt in putting my story in writing.
There were a lot of people I contacted who didn’t know about my life with depression, or at least not the severity of it. I was also concerned that the people who had been close to me during my darkest times would not care to be reminded.
Q. Was it worth it to talk about your experience?
A. 100%, yes! The best result of this journey on a personal level has been how much it has strengthened my existing relationships and provided me with new ones.
The day after I sent out a blast of emails and wrote a post on my private blog about my walk and my life with depression, I received an overwhelming response. Because I had revealed myself, many of my friends, co-workers, and acquaintances felt comfortable enough with me to share their own experiences. Suicide, depression, and other mood disorders are unfortunately common enough that almost everyone has a story to share. Part of the goal of The Overnight is to bring these topics out of the darkness and into conversation so that no one has to feel alone.
Q. Do you have any fundraising tips?
A. The most important one is to share your story. For more detailed suggestions based on my own experience, see the Fundraising Tips page.
Q. Where did you get the training schedule you’re using?
A. It came from The Overnight website. I used the 21-week schedule (minus the first week, since I started 20 weeks before the walk), and then added the dates. They also have a 15 week schedule on the site.
Q. Have you found it hard to stick to the schedule?
A. Not nearly as hard as I’d feared! It has been helpful to have a specific schedule to adhere to. In the past, I have set exercise goals which weren’t specific enough (“I’ll exercise 3 times this week.”) Then Monday would come, and I would be busy or tired, but Tuesday would be available… Pretty soon, most of the week was gone. Along with my motivation.
Q. I see you recently walked 7 miles. How hard was that?
A. Surprisingly not very hard at all. At first, I was very aware of each added mile. For example, on the first day I walked 3 miles, I noted in my log that it seemed like a big jump from 2 miles. I recall that 4 miles felt like a lot the first time, as well. Now, I don’t notice each additional mile nearly as much.
When I was a school teacher, I used to tell my nervous sixth graders on their first day of middle school that sixth grade wasn’t any harder than first grade. Of course, they would look at me puzzled. I explained that sixth grade, for a sixth grader who is well prepared by having successfully completed each of the proceeding five grades, is no more difficult than first grade is for a first grader with kindergarten successfully under his or her belt. I was prepared for 7 miles by doing the training before it. Without the previous training, I would have floundered like a first grader in sixth grade.
Q. How do you know how far you have walked?
A. I use a variety of gadgets, including data from the treadmills at the YMCA, Nike+ for the iPod, and a new luxury, a Garmin Forerunner 305.
If you’re less compulsive than I am, you probably don’t need to know to the hundredth of a mile how far you’ve walked.
For outdoor walks, you can use online tools like Map My Walk to determine how far you’ve walked. You could also drive a planned route checking the odometer to determine the halfway point.
After you’ve been walking regularly, you will know approximately how long it takes to walk a mile. It doesn’t hurt to approximate, but you’ll want to walk a known distance once in awhile to be sure your estimates are not far off.
Q. Anything else you want to share?
A. Just that I have gotten so much more out of preparing for this event than I ever anticipated. I’ve gotten to share my story, strengthen old relationships, form new ones, reshape my body, and spend time on myself. All while helping to save lives.
