National Spirit Day 2020

National Spirit Day is a celebration that was started in 2010 by Brittany McMillan who wanted to take a stand against bullying and increase awareness for the issues faced by LGBTQIA+ youth.

You may wonder why it matters or what the big deal is, but bullying can have serious mental health consequences in both the short term and the long term.

Youth who have been bullied are at increased risk of substance use, academic problems, headaches and may do long term damage to the individual’s self-esteem.

Those engaged in bullying are also at increased risk of depression.

Surveys suggest that kids who show any kind of gender non-conformity experience a tremendous amount of harassment.

We need to build tolerance for diversity of all kinds, and then we need to learn to celebrate diversity of all kinds. We are stronger because of those differences.

Sources: GLAAD and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.