CLICK SOCIALINKS

Sunday, March 31

Surviving a sexual assault can leave deep psychological wounds, and these scars can often manifest in the form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Unfortunately, PTSD and other mental health disorders are frequently surrounded by stigma. This man went through a horrific attack and is now travelling around the country to confront the stigma of mental illness with art. On Dec. 21, 2011 three men entered Ron Blake’s home in Phoenix, Arizona. Blake was asleep when he heard people in his apartment. When he confronted the men, they appeared to be drunk. The men, one of whom was Blake’s partner, held him down and sexually assaulted him. One of the men nearly threw him over the seventh-floor balcony. Blake was able to break free, and heMay 15, 2014, he was reading an article in Time Magazine about sexual assault on college campuses, and it sank in that he had been assaulted. Blake started opening up about his attack, and about a month later he began seeing a therapist. He was ultimately diagnosed with PTSD. Despite his treatment, on Nov. 2, 2015, he had reached his limit. He found himself in his apartment with pain pills in his lap and was ready to take his own life. “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” happened to be on, and Blake laughed.“It was just this sheer simplicity because I paused this show and I just thought I don’t know that I can take my life. There was just something as innocent as laughter, and I thought