Depression sucks.
Been down this past week.
Today, I decided to move. It was hard and just a few miles, but it helped. Get up…keep going—we are not alone❤️
#mentalhealth
#depression
#bipolar
Thank you all for your well-wishes during my slow recovery from my most recent bout of depression…recovery is a process, but you all have lifted me up❤️ Theresa and I finally found spring today at the Como Zoo and Conservatory…this helps too!❤️🙏
Thank you all. I have emerged from the darkness of depression with the help of all of you♥️ I love you all and if you are in dark place like I was, there is hope, it won’t last forever…be strong and be brave ( that’s what you told me to do)!
#mentalhealth
#bipolar
#depression
This is me this morning.For those wondering what depression looks like,this is me with depression. We can put up a good front, but inside it’s dark and helpless at times. You can’t always tell when someone is down, so I offer this as evidence. It’s been a long week.
#mentalhealth
When I first got back to MN in 2011 I wasn’t in a good place with my illness & you can see it. On the left, I was 205 pounds & hiding my bipolar 1 diagnosis from everyone.On the right is me now at 165 pounds & very happy after going public a few years ago. The shame will kill you
Please, if you are considering a pet…this is how my rescue dog,Honey,greets me every time I get home.She was left in a park at 8 years old. We adopted her this past summer.She doesn’t care what kind of day I had a work,she just wants to love me & I love her ❤️❤️
#rescuedog
#dogs
We are all challenged by dark moments in life and most of the time we can overcome them.
Sometimes the challenges are more difficult than others
At times the darkness is overwhelming no matter how hard we try
This is one of those times for me
Looking for the light.
#mentalhealth
May=Mental Health Awareness Month:
Me:happy & accepting my bipolar 1 diagnosis on the left today.
Me:angry & not in a good place on the right in 2011.
155 lbs VS 205 lbs.Not flattering, but I want you to know that acceptance is hard and it sucks to get there…happiness follows❤️
I hope the DC politicians know that leaving us in Daylight Saving time here in Minnesota will mean a sunrise at nearly 9 AM during much of December!
#DST
How to top my news of a work promotion? My daughter Meredith is a nurse and she just told us she’s getting her first Pfizer shot today!! And it will win every time! 🙏❤️
#nurses
#covid
To the viewer(a man),who sent me an email asking me to dye my hair, because he grew up watching me and MY grey hair makes HIM feel old.
I don’t think you meant it to sound rude, but—Nope.
I’m not dying my hair. I am proud of every one of these grey/white hairs I’ve earned.
😊❤️
Mental health advocate Joe Mauer, is as kind as I hoped he would be when I met him yesterday. Oh, he’s a great baseball player too!
#mentalhealth
#Twins
👍🏻
My 4 brothers & I never knew,dad was too embarrassed to tell us.
I found out when I was diagnosed in 2007.
It pissed me off that dad was embarrassed!
I said 'this has to change'...I went public with my own diagnosis in 2012.
SO HERE I AM!
IT'S OK NOT TO BE OK!
💚
#mentalhealth
SHE SAID “YES!”…Again! We lost Theresa’s rings moving.
It was her birthday last week…i ordered her a birthstone ring.
So last night,I dropped to one knee & asked if she would marry me …again…she said “Yes”.
40 years going strong ❤️❤️💍
Yes, I had total knee replacement last July and I was told I’d never run again..yes, I also have bipolar 1 disorder...but I knew I could run if I wanted to. In these troubled times, a reminder; YOU are strong and YOU can do anything!
#Mentalhealth
May is Mental Health Awareness month. Please remember,you are not alone.
My own bipolar is a work in progress.I even checked into a hospital recently for a “well-check”.
It’s still a day at a time.Push forward! No shame. Love to all.❤️
#mentalhealth
Viewer mail today. He may not understand that his words are hurtful. Usually, mental illnesses come with another issue(s), I also DO have an eating disorder. I don't talk about it much because I've been pretty ashamed about it. I have been to treatment & I've learned a lot...
What a day! My daughter Caroline gave me 2 tickets to
@foofighters
concert for my birthday back in April. We went together and it was incredible! Time with my kids is precious and I felt so loved last night and I couldn’t be happier than I am right now❤️❤️
I got a new student from Venezuela last week. He's only been in Minnesota for about a month. He doesn't speak English so we've been talking via Google translate because my Spanish is not great. He mentioned he's never been sledding. We changed that this morning.
#SSPMSpackers
Thank you Chad, for once again allowing me the platform to relay the message that you are not alone if you have a mental illness and you are a good person.
Tremendous love and thanks to
@kbarlowkstp
for speaking so openly today about his battle with depression, bipolar disorder, and suicidal thoughts so scary he checked himself into a hospital.
Amazing and touching how Ken shares his story to help others.
The newest member of our family, “Honey” (golden color)!
We adopted this beautiful 7 year old girl after she was abandoned in a park several weeks ago. She now has a forever home and we are in love❤️
#AdoptDontShop
#ARLIowa
Recovery update...
The knee feels great...been walking 6-12 miles a day with 15 pounds loaded into my backpack.
I’ve dropped almost 20 pounds since surgery 5 1/2 weeks ago.
Thank you all for your kindness and support.
Back to work Thursday (thank God)!
This email is from a person I met a few years ago. This is why I/we need to keep speaking out for those of us with mental illnesses. This means the world to me. ❤️
#mentalhealthawareness
#bipolardisorder
…And then there was one.
Congrats to my pal Randy Shaver (
@rshaver11
) on announcing his retirement this coming June. Randy has spent 40+years at KARE 11.
I’m the fool still working on the ol’ billboard!😆
This reporter is amazing,
@clarissaward
@CNN
is always in the hot zone. Today, she bravely reported from
#Kyiv
as citizens were being evacuated and she stopped to help an older woman needing help, speaking to her in her language. She’s amazing.
#UkraineRussianWar
Keep pushing all of you badasses with a mental illness.. we constantly fight a battle in our own minds.
Don’t listen to the doubters, they’re full of shi#. Keep going—we got this ❤️
#mentalhealthawareness
Please help me wish my superhero daughter Meredith,a hospice nurse, a happy birthday! I love you so much May and you make us so proud...always!
#nurses
I said yesterday that I couldn't be up to watch the
@Timberwolves
game, since I get up at 1:30-2:00 AM.
So, I wore my Wolves jacket to bed...& they won!
Wearing this to bed again on Sunday.
So to roundup, the Minnesota Timberwolves won because of me. You're welcome ANT et al.
I was asked today why I went public with my bipolar 1 diagnosis in 2012.
I wanted to help…me AND others.
This article written by Kevyn Burger for the Strib in 2021 sums it up best:
#mentalhealth
#hope
Just sayin’…couldn’t stay up for game 7 because I get up at 1:30 am, so once again I wore my smelly (now) jacket to bed…still unwashed. Jacket is now 2-0 and off to the Western Conference finals! You’re welcome 😉
I’m not an overly religious man, but this I believe. When asked how I get thru ups and downs...it comes down to this: You are not alone.
#god
#mentalhealth
“Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." Psalm 55:22
Wearing this today to bring awareness to our veterans who die by suicide everyday at an alarming rate and to the fallen heroes.
Asking for help (for any of us) is a strength not a weakness.
#Veterans
#SuicidePrevention
@TilValhallaProj
Our 8 year old rescue pup “Honey” walked 5 miles with me today. It’s been a bumpy fall for me personally and she has now rescued ME more than once❤️
#rescuedogs
#puppylove
Happy Sunday!
Beautiful sun pillar this morning! The sun isn’t up yet, but the first rays are hitting ice crystals in the clouds and bending into this relatively rare phenomenon this morning!
#sunrise
#SundayMorning
Date night in Hopkins! Amazing food…seriously incredible food
@Thirty_Bales
(NOT a paid ad!!😊) thank you! Waiting for Kathy Mattea & Suzy Bogguss to take the stage!
35 years ago today Theresa had no idea what she was in for...but here we are...she still puts up with me! The bumps, the high points and everything in between... lots of ❤️
For those of you who may have noticed I’ve been MIA from
@KSTP
for the past few weeks: All my years of running injuries finally caught up & I had a total knee replacement 2 weeks ago today. In a few more weeks and I’ll be back with
@cegertKSTP
@MNewquistKSTP
&
@kstptraffic
Hey all! Just an update on my knee replacement surgery…it went great and I’m a little ahead of schedule getting better! Thank you all for your well wishes! ❤️Ken (and Honey)
If you've lived in Minnesota or Wisconsin for even just a few years, you know how rare a nice 3-day holiday weekend is here...well, this is our year!
#kstp
#summer
Arctic sea smoke in Duluth this morning. Thanks to my wife Theresa for sending this video clip…she has been working in Duluth these past few days.
Nice shot babe.❤️
#arcticseasmoke
#duluth
#mnwx
My heart is broken…Olivia Newton-John has died 😞 Easily the nicest big-name celebrity I’ve ever met…even when I told her that I had a huge crush on her growing up…prayers to her family.
#olivianewtonjohn
Theresa and I at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Twin Cities Gala. Theresa worked hard organizing this and the night raised $397,000 for the kids!
#shriners
#gala
I promised myself that I would run again after my total knee replacement in late July and I gave myself 100 days to do it...starting August 1st.
This is day 68 😊
Ten years ago Amy Carlson Gustafson was the first to write about my bipolar diagnosis. I trusted her again and she did not let me down. Remember, asking for help is a sign of strength NOT weakness. ❤️Thank you
@AmyGustafson
&
@MNMOmag
#mentalhealth
Sigh…
Theresa just got back from a long week of work out of town, but this and 3 pies were waiting for me to bring to work in my car at 2AM. Even after 39 years. What did I do to deserve her??❤️❤️
*if you have any driving plans tonight, try to get them done by 9-10pm. Heavy snow and winds to 50 mph will create blizzard conditions, even across the metro…which is rare. The height of this compact but strong storm will be 10pm-4am.* please heed this advice.
#blizzard
#snow
A personal note: I crushed my left knee in an accident working in my garage this past June. For various reasons(out of my control) I have not had it fixed.Tuesday morning I will be getting my 2nd knee replacement. My goal is to return to
#triathlons
in 2022…like this one!
#peace
Hey all! If you are wondering why I am not covering this potentially historic storm,we had a COVID outbreak in the studio & I got it, I’ll be back Thursday (tomorrow) at the height of the storm, today won’t be bad until later this afternoon and esp overnight. 12”-20”
#snow
#kstp
It is worth repeating just like after the death of Kate Spade earlier this week ....now with CNN's Anthony Bourdain... If you need help PLEASE: Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Asking for help is a strength not a weakness.
Jason, it truly means the world to me that you took the time to write this. You have always been a believer in what I do and for that I am forever grateful.
For 6 years
@kbarlowkstp
has been telling his story of living with anxiety and biopolar disorder - I have so much respect for his early courage on this. Prominent or not - the more people talk about mental illness, the better.
My 20 year old daughter just texted me from school:
“I saw Aretha Franklin died and figured you’d be pretty bummed so just letting you know I Love you!!”
I feel loved.