Former “Dance Moms” Star Nia Sioux Highlights Mental Health with “Seize the Awkward” in Directorial Debut

In the sevenpart amp8220Capture the Convoamp8221 video series Sioux joins her friends to model safe conversations about mental health and discuss their real experiences checking in with peers The series encourages young adults to visit SeizeTheAwkwardorg for tips to start their own conversations and spot the signs that a friend may be strugglingResearch suggests that peer support promotes effective coping and improved mental health a finding that inspires the mission of the awardwinning amp8220Seize the Awkwardamp8221 campaign by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention AFSP and The Jed Foundation JED in collaboration with the Ad Council The campaign aims to equip young adults ages 1624 especially Black and Hispanic youth with resources to regularly check in with their friends about mental healthamp8220Mental health is so close to my heart and joining amp8216Seize the Awkwardamp8217 to create this new series was the perfect opportunity for my first directing role to contribute to a cause Iamp8217m passionate aboutamp8221 said Sioux amp8220Bringing this vision to life with leading organizations in the mental health space has been empowering both as a director and as a young adult myself I hope this series serves as a reminder that we all have the power to start these conversations with our own circlesamp8221The first amp8220Capture the Convoamp8221 video launched today on YouTube Instagram and TikTok highlighting excerpts from conversations with friends of Siouxamp8217s who will be featured throughout the series All videos feature the song amp8220Lose Me Tooamp8221 which was provided pro bono by musical artist and mental health advocate ROSIESix additional videos will premiere throughout May for Mental Health Awareness Month on social and digital channels belonging to the participating talent and amp8220Seize the Awkwardamp8221 The participants who donated their time to take part in the series have a collective following of more than 588 million across social platformsKenzie Ziegler singer songwriter and actressGAYLE Grammynominated artist and songwriterBrooklinn Khoury skateboarder and content creatorPaul Russell platinum recording artistZach Hood musical artist and content creatorquotWe know that when youth struggle with their mental health they are likely to turn to a friend for help Our amp8216Seize the Awkwardamp8217 campaign ensures that friends know what to do when this occurs and the campaign uses storytelling to convey these lifesaving messagesquot said AFSP CEO Bob Gebbia quotAs a young director Nia has been able to create 39Capture the Convoamp8217 through this lens and show in a very relatable way what it means to listen support and make mental health conversations acceptable and impactful for youthquotIn each video the participants answer questions like amp8220When your friends check in on you what is the best way for them to do thatamp8221 and amp8220How would you bring up a conversation if you knew a friend was going through somethingamp8221 with the goal of modeling open conversations around mental health for young adults to apply in their own social circlesamp8220When young people see individuals they admire embrace vulnerability engage in helpgiving and helpseeking behaviors and advocate for mental health it not only helps them relate but also opens up new lines of healthy communication in their own lives and within their friend groupsamp8221 says John MacPhee CEO of JED amp8220Nia Siouxamp8217s directorial debut for the digital amp8216Capture the Convoamp8217 series with amp8216Seize the Awkwardamp8217 shows her generation39s ambition to mainstream conversations around emotional health This is a mission that has been at the forefront of JED for the past 25 years and continues today with our partners AFSP and the Ad Council Together we can make a difference in how youth mental health is talked about understood and cared foramp8221Production company RUOKAY supported the development of the content series and the shoot featured an allfemale and LGBTQIA production crew Additional behind the scenes content from the production was captured pro bono by photographer Krissy Saleh and videographer Cameron McLeod As an extension of the video series shareable GIFs from amp8220Capture the Convoamp8221 videos will be available on the amp8220Seize the Awkwardamp8221 GIPHY page which can be used by young adults to start the conversation with friendsamp8220Itamp8217s so important for young adults to see examples of safe open conversations around mental health and we are confident amp8216Capture the Convoamp8217 will inspire viewers to start these critical conversations with their own friendsamp8221 said Heidi Arthur chief campaign development officer at the Ad Council amp8220Niaamp8217s authenticity as a young adult navigating mental health with her friends shines through in her work on both sides of the camera and we are honored she chose to bring her talent to this important new seriesamp8221Since launching in January 2018 amp8220Seize the Awkwardamp8221 has been a trusted source of information for young adults across the country driving over 57 million visits to SeizeTheAwkwardorg and more than 839 million video views In the campaignamp8217s effort to reflect a diverse range of young adult experiences with mental health amp8220Seize the Awkwardamp8221 recently released public service advertisements PSAs including amp8220Check In On Your Friendsamp8221 with Grammy awardwinning artist and philanthropist Megan Thee Stallion amp8220We Can Talk About Itamp8221 produced pro bono by longtime partner Droga5 and aamp160studentproduced video featuring Heismanwinning quarterback Caleb WilliamsFor tools and resources to start a conversation with friends about mental health visit SeizeTheAwkwardorg and SeizeTheAwkward on InstagramPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Former “Dance Moms” Star Nia Sioux Highlights Mental Health with “Seize the Awkward” in Directorial Debut

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Former “Dance Moms” Star Nia Sioux Highlights Mental Health with “Seize the Awkward” in Directorial Debut

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

TAGS:

Cookies