Bruce and Lee Schutter Smash Excuse 6: Mental Health Disorders Mean My Life Is Limited
- Bruce Schutter
- Jul 18
- 5 min read
There is an excuse I used to believe with award-winning dedication.
I mean full-blown, trophy-polishing, standing-on-the-podium-while-the-national-anthem-of-self-doubt-played belief.
It was Excuse 6: "Mental health disorders mean my life is limited."
And for a long time, I let that excuse run my life.
It told me I could not do much.
It told me I had to stay small.
It told me my struggles were too big, my emotions were too powerful and my future was already decided.
And the worst part? I believed it.
My Excuses Took Control
For over 20 years, I struggled with Bipolar, Alcoholism, Anxiety Disorders and PTSD. During that time, my emotions often felt like they had grabbed the steering wheel, kicked me into the back seat and started driving my life through a demolition derby.
I did not just feel stuck. I felt powerless.
And when I stopped taking action, that powerless feeling grew. The more I listened to my excuses, the smaller my world became. The less I did, the more hopeless I felt. And the more hopeless I felt, the more I believed the lie that my life would never change.
Eventually, that darkness took me to the point where I tried to end my life.
That is difficult to say, but it is important.
I know what it feels like when mental health struggles convince you there is no way forward. I know what it feels like when excuses stop sounding like excuses and begin sounding like facts.
But I am still here. Not because life suddenly became easy or because I transformed into a calm, enlightened mountain monk who never gets irritated in traffic. Trust me, that version of Bruce has not arrived yet.
I am still here because I learned a new truth: Mental health is the key to overcoming any challenge.
And by mental health, I mean our emotions.
When our emotions are controlling us, everything can feel impossible. But when we learn to respond instead of react, take action instead of shut down and build strength instead of excuses, we begin taking our lives back.
That realization became the foundation of the Mental Health Warrior Program — a bold SELF-HELP approach that puts YOU in charge.
It is also why I wrote Stop the Excuses, a book that takes 24 excuses I once believed and smashes them with humor, truth and Warrior action.
Some of those excuses were so far off base that they needed more than a gentle correction. They needed a helmet, a whistle and a referee throwing a flag for emotional nonsense.
But Excuse 6 — “Mental health disorders mean my life is limited” — was one of the most powerful.
Because had I continued believing it, Lee and I would have missed an experience that has become one of the most meaningful and motivating parts of our lives.
Sandbags, Soccer and Showing Up
Today, part of our Warrior life includes sandbag workouts at Shippensburg University.
Yes, sandbags.
Apparently, my healing journey now includes carrying awkward bags of weight around campus while trying not to look like I am losing a wrestling match with a sack of gravel.
But these workouts have become about more than fitness.
The Shippensburg University women’s soccer team often practices nearby while Lee and I train. They run drills, sprint, communicate and push themselves to improve. And while they work on soccer, we work on strength, resilience and not dropping a sandbag on our toes.
Their discipline motivates us to keep moving, and we get to greet them, cheer them on and support them at games.
That is the life Excuse 6 would have stolen from us.
Had we believed our lives were limited, we would have stayed home and missed the movement, connection, energy and joy we now experience.
But we stopped listening to the excuse.
And along the way, we learned three powerful lessons about taking action and building the life we truly want.
Lesson 1: Your Diagnosis Does Not Define Your Life
Mental health disorders are real. They affect our emotions, thoughts, energy, relationships and decisions. But they are not the final author of our story.
For years, I thought my struggles meant I had to lower my expectations for life.
That was the trap.
But the Warrior mindset says: My diagnosis may explain what I face, but it does not decide who I become.
Every sandbag workout proves that. Every walk onto the Shippensburg campus proves that. Every hello to the soccer team proves that.
We are not hiding from life.
We are not letting excuses decide what we can do.
We are taking action.
And that is the first lesson: when we stop letting a diagnosis define our lives, we reclaim the power to decide how we will live them.
Lesson 2: Action Releases the Energy Excuses Keep Trapped
Excuses are sneaky because they sound protective.
“Stay home. It’s safer.”
“Don’t try. It’s too much.”
“Wait until you feel better.”
At first, those thoughts may sound comforting. But over time, they build walls. And the more we listen, the smaller our world becomes.
That is why action matters.
When Lee and I bring the sandbags to campus, we are not always overflowing with motivation. Some days, motivation is missing entirely. It has packed a lunch, left town and refused to answer texts.
Then we look over and see the soccer team pushing through drills, building skills and working together, and their energy adds fuel to ours. And hopefully, our enthusiasm gives something back.
And once we begin moving, something starts to shift.
The mind clears.
The emotions settle.
The day shifts.
Because action creates momentum — and momentum helps us build a life larger than our excuses.
Lesson 3: Stop the Excuse, Start Living
The goal of the Mental Health Warrior Program is not simply to survive symptoms.
It is to take charge of your emotions, triumph over challenges and build the life you truly want.
For Lee and me, that includes sandbag workouts, outdoor movement, campus energy, soccer practices, conversations, laughter and supporting the team at games.
That may sound simple. But simple does not mean small.
When you have spent years fighting your own mind, being able to show up, connect with others and enjoy the day is a victory worth celebrating.
Every time we step onto that campus, we prove Excuse 6 wrong.
We are not watching life from the sidelines. We are choosing to participate in it.
And that is the third lesson: when we stop allowing excuses to decide what is possible, we stop merely surviving and start building a life we are excited to live.
Wrap Up
Excuse 6 says: Mental Health Disorders mean My Life Is Limited.
But the Warrior answer is simple: No, they do not!
That is why I wrote Stop the Excuses. The book helps us laugh at the lies, challenge the limits we have accepted and use Warrior action to turn our struggles into strength.
So, the next time your mind says, “You cannot do that because of your mental health,” do not immediately accept the excuse as truth.
Pause. Challenge it.
Then take one Warrior action — and begin building the life your excuses told you was impossible!
Bruce Schutter ⚔️
(Creator of the Mental Health Warrior Program)
Ready to Take Charge of Your Mental Health?
