American Idol Contestant Leads I Am Enough Campaign

Online, September 25, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Devyn Rush, best known as the singing waitress from season ten of American Idol is leading a campaign to help youth stop that voice in their head that tells them they are "not good enough." This 22-year-old singer songwriter knows firsthand about not feeling good enough. As a teen she experienced brutal bullying and actually began believing what the bullies were saying about her. She was one of those teens who didn't want to go to school because she was so afraid of the bullies and actually contemplated harming herself. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 160,000 students stay home from school every day because they too fear being bullied.

The I AM ENOUGH campaign, designed by the bullying prevention nonprofit organization, Hey U.G.L.Y. - Unique Gifted Lovable You, consists of contests, curriculum and school assembly presentations by Rush who performs her hit song, I AM ENOUGH which she wrote for Hey U.G.L.Y.'s campaign.

Hey U.G.L.Y.'s board member, Jill Zimmerman Rutledge, LCSW, psychotherapist and clinical consultant for the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) and author of: Dealing With The Stuff That Makes Life Tough says, "Not feeling good enough is related to low self-esteem, and low self esteem can lead to many problems such as anxiety, depression, social isolation, eating disorders, substance abuse, and even suicidal thoughts."

"We're all deathly afraid that we are not enough," said motivational speaker Tony Robbins, on Oprah's Lifeclass. "I don't care how successful you are, you may be feeling in this moment not rich enough, not smart enough, not pretty enough, not handsome enough, not something enough. If you feel that you're not enough then your deepest fear is that you won't be loved and love is the oxygen of the soul."

Loving yourself is one of the key components in the I AM ENOUGH Campaign. In her assembly presentation Rush helps students learn important techniques to recognize when they are having negative thoughts about themselves and others. She helps them learn how to replace those negative messages with positive ones. Hey U.G.L.Y. calls those negative thoughts 'self-bullying' and the 'bully within.'

In today's media obsessed world there can be many reasons that teens self-bully.

"In adolescence, feedback from the environment is especially important as teens are in the process of forming their identities," explains Zimmerman. "Overly critical family members and/or other adults may contribute to feelings of low self-esteem. Bullying by peers is also something that may make a teen feel not good enough. When bullies pick on a teen, they are labeling him/her as 'not ok.' The teen may internalize the thought that there is something defective about him/her, and therefore feel that he/she is not good enough."

Rush's assembly empowers youth to understand that feeling "good enough" is about accepting ourselves for all our strengths and vulnerabilities.

"No one is a perfect person, and no one really has a perfect life," said Rush. "It is important that we not compare ourselves with others because there will always be someone we'll consider more attractive, smarter, more talented, or who has a cuter boyfriend/girlfriend, or more money, etc. The next time that voice in your head tells you that you are not good enough, just picture a face with that voice. Picture a scared child. Now imagine that scared child is you when you were young. Hold that child and tell him/her that he/she IS ENOUGH. Think about all of the things that you do well and compliment that little child on each one. Maybe you're good at singing, dancing, biking, running, drawing, etc. Maybe you are a great friend, good at math, writing, etc. When we take good care of ourselves, and surround ourselves with friends and family who love us for who we are, that just has to be good enough! If we focus our energies on what we do have, and make the most of it--instead of obsessing about what we don't have--it can help us feel like we really ARE enough."

Rush believes this campaign will help our youth overcome the debilitating "not good enough" syndrome which is not lost on adults or celebrities.

Oprah Winfrey, on her show finale said, "The show has taught me there is a common thread that runs through all of our pain and all of our suffering, and that is unworthiness. Not feeling worthy enough to own the life you were created for. There is a difference, you know, between thinking you deserve to be happy and knowing you are worthy of happiness. We often block our own blessings because we don't feel inherently good enough or smart enough or pretty enough or worthy enough. The show has taught me you're worthy because you are born and because you are here. Your being here, your being alive makes worthiness your birthright. You alone are enough."