Personal Stories

I struggled to complete everyday tasks. I was missing and failing school. I was sleeping majority of the days, crying a lot. I was sad and in such a dark place every single day. But why?

I resigned myself to a sad, hopeless, unfulfilling life. Friends saw me struggle. Family saw me struggle. I never spoke up.

I came to realize that healing and finding appropriate resources while in a treatment center can be an isolating experience. Because of this, I wanted to share my story to help others who may be feeling that loneliness.

In the past few years, Officer Victor Machese has lost five of his close friends on the force due to suicide. It was these losses that moved Victor to do more to stem the tide of first responder deaths by suicide.

Getting arrested saved my life; though I have two felonies on my record, those incidents encouraged me to get mental health treatment.

As I read about other people’s stories of mental illness and recovery, I found myself frustrated by the experiences I could not relate to — the stories where people spoke of being fully healed.

Words on a piece of paper didn’t define my mental health journey. They simply gave it a name and helped me process my struggles.

The pain of watching my child suffer over the last two years has given me purpose and the will to keep advocating for families however I can.

When I am in my dark place, I can get settled here. It tells me everything I need to hear to make me believe I belong in this place.

My story, like many mental health journeys, has had its ups and downs.