“After every storm, there is a rainbow. If you have eyes, you will find it. If you have wisdom, you will create it. If you have love for yourself and others, you won’t need it.” – Shannon L. Alder

Some of the most successful folks in our community thrive despite experiencing mental health challenges. We are inspired by their strength and honored that they would share their stories with us below.

Yezenia Hussey

My mental health journey has been exactly that, a journey.

There have been times when anxiety and depression felt like never ending pursuits, making even the simplest tasks feel heavy. For a while, I thought the only way through the challenges was to keep pushing myself—to “be strong” and not let anyone see the cracks. But that mindset left me exhausted and disconnected from myself and my reality. Read More>>

Renity Love

I’ve faced some of life’s hardest battles before I even had a chance to find myself. Growing up with abuse from my father left scars that didn’t just fade with time. Serving in the Army brought its own mental and emotional weight—discipline and structure on the outside, but inside, I was fighting invisible wars. I’ve battled moments of deep anxiety, depression, and self-doubt, but I refused to let them win. Read More>> 

Shannon Arner

Mental health is not something I can just check off a list. It is something I work on daily, just as I take care of any other part of my well-being. The biggest shift came when I stopped thinking I could push through burnout and anxiety by simply working harder. Gerry and I reached a point where the nonstop grind was taking too much from us, so we made a lifestyle change. We downsized, moved to the coast, and built daily rhythms that protect our mental health. Read More>> 

Nevaeh Newnham

I have struggled with my mental health for a long time. Just recently through the motivation and persistence of my close friends and family have I decided to do something about it. I can’t say I’ve overcome the mental health challenges and issues but working through them is definitely difficult. You want to feel good creating your work but that can be hard when you feel like things are falling apart around you. I definitely lean on my creative outlets to help me through rough patches. Read More>>

Kashira Edghill

I have used my struggles with depression and anxiety as fuel for my work. Channeling or translating those emotions and concepts into visceral sensations . To give them their proper recognition so they can be processed and released. I also have transformed my generally escapist attitude towards life into an abstract yet functionally beneficial world for myself. Read More>>

Brandon Dominguez

I’ve long struggled with some pretty loaded autoimmune conditions and complications that have chronically affected my life to varying extents and challenged my capacities for hope and perseverance. As cliche as it sounds, I truly believe that “what kills you makes you stronger”. Having to fight for my own health and maintaining peace among the chaos is always a beautiful cycle that inspires me, allots the opportunity to exercise heightened discipline, and keeps me out of stagnation. Read More>> 

Sabrina Lindhout

My mental health journey is far from complete, but I definitely had a bumpy start to say the least (as most folks often do!).

What impacted me most is threefold: I was sexually assaulted by my first boyfriend my senior year of high school (and only learned a few years later that it was, in fact, assault). My coping mechanism for this was the onset of restrictive eating habits, which would turn into clinical anorexia and bulimia (which was both knowingly and unknowingly encouraged by the culture of the ballet/contemporary dance circles I was working in at the time).  Read More>> 

Nina Munguia

As a child I grew up in a home where I saw a lot of fighting, verbal, and physical abuse. At age 8 I was sexually abused for the first time but not the last time. I felt I had to grow up at a young age and care for myself and my 2 younger siblings. My parents had struggles of their own. My mother was depressed and struggling with her mental health. She was abused verbally and physically. My dad was an alcoholic and struggling with his mental health.  Read More>>