Meet Lydia Theon Ware I

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lydia Theon Ware I. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lydia , sincerely appreciate your selflessness in agreeing to discuss your mental health journey and how you overcame and persisted despite the challenges. Please share with our readers how you overcame. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.

“This too shall pass.”
For 28 of my 55 years on earth, I have had a mental health diagnosis. My mind’s journey into aural hallucinations and illogical thoughts took a stained glass mosaic-turn that would include homelessness, losing family and friends, loneliness, broken promises and lost dreams. After each break with reality, I would be hospitalized. After each hospital stay, I had to
rebuild reality, one relationship at a time.
The idea of being normal had died. The birth of a fractured, new and raw desire to-be-heard-existence was born.
And born and born. 14 years into my illness, there was a pivotal turning point in my life. I allowed Jesus to find me. I call that moment a “Deathmare.” It was a deathmare and not a nightmare. It was 4:00am on October 25th, 2014. Asleep? Yes and no. What I was feeling was not sleep or a dream. My spirit was under attack. My body was weak and my soul was a river of blood flowing like a mudslide and I was losing energy. In panicked desperation, I called out, “Lord, Lord, Lord!” He heard me. He answered me. He turned this deathmare into a dream, a regular dream, and then, I woke up. It was 4:00am. I was awake. I was alive. My Lord has saved me. From an attack that i wasn’t going to wake up from. That early morning in October, 2014, I gave my life to Jesus. Before that morning, I had been a Buddhist for 12 years. Before Buddhism, I had believed in Wiccan. Before that I had believed in the goddess. For 45 years, my life journey was so far away from Jesus. But God. He waited for me. Me, a lost sheep with no wool. My Lord and Savior did not give up on me. He was with me that morning and He is with me now. For 10 years and 4 months, every month, I celebrate my freedom from darkness on the 25th.
My faith saves me minute by minute. But God. The loneliness still remains, but this time, after I was released, earlier this year, the timbre of my mind had changed. The sounds have ceased. The illogical thoughts have desingrated. Lucidity is prevailing. I begin this leg of my journey with my mind clear throughout. So this current lucid window gives me the opportunity to start over. (Again). And I begin with a grateful heart and a hopeful spirit.
I had hope even as a Buddhist. Sanity returned to me each time after an psychosis. And I held on. I did not become bitter or despondent. I would look to the Lord, I would look to dance to laughter, to sunrises and ocean waves. I did have several friends who would pick me up when I fell. I never wanted to stay down. I never gave up on love and beauty. I prayed I would be loved and heard and He now has me speaking to others about His love. I persist because He loves me. I persist because I can do all things through Him. He is my strength.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am writing poetry and researching August Wilson, to gather material for a 10 play series based on my past experience with mental health and homelessness. I am also working on a series of workbooks that discuss and chronical black women’s rage, entitled “Even Butterflies Can Holla”. What excites me about “Even Butterflies” is the need for the expression of our anger can no longer be forced underground or given to comedians to handle.
In the Spring ’26 I will be returning to school to complete my Bachelor’s degree.
I am currently editing my magazine “Cartless” and prepping for the ’25 edition of “Cartless”. I will be facilitating workshops with the homeless population at the Valley Restart Shelter in Hemet to gather their poetry and their art. The voices of the families and women who stay in the Shelter need to be given a platform, an outlet, a way to come out from the shadows.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Faith, Empathetic Laughter, and Self-awareness. The broken are given choices. Remain on the ground and be trampled upon or pick up a broom and gently sweep up the pieces , gathering the shards for reexamination and new discovery. Always having a sense of humor, even in the the worst situations will heal the whys. Having faith, in God, involves a seeking spirit, and a strong sense of self respect.
Advice:
When the diagnosis comes, and you accept the help; please understand that you are not your illness’s lable. There are a set of symptoms that have showed up in your life and they fit into a category that looks like ‘this,’ ..but that ‘this’ is not your soul, your spirit or even your being. Who you are is beyond the DSM-5. Listen to your instincts and slowly spend time with those who cherish you. Ask questions and get a second and 3rd opinion. Listen to your favorite comic. Laughter heals .

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I am seeking connections with writers, painters, singers and musicians, to create a tribe that will bond and make art together for the sake of healing ones wounds with art. As I study to be an Artistic/Dance therapist over the next 5 years, I want to collaborate with and make art with, talented and newly talented creatives, to write plays and perform dances/spoken word with in small tiny spaces with intimate audiences. My Instagram account is @lydiaflorencetheon.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @lydiaflorencetheon
• Facebook: SunchildTWi

Image Credits

Lydia Theon Ware i