“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.
Janet Masanz
I believe the experience of mental health struggles is inevitable to all. However, the capacity at which mental health effects a person has a lot to do with prior risk factors, protective factors, resiliency, vulnerability, and accountability. It is also important to note that our brain chemistry is vastly different from one another’s, which also plays a role in our mental health. Read more>>
Christian Leger
I have had many tough struggles mentally over during the time of my business even recently. The thing that continues to drive me is nothing changes if nothing changes. God has been the main factor in continuing my drive but you must take action yourself. Analyzing what IS in my control vs what is NOT has been life changing. Every second, every ounce of energy that you put towards something that is outside of your control is essentially wasted. Deal with what you can control and leave the rest. Read more>>
Sylvio Jimenez
For all of my life I have lived with Bipolar 2 disorder which means that I experience depressive episodes or Hypomanic (mania). This has affected the way I cope with my real word surroundings and how I process stress or overall negative experiences.
I have used art as a coping strategy by being able to express my perspective of what these hypomania or depressive episodes are like to me without having to verbally communicate the way I feel to the general public. This is mainly done through my choice of color pallet vs. the subject mattered that is presented in my paintings. Within my time as an undergrad student I had worked on a year long project called ‘Lo Siento’ (I’m sorry) which was a reflection of my denial of being queered gendered since middle school, my struggles with religion, and not being able to embrace the person I wanted to be. So in a way I’m telling my 14 year old self that I’m sorry that I didn’t pursue to be the individual I was meant to be. Read more>>
Pat Campo
Having OCD my whole life, it became normal for me to act a certain way which exacerbated my obsessions and compulsions. I used to think these obsessions and compulsions were necessary for me to function to a high capacity in my career. It took me to the point where my mind felt hijacked, and gain Meta OCD, until I realized I needed to get help and change my way of thinking. After years of Therapy and ERP, I gained the tools and mental exercises to get my life back in control;. I also learned a healthier life-style, with a better diet and consistent exercise, is also very necessary to keep the brain in optimal shape. It’s not just the way we think but the activities we do that make our minds happy. I used to think that living with OCD was a hindrance and a crutch. But recently I’ve realized that, as long as I do all the work and keep a positive attitude, I have this great peace of mind and strength that I’ve never had before. Read more>>
Miracle Adkins
My name is Miracle Adkins. I am a 35-year-old single mom to a beautiful 4-year-old daughter. I have also been a foster mom since 2018.
I have been suffering mental health issues since I was in Head Start.
Early Life:
I was born to Phillip and Cynthia Adkins in Macon, GA. They got married at a liquor store. My mom was a drug addict, and my dad did drugs and alcohol. Much of my early childhood, my dad was in and out of jail. My mom had different guys coming in and out and at times watching my brother and I while she worked. When I was five years old, I was raped. I was told not to tell anyone, and I didn’t until my mom died a few years later when I was 8 years old. After my mom died, my dad sent me to live with my aunt in Atlanta, GA. A year later my dad died. My brother and I was then sent to live with another aunt and her husband in south GA. It didn’t take but a couple months for my cousin to start sexually abusing me. I told my aunt, but she didn’t believe me. Read more>>
Beth Gustafson
Persisting through my mental health issues has been a struggle since I was a teenager. Only recently have I been able to better handle these issues.
As I think the story is for most of us, mental health was never really anything that was explicitly talked about. It didn’t really “exist.” If you did have “real mental health issues,” you were deemed “crazy” or “not right in the head,” other than that, you may have just been “a little goofy,” “overly cheery,” “a worry wart,” or a “Debby Downer.” How you outwardly presented your mental well being or not was simply a quirky character trait and nothing more. In reality, though, for a lot of us, it was always something more that we just ended up suppressing. Being “lazy” or a “Debby Downer” were just things about yourself you could suppress because otherwise, you were just a “normal kid,” right? You had to pick yourself up by the boot straps and just “TRY HARDER!” But when you try so hard that you just end up breaking yourself, you wonder what you did wrong? Are you wrong? Were you always wrong? That’s when you start to see the failure in you. Read more>>
Angela Choe Zielinski
Growing up, I always felt like my mind was moving at the speed of light. Bursting with energy and creativity, I saw the world through a lens that was vibrant and full of possibility. But as a child with high-functioning ADHD, I quickly learned that this unique way of thinking came with its own set of challenges. In school, I absorbed information effortlessly, but often in ways that didn’t align with traditional methods. My brain processed things differently—and sometimes too quickly—which left me feeling out of sync with the structured learning environment around me. Read more>>
Ben Holmes
My PTSD from time spent deployed overseas in the Marine Corps no longer defines me, instead it drives me. It drives me to the best version of myself both for me personally, but more importantly for my family. I want my children to know that you can overcome challenges and experiences in life that may try to pull you down or drag you into a negative space. It’s how you react to those scenarios that define us, not the scenarios themselves. Read more>>
Shelby Kaplan
At 27, I’ve faced many tragedies and difficulties in my life already- leading me to live with PTSD and chronic anxiety.
It wasn’t until I was in my second year at Penn State, where I was majoring in journalism actually, I found the best and simplest way to overcome and manage my mental health was talking about it.
I would either write it all down or find a friend and we’d have once a week 10pm Dunkin dates to just talk about everything!
Learning that not everything should or even can be handled alone has been a struggle but also one of the biggest reasons I’m able to do what I do now while living with mental health issues. Read more>>
Briana Dumont
I have been diagnosed with several disorders including C-PTSD, ADHD, Depression, and Anxiety, amongst others. These conditions bring a wide range of symptoms that make daily life quite challenging, often hindering my personal growth and the success of my business endeavors. In order to work through these difficulties, I sought out assistance from mental health professionals, fellow spiritual workers, and my incredibly supportive husband and friends. Their encouragement, guidance, and resources have made it significantly easier for me to balance my business and my mental well-being, allowing both aspects of my life to coexist more harmoniously. Read more>>
