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Submitted by: Marta Mrotek.
Heroes in Recovery lead advocate Marta Mrotek spoke with Allison S. at the Recovery Results Conference at the end of 2016.
The company I work for has a non-profit that promotes health and wellness awareness. It was word of mouth in the recovery industry that brought me to this great event.
It’s so crazy to work in recovery now because four years ago I was working for a huge talent agency. I was working for an agent with celebrity endorsements and appearances. I designed press kits for them and many other aspects of that industry. I was definitely in the entertainment business.
At that time, my father was getting sick but I didn’t know that he was suffering from bipolar disorder. His manic experiences were landing him in some trouble. Before I learned more about my father’s condition, I left my job to start a firm and went on LinkedIn where an attorney from a billing company found me.
Back then, I didn’t know anything about billing for treatment so it wasn’t something that I was looking for, but it was a good opportunity. So I started working for this billing company and learned a lot about the business side of healthcare. That’s what brought me to the industry. I was young and I wanted to travel and that wasn’t something I had been able to do. I just felt like the opportunity was telling me to go from the red carpet events to working in treatment.
That’s when my dad’s sickness got really severe and I had to intervene to get him into treatment. It just so happens that because I worked for that billing company, I had access to many valuable resources such as the company where I now work. It was such a blessing for me that a scholarship came through for my dad. I was able to get my dad the help that he needed because of that billing company that originally got me into the business. It was like the universe took me from entertainment to treatment for that purpose.
My life has changed wonderfully since I became involved in the recovery community. There is a fulfillment piece that comes from seeing people at their worst and then seeing them become the best version of themselves. I get to see it directly.
Sometimes, I think I feel what a parent might feel for their child, but with my dad. I was so worried and afraid for him but when he went through treatment I felt so much more at ease and happy that he was sticking with the program and making big strides in recovery.
Working in treatment has also made me humble. I don’t take things for granted like I used to. It has put some age on me in a good way. I guess that’s called maturity. Now I have an appreciation for people’s stories and I am much less judgmental. I know it has helped me in so many ways. Most of all I am so glad that my dad got the help he needed. Otherwise, I don’t know if we would have found it.
When I think about my motivation, I recall a quote that my boss told me: “Do what you love and the money will follow.” Everyone has to make a living, you know. I was stressed about finances for a while. I didn’t have any fall back plans. I still have to pay my student loans and I’ve never had a silver spoon. I was always stressed about that but I decided to give that to God and just go day-to-day and live in the moment. I was really appreciative that he told me that. That’s what inspired me to let little things go and concentrate on what matters.
If you do good things and you give back, then you’ll start to see it grow. So I volunteered for the non-profit my company has and was dealt a big task. We had a 200-person event to plan. I was just trying to put it all together myself and getting a little nervous at two months out about whether or not anyone would attend the event. I had no idea if we were even going to make a profit. I focused on calling people and telling them about it. I didn’t even want to charge anyone really, I wished people could come for free! So we made it really affordable. All I wanted was to make enough to cover a scholarship for outpatient treatment for another person. All of the ticket sales were going to help someone else, so I just kept going and all of the sudden I could see it come to life all by itself. I quit being so hard on myself and let go of the stress and it turned out so well.
In 2017 we plan on adding to it and growing the event even more. We’re slowly developing this panel discussion on the decriminalization of mental illness and it has become such a success. It makes me so happy to see all of our hard work pay off. I was inspired by the mission of our work because I love it. Things all come together as they should.
Another part of what I’ve been working toward is advocacy to fight stigma surrounding mental illness and addiction. Part of our campaign is the de-stigmatization of mental illness. We encourage people to talk about it, and know that it’s okay to go to a therapist and get support or help. It’s good to have a sounding board and a third party perspective. Even if you don’t have serious mental issues, it is so good to release stress and talk to someone. The more we talk about mental health and treatment, the less stigma there is.
Some of my friends that aren’t in recovery and don’t work in this field didn’t really understand what I did. When I invited them to our events, they gained a newfound perspective. They are also helping to lift stigma and spread knowledge through that understanding. Now, they, too can help spread the word.