- Drugs
- Friends & Family
- Mental Health
Start by describing the situation that changed your life or a loved one’s life.
I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder at age 14, bipolar disorder at age 24, PTSD at 25 and substance addiction at 44. My life has never been normal…and I have spent the entirety of my life striving for normalcy.
Based on your situation or story, was there a turning point that prompted the need for change or help?
I started getting mental health help at age 14, but my hidden addiction to marijuana (and later, cocaine) was keeping me from doing the hard work to deal with the abuse and abandonment I had endured. At age 44 I picked up crack cocaine and within a month was embezzling money to feed my habit. In jail I received inpatient drug treatment and it was the beginning of a new life for me!
How did you or your HERO get help?
I did approximately 50 days of inpatient then signed up for drug treatment court for a year, where I was tested weekly and given mental health and substance abuse treatment.
Based on your experience, what lessons did you learn? Do you have any advice to give?
Ask for help. Accept it. Give to others what was freely given to you!
If you or your loved one is in recovery, describe what life is like today.
I am almost off probation, I blog for the International Bipolar Foundation and organized a trip to Washington, DC on Oct. 4th to stand up for the rights of the mentally ill and addicted (mental health parity and drug treatment over jails).