my mental health journey

About 7 years ago, one of our children began using marijuana in high school to self-medicate for depression.  That led to them using marijuana with stronger THC levels.  Eventually, they started vaping THC that has up to 80% THC concentration – eventually triggering a psychotic event about 4 years ago during their university studies.  Our child spent 2 weeks in a mental health hospital getting stabilized. They were diagnosed with either cannabis-induced-psychosis which mimics bi-polar disorder, or it is actually bipolar disorder - the psychiatrist said it could take up to several of years to distinguish between the two.  

 That was the start of our family journey in support of our child's recovery which has been extremely difficult at times.    My wife and I experienced a range of staggering emotions: Shock, Denial, Anger, Guilt, Resentment and Grief.  Gradually we were able to transition to: Understanding, Acceptance, Advocacy and Action.

On the second day of their hospitalization, I found the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the wide range of services it provides both people with a mental health diagnosis and family members of loved ones with a condition. 

One of the most helpful NAMI resource was their support group discussions.  Two summers ago, I decided I wanted to help people in Cardinal Health and in my community who are in either of those two groups, and I was especially driven to breaking through the stigma barrier here at work by sharing my story with co-workers in a fearless and shameless way.  I shared by story with Sonexus VP Tara Herington, and she invited me to lead small group support discussions in their program called Community Conversations.  Craig Pavey, a former 20-year Crisis Intervention trained police officer who is also part of the Global Security Department teamed with me to focus on breaking through stigma and we've now done 15 sessions with over 150 attendees sharing our stories with each other…we've learned from each other, cried together, and bonded in our special way with empathy and compassionate support.

In October 2020, I earned my NAMI certification as a Family Support Group Facilitator and I'm leading family support group sessions several times a month in the evenings.  So, I wanted to share my story and encourage all of you to join in and be part of the solution to eliminate the stigma barrier so colleagues will feel safe sharing their stories and collectively supporting each other in our journeys.  It truly will "take a village" to have any meaningful success.

Experts say 1 in 5 folks have or will have a mental health diagnosis in their lives, but the unknown number is how many of us are in the second group - a family member or friend of loved ones with conditions that worry us and drives us to learn how to support them while bringing our complete selves and focus to work every day.  Craig and I are also supporting the Mind Matters initiative (a company mental health program) and have started mental health conversations in the company and we're helping to train peer facilitators to hopefully expand these helpful group conversations. We even launch this with our India and Philippines teams.

Lastly, I'll end with this… a speaker at a recent NAMI event focused on cultivating joy as a way for us to feel good and nurture our own mental health.  Acts of kindness and acts of generosity are good for our brains as the brain releases dopamine and serotonin along with other positive physical and mental reactions. Thanks for listening and please contact me if you'd like to chat further.

Kindness begets Kindness:  Practicing acts of kindness while expecting nothing in return except the good feelings that these acts provide is life-giving. ... What better thing in life can there be than to be remembered or thought of as a kind, caring and loving person.