John

Born into an abusive and dysfunctional family, my struggles with mental illness go back as far as I can remember. I was often shamed, manipulated, and physically assaulted by multiple family members – often for no reason whatsoever.

The trauma I experienced during my formative years would develop into multiple diagnoses including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depression, and Borderline Personality Disorder. I suffered in silence well into my late twenties, never telling anyone about my struggles as a child and how they affected me as an adult.

Even after sharing my story with a handful of close friends, I mostly tried to deal with my mental health issues on my own. Without a healthy outlet to talk about and manage my emotions, I struggled to keep a job due to extreme episodes of depression and anxiety.

In February of 2012, I attempted to take my own life.

In the years that followed, my struggles continued. It wasn’t until I was admitted to a mental health facility in November 2015 that I began to dedicate myself full-time to my recovery. Since then, I’ve been in therapy continuously and have worked on developing better coping skills to help me keep going.

My desire to become a peer support specialist was born from wanting to prevent others from feeling the same feelings of isolation and hopelessness that I felt during the darkest times of my life. It is my hope that what I do will help others to be successful in their personal recovery journeys.