Colleen
Colleen
Mental health struggles can affect anyone
I’m not ashamed or embarrassed about my own depression or the mental health challenges in my family.
Mental health conditions can affect any nationality, gender—and young and old.
Mental health is something you should acknowledge and not be ashamed of it.
Colleen has been supporting and championing people with mental health conditions all her life.
Her father struggled with substance misuse, and Colleen herself has sought help for depression stemming from thyroid disease and lupus and the personal stress of having her children struggle with their own mental health challenges.
“I’m not ashamed or embarrassed about my own depression or the mental health challenges in my family.”
In addition, Colleen is a special needs teacher. She knows the importance of getting help for a mental health issue, and she has seen, firsthand, how people misunderstand, ignore, and even fear people with mental health disorders.
The reaction you get when you tell people you have children with a mental health condition is sometimes a look of horror.
Some people don’t want to talk about it. They are almost embarrassed.
But if you told your friends or your colleagues that your child was diagnosed with cancer, the reaction would be completely different.
People would be sympathetic. They’d offer to help you. It doesn’t make sense.
From her perspective as a parent and a teacher, Colleen encourages everyone to pay close attention to those around them and offer support and encouragement to those who may be facing a mental health issue.
People living with mental disorders feel shame, they are stereotyped, they are excluded from social circles—but they all deserve judgment-free access to care and the chance to get better.
