Laura
Laura
It’s all about perseverance
You have to advocate. You have to fight for yourself. You have to persevere.
Laura has been advocating for her mental health care for most of her adult life. Toward the end of college, she started seeing subtle signs of depression.
Later, while building a successful career in the hospitality industry in Chicago, she was unjustly fired from her job. At this point, the subtle depression she had been feeling for years took hold of her life.
I always pour myself into anything I believe in. I give it 1000%, and the results show.
Losing that job was the beginning of the end for me. It changed me.
Getting fired was just one of the stressors adding to Laura’s depression.
I got fired five months after I had bought a condo with my long-term boyfriend. Then, I broke up with my boyfriend of five years. That was the end for me.
At 31, I had to learn how to be alone. I had to truly learn how to be me, and I failed miserably.
At this point, Laura knew she had to take charge of her mental health. She reached out for professional help.
My depression got worse and worse and worse. I was a shell of a human being. I became mute. I wasn’t me anymore.
So, I finally went to my first psychiatrist. I was with her for two years. We tried different medications, different approaches. It was a very difficult process to find what worked.
Prior to finding her, I shopped around for the right fit like I was a serial speed dater. The process is hard and trying, but you have to persevere and find the right fit for you.
“It’s all about perseverance and fighting for yourself because the system, like every system, has cracks.”
Unfortunately, after two years of active work and care, Laura continued to battle inner turmoil. Her now-former psychiatrist recommended a rehab center in Arizona.
She came back 28 days later, feeling worse than when she left.
I felt like a prisoner. I was stuck in what we called ‘the tank’ for 72 hours, which is three times longer than what was expected. I witnessed numerous grand mal seizures, people shaking and recovering from intense addictions.
Plus, there was bureaucratic nonsense, problems with my insurance. I spent $25,000, and it was awful. I came home more broken than when I went. I also came home with two more mental health conditions to add to my major depressive disorder: ADHD and love addiction.
Back in Chicago, Laura took action. She resigned from her job and came up with a new treatment plan.
In time, she started seeing a new psychiatrist and found a therapist for cognitive behavior therapy.
I knew I had to make changes. This is a big piece of everything that’s been happening in my life—realizing when I have to switch gears. I’ve learned that I have to keep fighting, keep advocating.
Today, Laura continues to advocate for mental health and is working to help others with their issues. She is active in her local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
She also lends her communications and planning skills to efforts designed to increase awareness around mental health.
It’s all about perseverance and fighting for yourself because the system, like every system, has cracks.
I look back on the years that I was struggling with my depression. I hold those years of absolute torture close—not in a way that impairs me, but in a way that builds me and makes me more resilient and more perseverant.
I realize that I will not stop.
