Lived Experience Archives - Page 5 of 5

How My Brother’s Mental Illness Affected Me

By Jeff Shair, Mental Health Advocate My brother Paul was diagnosed with schizophrenia, like myself. Yet because Paul was 10 years older than me, the illness was viewed quite differently when his symptoms first appeared. That was back in the early 1960’s. In those days, some psychiatrists believed that the disease was caused by the individual having a weak will. For instance, when my parents took me to Paul’s psychiatrist at 9-years-old, a time during which I was struggling emotionally, they asked the doctor in front of me “Will Jeff [...]

Janine Monico2021-07-31T13:04:09-04:00November 15th, 2017|Lived Experience, Mental Health, Training|

A Face of Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence Awareness Month happens in October, but every day of the year several thousands of people are experiencing harm in their relationships. Normally when people hear of domestic violence stories they think of a woman, scarred and bruised from being battered by a man. The image of a woman’s swollen face with a black eye and bloody lip is probably the first visual that forms in most minds when they imagine someone who has experienced domestic violence.

Janine Monico2021-07-31T13:04:46-04:00August 8th, 2017|Awareness, Domestic Violence, Lived Experience, Self-Help|

Removing the Mask of Depression

I’ve always known that I was different. Born in Sierra Leone, West Africa, as an immigrant African woman, I have struggled with major depression all of my life. It’s a topic in my community, as in other communities of color, which is often swept under the rug. My depression was caused by numerous issues. After struggling with this issue since my early years, I decided that sharing my experience with depression is a way of empowering other women and girls to do the same, while removing the stigma surrounding depression and other mental health disorders in diverse racial and ethnic communities.

Janine Monico2021-07-31T13:05:05-04:00May 26th, 2017|Addiction & Recovery, Awareness, Lived Experience|

My Real Journey as a Transgender Woman

Being born male or female comes with specific gender roles and perceived responsibilities with those roles in both a family and in society. In the eyes of my family and society, I was not the typical male that that everyone expected me to be. Growing up as a transgender woman was very difficult. I was not accepted and was subjected to physical, emotional, and social abuse.

Janine Monico2021-07-31T13:05:17-04:00January 3rd, 2017|LGBTQIA, Lived Experience|