Living daily life can be tough, especially if someone has struggles due to mental illness. For most of my life, my mental health, addiction, poor choices, and abusive relationships created difficulties. This past decade has been a very isolating experience for me. However, through the years, I have always wanted a better life.
Everything changed for me when I found my counselor. I received the needed support to start seeing myself as a strong and capable person. With this support, I was motivated to begin working towards my recovery. Since then, I have been sober for five years, have a successful career as a hairdresser, and an apartment in Morristown, something I never thought would happen at 43 years old. This is the first time that I am living completely independently.
Once a month, I volunteer at the Mental Health Association and offer free haircuts to clients. Providing haircuts is a way to pay forward my skill to help others who are in the same position that I was in (that is, struggling, homeless, and working to put their lives back together). I believe that even a small action can make a large impact on someone who needs support in rebuilding their self-esteem. It amazes me how far I've come with their support. Life is good, really, really good.