Stand Up Against Stigma

Ashley grew up in a home with domestic violence and substance use. At an early age, she was removed from her home and placed into foster care, eventually being placed under her grandparent’s care. From an early age, she received a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. For a long period, Ashley struggled with severe anxiety, but thought it to be “normal” and just the way she was.

Knowing that she wanted to help others struggling with mental health challenges, Ashley began her journey toward becoming a peer support specialist. As she began to learn about mental health diagnoses, Ashley recognized a lot of her symptoms being described and a light bulb clicked – “I have anxiety, no wonder I feel the way I feel all the time”.

Ashley found temporary relief from her anxiety through exercise, something she continues to this day. However, the relief she found from exercise wasn’t enough.

“I didn’t realize that medications could’ve worked as well as they do until it got to a point where I was just in despair, I was so anxious all of the time.”

“The reason that it took me so long to get on medications is because of all of the things that you hear, it made me very cautious about doing it, I wasn’t open-minded but when I tried the medications, I realized that I had been putting myself through so much suffering that was unnecessary. I’m able to be present in the moment with my children, before medication and therapy I know there were moments that I missed.”

With the help of medication and therapy, Ashley has gone on to have a successful career maintaining two jobs, while also being a good mother and present with her two children. She still loves to exercise and enjoys doing things that fulfill her soul like traveling and teaching her kids new things.

Don is a dedicated individual with a passion for giving back to his community and a deep commitment to his roles as a father, husband, brother, and son. He is extremely active within his community, serving as a baseball coach, as well as occupying multiple roles within the mental health field.

Throughout his life, stemming from childhood trauma, he has had a complex mental health journey himself. Over the years he has faced severe depression, anxiety, and psychosis, as well as experienced incarceration, hospitalization, and substance use challenges. Don’s journey to recovery has been a process of trial and error. He has tapped into various support services, such as residential treatment, and spent time finding the right medications. He has surrounded himself with a positive support group and when there were times he felt like giving up, they kept him moving forward.

“Being on medications, support groups and following suggestions have kept me good.”

“It’s very important to point out the strengths in individuals, to hold out the beacon of light at the end of the tunnel when they may not see it.”

With the right tools, he has accomplished things that he never thought he would: obtaining a high school diploma, reaching for a college education, working for the County of Riverside, and giving back to others who are struggling. He has dedicated his life to giving back to others what was given to him.

“Going through what I’ve gone through has made me resilient, it’s given me hope that I can accomplish anything.”

“I’m very comfortable sharing my lived experience with mental health challenges because its people who shared their lived experiences with me that fostered hope.”

Pedro considers himself a servant at heart, whether that be at work, at home, within the community, or with people in recovery, helping others is what fills his cup. He enjoys a good cup of tea, reading, and journaling every day. It is the little things that bring him joy and his journey through recovery has led him to appreciate and acknowledge these things more.

His path has not been without its challenges. Throughout his life, he experienced 16 years of addiction, two suicide attempts, multiple psychiatric hospitalizations, and two mental health diagnoses. Despite this, Pedro does not let these moments define him.

“I have come to believe that I am far more than what happened to me or my diagnoses, regardless of how drastic my experience may look like.”

Once, Pedro walked around like he was “10 feet tall and bulletproof”, but now he understands the importance of accepting his mental health and empathizing with other’s experiences as well. He believes that everyone is fighting their own battles and emphasizes the importance of never being a stumbling stone on somebody else’s path.

“We all have a little bit of something going on. Not everyone requires services, but everyone has a struggle whether it’s external, internal, marital, economic, spiritual, everyone is in a battle with themselves or whatever this thing called life is.”

“Just because I experience the world in a different way does not make me different than you.”