Dr. Deborah Serani Mental Health Hero
Dr. Deborah Serani 2011 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon by Chato Stewart
As a young girl, I always felt this looming sense of sadness. I remember feeling tired and sullen a good deal of the time when I was in school. These feelings didn’t get much better when I was at home either.
Like Eeyore, the glum little donkey from the Hundred Acre Wood, I was known as a sad-sack to friends and family. Unaware of what depression was or how to detect it, I descended into a Major Depressive Episode by the time I was in college.
Joel Sax Mental Health Hero
Joel Sax 2011 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon by Chato Stewart
One morning in 1994, I woke up at the crack of dawn and told my wife “I am sick.” For years I avoided taking medications for my depression and anxiety. But there was this drug called Prozac and I was willing to give it a try. It cured me instantly.
11 years later, I texted my wife with my last will and testament, then agreed to check into a hospital where I promptly berated the staff for not delivering my diabetes meds on schedule. My doctor asked “Has anyone told you that you might be bipolar?”
Today I run Bipolar_Blogs on Twitter & Pax Nortona at http://paxnortona.notfrisco2.com/.
My wife and I have decided that I will not accept Social Security as long as there are others who need it more.
Nanci Schiman Mental Health Hero
Nanci Schiman 2011 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon by Chato Stewart
Hi Chato, Thank you for spotlighting so many great people as mental health heroes!
My story is not just about me, but about my family and the ways we’ve been affected by mental illness. I’ll start with my kids because my most important role is helping them to achieve and maintain wellness independently.
Dawn Willis Mental Health Hero
Dawn Willis 2011 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon by Chato Stewart
Watch her in this video: http://youtu.be/XZQi5MfCdM0
Charles Sakai Mental Health Hero
Charles Sakai 2011 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon by Chato Stewart
My mental health journey began in the mists of history, back in the day when Freudian psychoanalysis was the leading form of therapy, mental hospitals were used as a threat to keep children in line, and effective psychotropic medications were few and far between.
When one of my sisters committed suicide in 1971, it became a wake-up call for me.
