Brave Enough: Tales of Mental Health & Survival

I finally settled on a format for my podcast

Photo by israel palacio on Unsplash

Thanks to the suggestions of several individualsI, I am once again re-arranging the format of my Substack account, but will hopefully remain this way with no other changes, unless readers complain and want a different format.

It has been suggested because I’m such a vocal advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention, I should use the podcast to relate experiences I struggled, and still struggle with, beginning at a young age when I knew I was different from the other children develop a podcast detailing my struggles with a number of mental illnesses.

I’ll discuss relationships, school, being bullied, although when I was in elementary and high school, it wasn’t called bullying. I was labeled ”a drama queen,” was made fun of for years because I had a terrible stutter, and when I got older,I added zits, glasses and braces to my look..

From birth to death, not necessarily in that order, I’ll tell stories and present facts to help you to better understand what I have to live every day of my life.

And, I’m exhausted. I’m 48. That’s a lot of years of struggling.

This week, I’ll just list my diagnosis just to give you a sample of how many illnesses can afflict one person. I’ll list my mental illnesses and traits, and explain them in greater detail in next week’s podcast.

Depression
Severe Anxiety
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) - and before you judge me, please listen to a few episodes before deciding whether I’m a terrible person or not.
Adjustment Disorder
ADHD
Complex-PTSD
Traits of Avoidant Disorder (AvPD)
Traits of Narcissistic Disorder (NPD) - again, don’t judge me based on a previous, or someone else’s, experiences.

I was misdiagnosed until I was 41.

I lost 18 years of enjoyable experiences being a young woman taking meds I didn’t need, and as a result developed other health problems, which I’ll go into deeper detail and explanations next week.

This is a safe space where you are free to express yourself (politely and respectfully).

I’ll keep track of the various difficult and emotional experiences throughout the week, and will review them during the podcast. I will be honest, raw and emotional, but suspect many of you will relate.

If you have any questions about mental health and illness, please feel free to leave them in the comment section, and I’ll answer to the best of my ability.

The first episode will be broadcast before the end of the weekend.

I look forward to your feedback, be it positive or constructive criticism.

Have a wonderful day!
Until then,
~Robin💫