I’ve experienced anxiety since I was about nine (my best informed guess) and depression since I was about thirteen (again, informed guess). A few years ago, I started sharing my story publicly, and after an overwhelming response from people who read my story, I began my work fighting the stigma of mental illness in earnest. While my advocacy has primarily focused on the stigma surrounding mental illness in higher education professionals (don’t tell me it doesn’t exist – I still experience it myself), the writing and speaking I do on mental illness can be applied more broadly to any workplace. My experience with mental illness is also the crux of the memoir I’m currently writing.
Whether you want resources, to see some stories from other folx experiencing mental illness, or to see me speak, I have a little bit of everything for you here.
The Committed Project
I co-founded The Committed Project in 2015 with my good friend and colleague Sue Caulfield. While our primary work has been in sharing the stories of higher ed professionals experiencing mental illness, we also strive to share resources and eradicate the stigma around mental illness.
Before there was The Committed Project, there was the Committed blog series, which became a book: Hello, My Name is Committed. Written by a number of student affairs professionals, illustrated by Sue Caulfield, and edited by me, this is a great text for anyone hoping to better understand mental illness.
Depression: A Love Story
In this Pecha Kucha presentation, I speak about experiencing depression and the stigma around mental illness in higher education.