Welcome!
Hello. My name is Jolene and welcome to my blog! Over the years, many people have asked me to share my story of overcoming many obstacles in my life. Those obstacles include battling depression, anxiety, insomnia and PTSD. Learning how to manage my mental health so I can continue to persevere has been difficult but I have learned to embrace the darkness to find the light. I hope showing it is okay to be vulnerable by sharing my story will inspire even one person to continue forward and not be defined by their past experiences or mental health.
This is simply my journey and is not intended to be medical advice. If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health please call or text the national mental health crises and suicide prevention hotline at 988. Click the link for mental health resources.
A Little About Me:
The challenges I have faced are no different than challenges faced by people everywhere, every single day. There is nothing extraordinary about me or my story, except I have found strength in being vulnerable to motivate myself and those around me. My past experiences have ignited a passion within me to help others when they feel there is no possible way to move forward and when the darkness seems insurmountable.
I want to show others you can struggle, make bad decisions, and often fail, but if you get back up and keep trying, your path and purpose will eventually become clearer.
While being vulnerable has become a foundation of my personal growth; please know sharing my story, as I plan to on this page, will still be difficult for me. Please have grace, be kind and remember I am only one small human trying to make a tiny difference in this difficult journey of life.
Growing up in small town Kentucky, I faced many challenges but have always found a way to continue forward. My family and I grew up very impoverished. There is a level of poverty in the United States that people don’t want to believe exists, even though it is right in front of their eyes. This level of poverty has a very detrimental impact on a child, their psyche, and their future. There were very long stretches of time where my family had no electricity, heat, or clean water, and I never remember a time when I wasn’t worried about where my next meal would come from. Unlike most children who wanted to be invited to a friend’s house to play, I always wanted to be invited so I knew I would have a warm place to sleep and a meal to eat.
I just wanted to feel safe
There were always a lot of uncertainties, insecurities, and turmoil, but I made a goal to break the mold and the generational curses of my family. I’ve become the only person in my immediate family to graduate high school, become a first-generation college graduate, and I am now working on my PhD.
There are parts of my story I used to be ashamed of, but I have grown to embrace these parts, as they have helped me to become who I am today. They are a part of my story and identity.
This is who I am:
- I am the daughter of a father who was a disabled Vietnam Veteran.
- I am the daughter of a father who had dementia and cancer.
- I am the daughter of a mother who had debilitating mental illness.
- I am a daughter who had an absent mother.
- I am a daughter who became a parent to her parents.
- I am the sister of a brother who is battling drug addiction and has been incarcerated for most of his life.
- I am the sister of a sister who is facing the same challenges of poverty as the generations before.
- I am an adult who struggles to manage the effects of emotional and physical traumas from my childhood/adolescents.
- I am someone with debilitating anxiety but chooses to continue engaging in life no matter how difficult it is.
- I am someone who has fought through the darkest depressions that I didn’t believe I would survive.
- I am someone who must mindfully prioritize and manage my mental health daily to meet my goals.
- I am a small-town girl with big dreams.
- I am the wife to an amazing husband who has grown into adulthood and built a life together.
- I am a physical therapist who deeply cares about helping patients return to a sense of normalcy.
- I am passionate about caring for the elderly.
- I am passionate about childhood food insecurity and poverty.
- I am passionate about destigmatizing mental health.
- I am not defined by my past.
- I am not defined by my mental health.
- I have control over my future.
- I am Jolene.
Please comment below and feel free to share your own journey. I want to make this a supportive and safe environment for all!