Rikki’s 2nd Summit for Increasing Awareness

  🙏Thank you for taking the time to read🙏

✨my goal is to reach $1k(start at $500)for fundraising; please consider donating or sharing for a cause that is deeply personal to me✨

Speaking about mental illness recovery & increasing mental health awareness is VERY near to my heart.  ❤️

I chose to join a hike with HIKE for Mental Health to: reduce the stigma of mental illness & contribute to  conservation of my beloved wilderness trails.🧠⛰️

My Personal Story🗣️

I am someone who lives with conditions that impact their mental health. Additionally, I am someone who is a friend & family member to those that also experience challenging mental health conditions. I can relate to many in their journey to mental health recovery.

I have chose vocations being of support to others with their: physical, emotional and ultimately mental health. I have previously worked in Emergency Care as an ED Tech & as a first responder, as a LTC-Nursing Assistant/Home-Care Provider, an ASD-Behavioral Support/ DSP & currently in Mental Health-Crisis Intervention as a Peer Support Specialist.

Anyone who knows me, knows I hike avidly. This is an ongoing major support for my emotional regulation, an outlet for my stress & encourages routine around my self-care. Hiking has become a crucial part of my life, not just as a hobby but to maintain my well-being. I largely contribute hiking, to my ability to manage symptoms & having a safe place outside of immediate life, to remind me of my strength when I have been most vulnerable in my mental health. 

The Stigma 

In my adolescence it had not been available to advocate for my own mental health  (in my experience) having not been my own guardian. I had been subjected to a lack of parent-education that affected support at home, creating additional ACEs due to misguidance & emotional neglect. I experienced not having necessary support in the education system, resulting in having increased learning challenges & behavioral needs being unmet. Later on, having been affected by mental illness stigma in the workplace, where I have experienced: defamation, discrimination & have been unaccommodated leading to interrupted employment.

Now as I’ve grown to have more awareness of my needs, I advocate for my mental health & share my experience, by modeling self-advocacy to encourage others in their recovery from mental illness. I have been unfortunate to have experienced providers who were not validating in their approach, resulting in many years struggling to have a voice….While I have also seen the other side of providers giving validation to my experience & allowing my voice to be heard.

The Journey

I am a survivor of a parent lost to suicide in early childhood. I am a survivor of S*xual & Domestic Abuse.

I live with co-occurring mental health conditions complicated by overlapping symptoms, that for many years had resulted in being mis/undiagnosed. This being the case, my providers & myself have not always had the entire picture for accurate information on the underlying causes of my symptoms, to support my treatment & long-term mental health recovery.

I am someone who was diagnosed late (in my adult life) with Autism (ASD)/ADHD & have a mood disorder called PMDD. I live with PTSD due to complex-trauma & experience features of BPD. My symptoms can additionally include:  Insomnia, Depression, Anxiety and Suicidality. I have previously experienced drug(& med)-induced psychosis/ mania. I now live in remission from SUD/AUD. I have experienced complications around many medication creating; adverse effects, paradoxical reactions or being ineffective to managing symptoms. I do not have an extensive natural support system & experience barriers STILL that impact my life circumstances, affecting areas of basic needs that has created chronic-stress leading to (ND) burn-out. 

In my life I have engaged with various treatments such as SUD rehab., IOP/PHP, inpatient treatment, routine outpatient services & additional supports including: recovery meetings, peer support groups and theraputic-skills groups.

I still choose continue to learn about mental health, through seeking new information & throughout my life experiences, as well as from those I’ve met on their own journey.

I refuse to feel shame for speaking about mental illness & I make it my priority to invest into my mental HEALTH. It matters to me, to be able to have these conversations openly because I believe ANYONE could be affected by mental illness either directly or indirectly through others. 

It is my hope that the more we talk about mental health, the more normalized & relevant it becomes to address where there is still a need; by having more resources in our communities, also establishing supporting each others mental health as a culture.. not to ‘cure’ it or find somehow to ‘make it go away’ but to effectively manage, accommodate & find acceptance within unique needs to support each individual, in ALL ways including their mental-emotional wellbeing & safety.  

I HIKE for my own mental health, I HIKE for those still struggling

& I HIKE for those who lost their life to mental illness or substance misuse. 

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