Not one story about a bi-polar diagnosis is the same.  We all have our own experiences to tell and this week on Off The Cuff I was honored to hear Hannah Blum’s, a fellow bi-polar type 2 mental health advocate. 

From the outside, Hannah was a normal teenage girl.  She had a ton of friends and was even nominated for prom queen.  However she knew deep down that something was just not right.  For several years she hid behind drugs and alcohol, and the excuse that she was just a hot mess.   Her junior year of college she hit rock bottom and knew that she needed help.  Unfortunately the system failed her in many ways, and she was involuntarily institutionalized.  Overall, it was far from a good experience, but Hannah was able to see some good in a less than desirable situation.

 

“I think the thing that's positive that came out of the hospital too, was that it motivated me.  They told me don’t look back, don’t look back Hannah.  And now I see why they didn’t want me to look back. Ya know, they said, ‘these people, you won’t see them, they don’t have hope, you do.’  And I thought, what the hell is wrong with you?!” -  Hannah Blum (49:38)

 

Hannah decided to channel what she was going through by writing and becoming a mental health advocate, which she has found great success in.  The more advocacy she did, the better she not only understood herself, but her peers in the mental health community.  This sent Hannah on a path of healing and truly helping others.

 

“So when I got involved in the community, what ended up happening was, I’m with other people with bipolar disorder, in rural America, some of the poorest people I have ever met, and they are out there with their pamphlets doing advocacy, and they have mental illness.  And I started saying to myself, these people are amazing.  They are kind, they are empathetic, they are supportive, they are cool, why am I believing that this makes me a monster?” - Hannah Blum (17:00)

 

In This Episode

• (2:15) How old Hannah was when she got her diagnosis
• (4:16) What happened when Hannah had a breakdown in college which led to her being institutionalized against her will
• (16:44) The importance of acceptance and advocacy 
• (18:18) Hannah’s article on Marilyn Monroe and her mental health
• (22:50) Dating as a woman with bipolar
• (32:55) Clinging to an identity of being messed up
• (34:15) How people with mental health issues have been treated historically
• (38:28)  Kanye West and other celebrities and their mental health issues
• (46:23) Hannah’s experience in the mental hospital
• (52:00) Relying too much on mental health professionals and not peers
• (53:41) How Hannah overdosed after she left the mental hospital
• (56:40) The importance of people with mental illness coming together
• (58:29) How television and film are profiting off of suicide
• (1:00:49) Hannah’s thoughts on medication and how they have changed over the years
• (1:03:30) Men’s side effects from antidepressants
• (1:07:00) How Hannah’s blog “Halfway to Hannah” started
• (1:14:18) What Hannah’s therapy routine is right now
• (1:17:27) What people can do to become a part of the mental health advocacy movement today

 

Our Guest

Hannah Blum is a writer and mental health advocate. Hannah writes about her journey as a young adult living with bipolar II disorder on her blog, Halfway2Hannah, to encourage others to join the mental health movement and learn to embrace their differences both mind or body. She is also author of the book The Truth About Broken: The Unfixed Version of Self-Love.

 

Resources & Links

Off The Cuff

• https://www.offthecuff.fm/
• https://www.youtube.com/c/OffTheCuffwithDannyLoPriore
• https://www.instagram.com/1and1otc/
• https://www.instagram.com/dannylopriore/

Hannah Blum

• https://halfway2hannah.com
• https://www.instagram.com/hannahdblum/