When you think about your mental illness, how would you describe it? Challenging, a struggle, treatable? Would you ever call it a blessing? Dick Peterson does. He lives with bipolar disorder, major depression and generalized anxiety disorder.

The former journalist is now a peer recovery support specialist for a homeless center in the Chicago area. He’s also a Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) facilitator and in seminary. 

He wrote about his struggles and triumphs with mental health in the Northwest Herald article, “Mental Illness-My Life’s Blessing, Not Curse.” He spoke with Mental Health and Wellness Radio Host Jenee Darden about why he sees his challenges as blessings.

June has been a busy news month.  From Nelson Mandela reportedly on his deathbed to historical Supreme Court rulings and Junteenth celebrations.  For Mental Health and Wellness Radio host Jenee Darden, all of these big stories share a common theme: freedom. Jenee reflects on the importance of freedom, the individual and the mental health movement. 

What are the activities or people in your life that gave you balance and peace of mind? Mental Health and Wellness Radio Host Jenee Darden took her recorder to the Alameda County 10x10 Walk/Move for Health for answers. 

Hear from a woman who lost 350 pounds with diet and exercise, and gained self-esteem.  And a man says his co-workers keep him well. Plus Jenee makes her hip- hop debut…sort of.

The 10x10 Wellness Campaign is a national initiative by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or SAMHSA. People with mental health challenges live 25 years less than the general population. Their lives are cut short by preventable health issues like obesity, diabetes, HIV, etc. The goal is to increase the lifespan of mental health consumers by 10 years, within 10 years. 

Tanya J. Peterson’s novel Leave of Absence takes readers into the broken, genuine hearts of two patients in a behavioral health center. Oliver is suicidal and deeply depressed after the loss of his wife and baby. Penelope is a young woman recently diagnosed with schizophrenia and doesn’t feel she deserves her fiancé’s love. Both are mourning the loss of their happy, balanced lives. But a thread of hope runs through each page as Oliver and Penelope help each other get through each day. Tanya J. Peterson speaks with Mental Health and Wellness Radio Host Jenee Darden about her novel, living with bipolar disorder and writing. 

Ryan Macasero opened up about his battles with depression and anxiety in an essay for The FilAm, a Filipino magazine. The essay is titled “Young journalist opens up about overcoming depression: The Asian American in isolation.” His story recently won him a journalism award. Ryan speaks with host Jenee Darden about his journey to recovery, obstacles immigrant families face, and mental health stigma in the Asian & Pacific Islander community. He also speaks on the pressures some Asians face from the Model Minority Myth. Ryan is a social media producer and reporter for Rappler.com.

Lucinda Bassett rose to success as the founder of the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety. But her personal life has been far from an easy journey. She grew up poor in Ohio with an abusive father, who was also an alcoholic. She battled anxiety disorder and her husband of 25 years committed suicide in 2008. Lucinda speaks with Mental Health and Wellness Radio host Jenee Darden about her life and inspirational new book, Truth Be Told: A Memoir of Success, Suicide, and Survival. 

We end our series on the 2nd Annual WRAP Around the World with a look at WRAP’s future in Ghana. WRAP stands for Wellness Recovery Action Plan. There are 22 million people in the African country. But mental health services are dire. Only 3 psychiatric hospitals and roughly 12-14 therapists are available to those in need. Inhumane treatment of people with mental illness continues to be a serious issue.

Host Jenee Darden speaks with WRAP facilitator Wali Mutazammil. He is working to bring hope and mental health awareness to his country through WRAP. Mutazammil is a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and CEO of Transformational Development Consortium. 

In her continuing coverage of the WRAP Around the World Conference, host Jenee Darden takes a look at mental health and sex. Two topics that may seem unrelated, but actually coincide with each other. After all, the brain is the biggest and most powerful sex organ. Audrey Garfield is a WRAP facilitator in Vermont and President of the Copeland Center Board. The Copeland Center is the lead organization for WRAP trainings and programs.

She talks to Jenee about the WRAP and sex discussion group she facilitated at the conference. They’ll also discuss sexual empowerment, medication effecting libidos, pleasure and wellness.  

Can’t seem to throw things away? Are you or someone you know living in an extremely cluttered environment? People who love WRAP, Wellness Recovery Action Plan, say you can use it for anything to better your life. That includes hoarding or severe collecting.

 In the next installment of our series about WRAP and the 2nd Annual WRAP Around the World Conference, we discuss severe cluttering, collecting and hoarding.

 Host Jenee Darden interviews Lee Shuer. He talks about his current journey to recovery from over-collecting. Lee is the Director of Mutual Support Services at ServiceNet in Northampton, Mass. He is also the co-author of a free facilitator’s guide for The Buried in Treasures Workshop.  

 To get a better idea of how the WRAP plan works for mental health, listen to our first show “What is WRAP?” 

For the next few weeks we’re going to discuss various ways to use WRAP, the Wellness Recovery Action Plan. It’s a plan that was developed by people with mental health challenges. It helps people manage their own mental health and wellness.  But it can be applied to various parts of life and even business. The book is written by Mary Ellen Copeland. To get a basic understanding of WRAP, host Jenee Darden interviews BJ North, International Master WRAP Mentor and Master WRAP Facilitator.

 Missed the 2nd Annual WRAP Around the World Conference? Keep visiting www.peersnet.org/radio for interviews on workshop topics from the conference.