The Relief of Not Being Alone

Brenda Kosky; Honolulu, HI

During your mental health care, have you often felt hopeful about your chance of getting better?

Yes, I’ve always looked to find others I could help, so I could ignore my own negative & devastating inner self talk. Because all thru life, when I help, I feel better & learn new helpful things.

During your mental health care, have you often felt hopeless about your chance of getting better?

Yes, for this has been a life long problem, I can assist it to seem able to ignore, but at the core it is still there, I just choose to not hear it!

If you overcame hopelessness that you could get better from a mental health or emotional problem, was there a turning point for you?

Turned fifty, found out that being deathly depressed & suicidal was a mental health problem, one I worked on out maneuvering. I used self help for fifty years, and could not push myself thru one more day! I went to the hospital, and had all those years of torture & weight taken off my shoulders, I found all of a sudden I was not alone!!!! Better late then never!

Tell us what recovery means to you. How would you define recovery from mental health or emotional problems in your own words?

Recovery is finding and gaining control of as much as possible of my symptoms. Learning my trigger and creating a plan of action has worked so awesome. I have shared WRAP with clients at Helping Hands Hawaii, about 47 people I have introduced to WRAP so far. They are excited when it occurs to them that they can regain more control of their lives!!!

If you could send a brief message to someone receiving mental health care today who is feeling hopeless about getting better, what would you say?

That at the age of fifty, I was finally able to know the relief of not being alone. You, my friend and fellow traveler, are not alone. If you have a hard time with understanding the professional communication, look & even ask for a certified peer specialist. When you come back out of the weeds and can feel the warmth of the sun again, maybe you will want to become a part of the most satisfying work possible, and work at becoming a certified peer specialist yourself. No one can help us out of the darkness or hear our unheard voices then one of us!!!!! Hang in there, there is HOPE and even recovery!

Can you give examples showing you have gotten better from a mental or emotional problem, such as how you are doing well or accomplishing goals you have chosen?

I am a certified peer specialist in Hawaii. I am Helping Hands Hawaii’s HCPS, where I am also a certified WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) facilitator . I teach individual WRAP, and soon will be starting a WRAP group in July. I also am a volunteer with the Vision Van, I am a CNA, so I do blood pressure testing & hand out mental health brochures. We go to the outer islands on the weekend, and yes, all for free. Our outer islands don’t have as many resources as us on Oahu. This is how I help myself, and in turn share it with others, and give them all that I have learned and been trained in! Oh, almost forgot, I’ve been working with other Peers to create a 501c3 nonprofit called, Community Alliance for Mental Health. I am also on the Hawaii Suicide Task Force, and I work hard advocating at the Legislature as an advocate, for all the unheard voices. I want to help get light beams to reach thru the darkness!