Telling Your Story

One of the most powerful things about peer support programs is the recognition that you are not alone. While every mental health challenge might present a little differently, understanding that there are others who have struggled and recovered is one of the reasons peer support can be so effective. And how we get there often involves sharing your story.

Sharing your story can be scary, particularly if you’ve never done it before. It can also be therapeutic to get the story out there and connect with someone else and even be supported by someone else through that struggle. The first time I shared my story in a peer setting, I thought my challenges wouldn’t compare with the individual before me and the story they were telling. However, I quickly learned that sharing stories isn’t a competition. Everyone is impacted by the unique challenges that impact them and their mental health in different ways. Yet hearing about recovery gives something that is essential to recovery, and that is hope.

Hearing someone else’s story doesn’t negate your experience, but buoys you up. Sometimes it is hearing about a similar struggle, or other times it is someone validating what you thought might only be in your head.

If you are interested in volunteering as a peer with us, or are interested in telling your story in another capacity, let us know. As I said, it can be scary at first, but it can also be very therapeutic. And we will be with you to support and coach you along the way. Because the most important thing is that you are not alone. None of us are alone in our mental health battles.