After a couple of days in the hospital last July to get help with my then-declining mental health, I chose to take my mental health more seriously and get myself back into therapy.
I learned that if I didn’t, I would harm myself or die from suicide. I realized that taking care of my mental health can go under the “Harm Reduction” tab on my blog. It’s a harm reduction practice I hadn’t considered in that way before.
I realized that I am a package deal, and addressing one issue (depression) does an injustice to myself, and I have to find a way to navigate the world with all my skills and challenges.
This led to my joining a peer support group. I look forward to our sessions. All of us are women who were diagnosed later in life with autism or autism and ADHD. Each of us lives with depression. I am their newest member.
I find it hard to talk to anyone without discussing my advocacy work. Service to others is my life, both in my career as a Direct Support Professional at a group home and in various types of volunteer work.
So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me to hear that I talk about my advocacy adventures during my support group sessions. My enthusiasm for advocacy work has caught the interest of some of my group members, and they would like to get involved in advocacy for things important to them. They found it interesting that I want to attend conferences and have even spoken at a few.
I promised the women in my group and my mental health team that I would work on ways to make trips more pleasant for myself, take notes of challenges and successes on my recent trip, and share tips with my group that might make going to things like conferences more accessible to them.
I plan to accomplish this with a series called “The Autistic Traveler.” I think it might go like this:
Part One: Peer Support Group
Part Two: Discovering I’m More Than A Nicotine Nerd
Part Three: Preparation for the Next Grand Adventure
Part Four: My Trip
Part Five: The World Needs Our Voices
I’d always considered myself insignificant, and it has been challenging but rewarding to learn that I have value and that my voice matters. It has taken a lot of support and encouragement to help me find my voice and be brave enough to use it.
I want you to know that your voice matters and that our combined voices can and will move mountains. Sharing our lived experiences can help improve the quality of life for others, foster change, and show that we have something important to give.
Until next time….
