A MESSAGE FROM Patrick For No Stigmas!
Hello there!
I appreciate you visiting my fundraising page.
I began therapy in the form of marriage counseling in 2017. We only had several sessions, but it was enough to know that divorce was okay, and probably necessary. Through this experience, I learned of the great benefit that regular therapy has, so I reached out to someone I knew in the therapist world and began weekly sessions with her.
I stayed in therapy on the weekly for several years and learned so much about myself during this time. Through the help of my therapist, and ultimately, my work on myself, I was able to find sobriety, make peace with divorce, and explore myself in the most honest, safe way possible. I learned a lot about me, and I am so fortunate to have found therapy when I did.
In 2019, I became riddled with anxiety, guilt, shame, pressure, and financial woes and it led to the biggest bout of depression in my adult life. I thought about suicide frequently. At the peak of this experience, I remember lying in bed, sleepless and angry and hurting, and sending an email to my therapist at 2am. She responded the next morning, and we began to chip away at the experience soon after. It took us more than 2 months to move through the depressive recession, but we did, and I am so fortunate to have had her to help me in that time. I don't know that I would have made it on my own.
Through therapy, I built myself back up to a person I'd never been before. By choosing to finally be honest with myself, I was able to learn to love myself and be more honest with others than ever before. That led to a lot of other life successes, such as finding sobriety, switching careers, making peace with bankruptcy, achieving health and fitness goals, and finding a loving partner once again.
There is no question that therapy saved my life. But more importantly, ongoing therapy helped me build a life that I didn't know I could have, a life that I am so proud to live. To say that I am grateful is an understatement. But I am. I am forever grateful for the experience of therapy and will continue to work on myself, for the good of myself and the good of the relationships I have in life.
Why No Stigmas? Because in my searching through hundreds of charitable organizations to run and raise funds for, they were one of just a few that stood out to me because of my own, personal, mental health journey. They are a small, grassroots organization making a big impact in the Chicagoland mental health community. And I am just a person trying to live a peaceful life, and help others find as much peace in theirs as possible. Together, we can help each other as we help the world of mental health from the ground up.
All donations are appreciated. We understand that some of you may not be able to offer monetary donations and that's okay. If you want to help, but can't do so monetarily, please share this fundraising page on your social media platforms, or via email with friends and family. The more we raise, the more people we help. This mission can literally save lives.
"Thank you for choosing to support our community's mission of championing mental health equity for all. We are a proud part of the Chicagoland area, and with your giving, are able to continue to do the work to break down stigmas and advocate for all. To learn more about us and to find ways we can team up, please visit NoStigmas.org. And remember to connect with us on all social media platforms @NoStigmas, we'll see you there." -No Stigmas
Thank you,
Patrick & The NoStigmas Team
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