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The DBSA Difference

I hesitated a moment before posting that picture. It is of me, my mother and her mother, my grandmother, on my third birthday. It is one of my most treasured possessions. I thought maybe that moment, that image and our story, was too personal to share with "the world."

But then I realized that "peronal" and "personhood" is exactly what we are about at DBSA. Few things can rob you of your personhood like depression and bipolar disorder. I saw my mother, and to some extent my grandmother, struggle with that. It is for me still a struggle every day. But, because of family, friends and the support of DBSA, I am winning that battle.

My mother lived, and suffered, her entire life with bipolar disorder. I witnessed the ignorance and unkindness that she often had to bear because of it. And, despite the unerring devotion of a loving husband and the support of family and friends, I know that she often felt alone and isolated, unable to completely share with anyone around her what she was experiencing. I regret that she did not have DBSA in her life to offer the kind of support that only someone with a similar lived experience can provide.

My mother was a remarkable woman. Yes, she struggled, and at times her words and actions made her almost unrecognizable, yet who she was as a "person" never changed. Until the day she died she was one of the most caring and generous people I have ever met. She would be proud that I am working for DBSA and helping others like her, and like me, to live better lives.

I am a DBSA Ambassador because of who my mother was, and still is to me. Please join me in honoring her memory by making a gift to DBSA. By doing so you will be extending hope and support to people just as deserving as she was.