Enough about my story. For now, anyway. I want to know yours.
Tell me a story about your loved one.
If you lost a child, I want to know more about that child. Tell me something about him. Or her.
If someone you love is using, tell me a story about the person deep down inside. I want to know more about you guys. Don’t think because it’s your sister, brother or best friend, you can’t tell me the story. I want you to think about who they are or were while you are writing it.
I decided today this is a two-way street. Kind of like an emotionally naked support group.
So let the stories begin. Go on. Get to writing. I shouldn’t have to do all the work here.
The left turn
Published by
Anne Moss Rogers
I am an emotionally naked mental health speaker, and author of the Book, Diary of a Broken Mind and co-author with Kim O'Brien PhD, LICSW of Emotionally Naked: A Teacher's Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk. I raised two boys, Richard and Charles, and lost my younger son, Charles to addiction and suicide on June 5, 2015. I help people foster a culture of connection to prevent suicide, reduce substance misuse and find life after loss. My motivational mental health keynotes, training and workshop topics include suicide prevention, addiction, mental illness, anxiety, coping strategies/resilience, and grief.
As talented and funny as Charles was, letting other people know they matter was his greatest gift. And now the legacy I try and carry forward in my son's memory.
Mental Health Speakers Website. Trained in ASIST and trainer for the evidence-based 4-hour training for everyone called safeTALK.
View all posts by Anne Moss Rogers
My son Danny, age 47, has bipolar 1 disorder. His life, since the age of 14, has been a roller-coaster of ups and downs, and as he has gotten older, the downs are much more frequent than the ups. He has been charged with DUI twice since Sept.24th, 2017…the latest was Dec. 26th,2017. He is on a myriad of anti-depressants and mood stabilizers…probably close to 20 doses every day. When he was arrested for DUI on 12/26/17, he spent 2 days in jail, under suicide watch, and his dad and I didn’t even know what was going on until the day he was released from jail. He told me that those 2 days taught him what he needed to do. Of course, as his mom, I wondered if that meant he had decided to attempt suicide, and carry it through to its success this time (at least 3 attempts since 2006, and maybe more that we don’t know about). He works in landscaping, so weather dictates when he can work, and the weather has been so cold and unforgiving that he hasn’t been able to work for several weeks. Of course, that affects his self-worth, and after a net search, I saw that he has been trying to sell his clothes, shoes, and even the government-issued flag he received from the funeral home when his dad, a veteran, passed away on 7/4/2016, just so he could pay the rent for the room has in a private home. :'( God help us.
Oh Kathie. That is so heartbreaking. That disorder is so hard to manage. I know he feels so down. And you can’t help but care although I know it has to be exhausting, too. I know you worry. How could you not? And this cold weather is brutal. My brother is in landscaping. Thank you for sharing what it’s like, the whole roller coaster. I felt like I was on it with Charles. They struggle so much with getting their lives in order.
In 2008 I won tickets to a Yankees game! They were amazing seats and it was late in the season – nearing the end of the days at that old Stadium. I only had two tickets and so Ty and I took the train from NJ to the Bronx. Actually, we took a couple of trains. It was September and he missed a PopWarner football game to go see the Yanks play. He was about a month shy of his 11th birthday and sooo in love with this game and the legacy of the Pinstripes.
Our seats were right behind the visiting dugout and when our guys took the field and were signing autographs, Tyler took off running with no warning. He was hell bent on getting a Jeter autograph. So he ran all the way around that stadium, jumping over and ducking under all the railings along the way while I tried to keep up. He didnt get the autograph, but later he did get a ball with Stadium dirt on it!
One of my favorite memories.
Oh thank you for that. I love that story, too. I so needed to hear one today and that one is so good.