Topic: An Emotionally Naked Look at Stigma
Anne Moss Rogers’ 20-year-old son, Charles Aubrey Rogers, died by suicide June 5, 2015 after many years of struggle with anxiety, depression, and a heroin addiction in the last 9 months of his life.
This is her family’s story of struggling to find help for her son’s mental illness and drug abuse for five years prior to his death. Her story of Charles and the creative genius he was. How the stigma of mental illness and addiction affected Charles and created roadblocks for finding care, resources and emotional support.
Charles’ death did not mark the end of her journey but the beginning of a new one. One that refuses to carry on the tradition of whispering or being ashamed of loved ones who suffer from mental illness or addiction. One that includes never suffering in silence ever again and finding solutions to a broken mental health system.
Takeaways:
- Our greatest wisdom is often the result of our deepest wounds
- How we can overcome stigma
- Mental illness and addiction should be treated together
- Unforgettable moments create opportunities to be extraordinary
