I waited a long time before asking for help
My name is Annie Beaudin and I am the Clinical Director at Relief.
Relief is a mental health non-profit organization that supports people living with anxiety, depression, bipolarity, and their loved ones, so they can keep moving forward.
But before being a clinical director, I am a person who lives with mental illness; I myself live with bipolarity.
Today, thanks to the help and support I have received, I have regained my balance, moved forward, and learned to live with bipolarity.
But it hasn't always been that way.
living with bipolarity
For a long time, I was also that person who refused to seek help or accept help.
However, the symptoms of bipolarity, when they appeared, caused me many upheavals, both on a personal and relational level.
The symptoms propelled me into states of both depression and hypomania.
I had difficulty understanding what was happening to me, even controlling my symptoms.
The symptoms had a significant impact on my behavior and actions. My environment and relationships were greatly impacted.
I experienced a lot of stigma and rejection.
There was a lot of misunderstanding in my environment.
I could also be very hard on myself.
I was very self-stigmatized. I didn't value myself very much at that time.
I even felt that my life was completely over, that I was at a dead end.
Even I thought it was hopeless for me, so much so that I felt like bipolarity had become a part of me. I identified myself with bipolarity.
Even though I had the support of a psychiatrist and a psychologist at the time, it wasn't enough.
I had so much difficulty regaining control over my symptoms that, at that time, I told myself that I was completely lost, annihilated by the symptoms.
That's when I said to myself that I needed help.
I needed help to get through, understand what was happening to me, and meet other people who were going through similar things to me, and that's when I knocked on the door of Relief.
I knocked for support, a gesture that was so symbolic for me, but above all salutary.
Salutary because it completely transformed my recovery journey.
Without Relief, without their precious support, it is certain that I would not be here today to share my story.
I wouldn't be here.
I sought help to learn to live with bipolarity.
Today, I am proud to say that I am helping others like me to live with it.
The hope of regaining a personal life, an active professional life, I can testify it is possible.
Asking for support, getting it, is the first step to feel better.
Don't wait any longer, ask for help today.
a story among many others
My story is a story among many others.
In Canada, one in two people do not seek help.
At Relief, we can change that by providing resources and support to learn how to manage the ups and downs of mental health.
And with your help, we can do more now.
Donate to Relief