Happy Wellness Month, my name is Maricruz and I am a Recovery Support Specialist and I am an RSS at NAMI Metro Suburban Living Rooms. Taking care of myself is a priority, making my physical and mental health the #1 on my list. I have a routine that I try my best to stay consistent with, I utilize a wellness wheel to have well-balanced wellness. When I first started my recovery, I struggled to ask for help because of the embarrassment of "failing at life" when in reality, I had succeeded at numbing myself enough not to end my life at 18.

I didn't understand much of what I felt, I just thought I was angry. When I started therapy, my therapist decided that NET would be what would help me heal from my childhood wounds. Narrative Exposure Therapy, NET, is a treatment for trauma disorders, particularly in individuals suffering from complex and multiple traumas. It has been most frequently used in community settings and with individuals who experienced trauma as a result of political, cultural, or social forces. My therapist presented me with a wheel of emotions and that was the first time I ever realized that it wasn't just anger I felt.

I was disappointed, I felt disgusted by the actions that were taken without my consent, I felt worthless and I resented myself for not speaking up for myself. My inner child was wounded, and my young adult self was angry at my inner child for not doing what I still struggle as an adult to do. My therapist was able to utilize the wheel of emotions through NET to help me understand Intergenerational trauma, helped me change the narrative I would tell myself constantly in my head, and helped me create healthier coping skills to better prepare for flashbacks that I still have.

Understanding what emotions, we are dealing with in the moment has helped me manage my mental health and I share these tools with the guests that come into the Living Rooms to share my story, but most importantly hope.

Get some easy and helpful suggestions for ways to ease away from your phone and reduce the anxiety and stress that often comes with being tied to your device.

Let's reduce the stigma around mental health and mental illness and make sure people feel comfortable asking for help when they need it. It's okay to say that you are not okay.