Peer supporters have walked a road through trauma, addiction, mental health conditions or other disabilities. We have made it to another side. On the road, we gained experiential knowledge – understanding you can’t learn from a textbook. Our stories give
Finding the Right Diagnosis
Guest Post by Alex Salazar My name is Alex Salazar and I’ve been recently diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder. Since I was 15 I had the diagnosis of just Paranoid Schizophrenia. I am 21 years old now and on May 22
A Change is Gonna Come
by Aubrey Boggs, Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator CONTENT NOTE: Death of parent This year has been, in a word, difficult for me. I have found my mental health being pressed from every angle. In January, I had
Why Mental Health Awareness Month?
Each May our community recognizes mental health awareness month, a tradition that has existed since 1949 in an effort to shed light on the “normalcy” of mental illness. (1) Is it working? Hard to say. Granted we’ve moved away
Peer Specialist Spolight: Neil’s Story
Interview by Matt Mague/CMWN intern Tony Orlando and Dawn reminded us to Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole’ Oak Tree as Joe Don Baker was Walking Tall. The Miami Dolphins completed the first perfect football season, while the designated
Peer Specialist Training with the Colorado Mental Wellness Network begins March 27th
Our next peer specialist training beings on March 27th, 2017 and runs for three weeks, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Click here for more information and an application. Not sure what a Peer Specialist is or what they do?
It’s time to end the stigma
By Aubrey Boggs, CMWN Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator People use unfriendly language about mental health to express negative feelings about someone quite often. People have called me “crazy”, a “nut job”, “unstable”, and many other cruel words because I have a
Norm!
By Matt, CMWN Intern We are the best possible experts on ourselves. Sometimes we want to go, sometimes we want to stay. Each moment is not the previous, nor will it be the next. Each moment is truly its own,
Limitations aren’t always a bad thing…
By Jennifer Hill, Program Coordinator As I move forward in my career, I reflect on this message shared by Helen Keller. Growing up with a “severe learning disability” in a traumatic home, I heard “You can’t…” constantly. This message shaped
Things Learned at Peer Training – Focus on Gratitude
Each Peer Training Class* we ask participants to create a presentation on a recovery tool. In our most recent training, one of our students focused on gratitude. Gratitude is free. It is easy. And the science around gratitude is solid.