Crazy is Not a Diagnosis

On this episode, Arielle brings us into her world as an intensive care nurse, destimatizes what it means to live with bipolar 2, and helping us all think more critically about  mental health. Enjoy! Her Bio: I was born in North Carolina to a military family. I was raised in Medford, MA by my dad, my mom (who is actually my aunt but I call my mom because she raised me  as her own), and my god mother with my adopted sister. I grew up with a love for music, soccer, being outdoors and a love for animals. Growing up, I unfortunately watched my adopted sister struggle with mental health.  I grew up taking care of her even though I was five years younger. One year after coming home from camp, my sister voluntarily left the family. This was a pivotal point in my life as it shot my self esteem, increased my anxiety, and sent me into years of depression. Experiencing my sister is a huge part of why I decided to become a nurse, so I didn’t feel helpless when it came to medical emergencies, and I could make other people feel understood and heard. I graduated from Matignon High School with honors and completing my freshmen year  at Anna Maria College. My first day of my freshmen year, I found out my mom had endometrial cancer (she’s  cancer free now). I also experienced my first toxic relationship which led me into a really bad depression. I voluntarily admitted myself for a psychiatric hold and this is when I found out that I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2. An old friend thought I might like Florida so my sophomore year I moved  to attend the University of Tampa where I discovered a 4 year college wasn’t for me. I transferred to do an Associate program and focused on my mental health. I got a job at a level 1 trauma center during Covid as a transporter. I worked my way up to a nurse technician while in school. When I graduated nursing school, I took the first med surg job I was offered helping gastrointestinal patients including those with cancer. While working, I obtained my BSN through an online program. After, I transitioned to a Medical Intensive Care unit where I fell in love with caring for people in their most critical moments and even some of their end of life. It solidified my want to go into Palliative care. I am working on my Masters Degree in Nursing for Family Nursing Practice.Send us Fan MailHost & Exec Producer:  Dreme Flynt, M.Ed, MBAEditor: Lila Woodbridgehttp://www.lilawoodbridge.com/Music Creators: Your Host Dreme & Seoul (@xSeoulMusicx) Learn More About THE CHAIR:Join THE CHAIR Community for FREE:http://thechair.kinsta.cloud/Join THE CHAIR Newsletter for FREE: https://growinghands.wpengine.com/newsletter/ Commercial Credits: Visionary: Your Host DremeAnimator: Ahmad Merhi https://amerhifilm.com/film Voice Actor: D. Ruff (@d_ruff3),  The Poethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFAH2cqo64U My Book:From Nowhere & Everywhere: Captured Emotions of a Beautifully Broken Love StoryMy explorations through poetry, diary entries and photography as a Black woman, an educator in Guangzhou, China.Website -  https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/j...