Episode 20: Stephanie Raises Awareness on Co-Occurring Disorders

Stephanie comes to Get Real discussing Co-Occurring Disorders and how early education can help save lives.  Stephanie opens up about her son, Harris’ accidental overdose and how he struggled with his mental health for several years prior to his death. She believes that there were many areas that were insufficient and lacking in the mental health system that failed her son and that there is plenty of room for changes and improvement to help others in the future. She is speaking out to create awareness and hopes to change the way mental health is viewed, taught, and understood. She shares the multiple steps that Harris took, but unfortunately found no relief and what she thinks could have made the difference.  She also reveals what about her personal experience of losing her son and the tremendous grief that follows. She explains that she would prefer if friends, acquaintances, family, community, ect kept Harris’ memory alive and addressed the issue with her, rather than avoiding tough conversations so not upset her.  She enjoys those who speaks openly about his life and the positive impact he had on those around him. Come Get Real with Stephanie and I as she educates me on the meaning of CODA, shares her deeply personal relationship to this mission to educate as many people willing to listen, and even shares a powerful poem that she found which her son wrote to her in hopes of helping anyone else that may be feeling alone or helpless or who are going through their own grief.