Am I the Elephant in the room? Getting a little personal.

April was a huge month of celebrations for me, I celebrated 5 years of being sober!! I took my last drink April 7, 2016 and checked into rehab April 8, 2016. I've never looked back. It’s reported that less than 20% of patients who receive treatment for alcoholism remain alcohol-free for an entire year. That's me!! I am proudly sober for 5 years!

For me, it's a big deal to be sober but also to be able to talk freely about it, free from my own judgement. It has taken me 5 years to feel comfortable saying "I don't drink". I always felt like the elephant in the room. "Why isn't she drinking? What's wrong with her?" At some point I realized people don't really care what drink is in my hand, and if they do, then I don't want to be around them anyways. It was me thinking that they did, so I hung up my guilt and shame from my past and now I am proud to say I am a recovering alcoholic; I choose not to drink. It wasn't easy and it didn't happen overnight. I took it one day at a time. Within five years of being sober I worked on myself, I did out patient therapy and then private counseling. I found comfort in different churches as I started my spiritual journey along with my health journey. For me it was learning about who I was, what I needed, and who I wanted to be. Today I am closer to being who I want to be and I'm enjoying my journey, hoping that my little stories might inspire others to "SHARE THEIR LIGHTS".

May is Mental Health Awareness month, to celebrate I am giving everyone free shipping anywhere in the US with promo code MentalHealth. Let's share our lights with those in need of hope. Your purchase/donation goes to mental health awareness. Let's take the first step by recognizing mental health symptoms, you can do a mental health screening online at mhanational.org.

Here's a quick a stat of mental health issues in the US: The number of people screening with moderate to severe symptoms of depression and anxiety has continued to increase throughout 2020 and remains higher than rates prior to COVID-19. In September 2020, the rate of moderate to severe anxiety peaked, with over 8 in 10 people who took an anxiety screen scoring with moderate to severe symptoms. Over 8 in 10 people who took a depression screen have scored with symptoms of moderate to severe depression consistently since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 (mhanational.org). Let's get the awareness out there for people in need; We are not alone and they are not alone.

I will also be going to various events all month long to help spread awareness, check out my facebook page for my check-ins. If you're able to go out and support I say go for it, if not there are tons of online events all month, check them out here Eventbrite.com.

In Love & Light

Jolene