Resilience 2.0: Stephanie Mitchell Hughes on Storytelling and Recovery
- Black Mental Wellness
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Guest Contributor: Stephanie Mitchell Hughes, Attorney & Assistant Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Franklin County affiliate
How do you promote change and well-being in the Black community?
I am a peer. I promote change and well-being by telling my story about living with mental health conditions. I take advantage of training opportunities, teach, and share resources.
What are some upcoming events you are leading, that promote mental health and wellness, that you would like for our Black Mental Wellness audience to know about?
I host a LinkedIn Live Podcast called Resilience 2.0
Tell us about your educational and/or professional training, and current area of expertise related to mental health and wellness?
I am a proud graduate of Spelman College and Case Western Reserve University School of Law. I have practiced law for 37 years. While I represented children and older adults, my background is primarily in labor and employment law. Currently, I serve as the Assistant Executive Director of NAMI Franklin County.
I have also lived with major depressive disorder and generous episodes of suicidal thinking for at least 46 years. I have stood alone on that line between life and death many times. Because I survived the beast, I must tell my story so that others know that recovery is possible.
What are some ways that you promote mental health and wellness through your area of expertise?
I tell my story, use my training as a peer supporter to advocate on behalf of individuals with lived experience, and expertise as an employment law attorney to encourage employers to create safe workspaces.
What are some things that we should know about your area of expertise?
While I can provide legal education, I am unable to comment on specific cases or give legal advice. I am also a mandated reporter.
How can we encourage more people to seek mental health treatment?
We must fight stigma, demystify mental health conditions, and provide resources.
What can potential clients expect during an initial session? Follow up sessions?
I am not a clinician. It depends upon the service offered. Most of my work is done through a storytelling/lived experience lens. I provide training on mental health and well-being, barriers to creating healthy workplaces, and navigating change amid disruption.
Do you have an experience with seeking mental health treatment that you would like to share with the Black Mental Wellness audience?
Yes, I speak candidly about my initial resistance to taking medication to treat my depression, the consequences of being unmedicated, and how acceptance paved the way to my recovery.
What wellness strategies do you think should be given more attention within the Black community? Are there any reasons why you think they are not given more attention?
Wellness strategies will receive more attention by forging partnerships with communities where mental illness is not openly discussed. For example, NAMI Franklin County's program Faith Link will provide a therapist for interested places of worship.
How do you make time for your own wellness and self-care?
I schedule it.
What are your top 5 favorite wellness and self-care strategies?
Sleep, acupuncture, withdraw/solitude, therapy, writing, and binge watching Call the Midwife. Whenever possible I spend several days at the Omega Institute.
What resources do you find most helpful to encourage mental health and wellness?
For me storytelling is the gold standard. According to author Patti Digh "the shortest distance between to two people is a story." Stories remind us that we are not alone. I also find books and podcasts such as Therapy for Black Girls, The Anxious Achiever, and Black Mental Health Matters very helpful. Organizations like NAMI, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Mental Health America, Mind Share Partners, and IWIL also promote mental health and wellbeing.
Guest Contributor
Stephanie Mitchell Hughes is a longtime attorney and the Assistant Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI, Franklin County affiliate. She has lived with depression and what she describes as generous episodes of suicidal ideation for more than 46 years. Stephanie writes about, speaks, and presents at national conferences on living with a mental illness, resilience, well-being in the legal profession, navigating change amid disruption, healthy workplaces, and life with Long COVID. She is a frequent podcast guest and sought after continuing legal education teacher. Stephanie also hosts a LinkedIn Live Podcast entitled Resilience 2.0.
Connect with Stephanie:
Instagram: @stephaniespeaksandwrites
Comments