Woman vows to fight mental health stigmas
MILFORD – It was “scary” for Laureen Guerriero to talk about battling depression and anxiety.
But she said she fought through that fear because it was necessary for her well-being and that of others.
“There is a stigma when it comes to those with mental health conditions,” said Guerriero of Milford, who will be walking to raise money and awareness for Mental Health Connecticut on Oct. 8-11 at the 2020 Eversource Hartford Marathon.
“Part of my personal mission is to stop that stigma,” said Guerriero, a member of the 2020 Inspiration Team presented by Bank of America.
“One of the reasons I began to volunteer with Milford Health CT was to raise money and awareness. The best way for me to do that was to be honest,” Guerriero said. “With COVID-19, people are even more isolated. I’m lucky, right now, that I can control my depression and anxiety with a low dose of meds and getting outside every day.”
It is estimated that 1 in 5 people suffers from mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. A relative of Guerriero with mental illness wasn’t diagnosed or treated until she was an adult, she said. She felt the impact while growing up in Simsbury.
“My mom was wonderful. I had a lot of great friends, but later there were men that didn’t want to date me because if we had children, well. It is scary to tell your story,” Guerriero said. “To put that out there, say you are looking for a job, it makes you vulnerable. But at the same time people have to know mental health is part of overall health and we have to start treating it as such in our country.
“I’m 57,” she said. “When I was 28, I had been in therapy for a long time dealing with childhood trauma related to my (relative’s) illness. I ended up in Hartford Hospital for 6 weeks. Because of my (relative’s) diagnoses, and when I didn’t sleep for a week, they automatically assumed I was bipolar.”
The treatment that followed set Guerriero back for a year.
“They put me on lithium (a medication used for bipolar) and I saw a psychiatrist for a year, who literally slept through my sessions, Guerriero remembered. “I was being over-medicated, and it wasn’t helping. I went to a new therapist, and she connected me with a new psychiatrist, who didn’t sleep. They both realized I had more of a hormonal-related depression, not bipolar disorder.”
The medication was changed, and Guerriero found exercise helped.
“I’ve been working out for a long time with aerobics, spinning, all kinds of cardio,” she said.
She said she led kids on outdoor trips through organizations in New Haven and Hartford and “the reason for doing that is because the outdoors was part of my healing.”
Guerriero volunteered the last two years for MHC at the Hartford marathon. As co-chairwoman this year, she could leave the booth used for helping others, and compete.
Then the plans screeched to a halt. After driving a niece to college, who later tested positive for COVID-19, Guerriero also came up positive for the virus on Sept. 23.
“I thought it was a sinus infection because I have chronic sinus, at least twice a year,” she said. “I just finished my 14-day quarantine and my 10-day isolation from showing symptoms (headaches, tightness in chest, loss of smell and taste).”
Being huddled up for two weeks was difficult.
“Getting outside and being active is more than a routine, it is part of my daily process,” Guerriero said.
Guerriero, despite now recovering from the virus, is going to walk two of the 5Ks.
Guerriero’s talk on mental illness can be found at www.mhconn.org.
“I guess I talked a little long, and there are a lot of ‘ums’ in it,” she said, pointing out her nervousness. “It was off-the-cuff. I was telling my story, so people struggling with mental illness know that there is hope. They have to feel that you can get through it, and that asking for help doesn’t mean that you are weak.”
Eversource Hartford Marathon and Half Marathon
The Eversource Hartford Marathon and Half Marathon is a virtual event and includes a 10K race distance, the 5K race and three new multi-distance race challenges. To register, go to www.hartfordmarathon.com/ eversourcehartford-marathon- virtual/.