In October of 2009, I witnessed a suicide while being unlawfully detained in a jail cell in Columbia, SC. Although my case garnered national attention and I won the lawsuit against my wrongdoers, my mental health took a dark turn. As a practicing attorney, I was constantly in fear that my peers and the state Bar association would find out that I had become heavily dependent on the Xanax that was prescribed to me as a result of my unrelenting PTSD, anxiety, and depression. I never spoke about my nightmares, panic attacks, and the despair that almost ended my life. Afraid of the stigma, I attempted suicide before I ever told anyone that I needed help.

​

After a 35 day stay in a PTSD recovery center and 6 months of horrific benzodiazepine withdrawals, I realized that I could not go far on my journey to recovery without a support system of people who understood me. I emerged from treatment on a mission: to help others who are silently suffering just like me. In 2018, I started a PTSD and anxiety support group in my hometown.

 

Why? Because I knew from my time in the treatment facility that connecting with others who are suffering is when the real healing begins. I learned that when there is that connection with someone else who truly understands you that you feel safe. Within this safe space, I was able to be honest. To be accepting. To be humble. To be open. To be vulnerable. To be all of the things I needed to be in order to start my journey back to healing.