As someone who got diagnosed late in life with mental illness (PTSD and bipolar depression), I know how important it is to broaden our conversation around mental health. I was 50 years old when I had a huge falling out with my son and daughter-in-law. I got very triggered and treated them very badly. They were living with us at the time and actually moved out because of my behavior. I love my son A LOT, and this broke my heart. It also broke my will to live, and I eventually sought medical help after a month of suicide ideation. I knew these thoughts weren’t healthy, and they wouldn’t go away. I really felt like a total piece of shit.
Fortunately, I found a couple of amazing healers. My P.A. and therapist showed me the door to feeling better, and I opened it. I had never tried an anti-depressant before and was skeptical and scared of the side effects. It helped so much! I stopped crying everyday; my anxiety went away; I started sleeping better; and I didn’t want to kill myself anymore, so something was working. Therapy was a huge blessing as it validated my feelings, and I started learning about my disorders. Most importantly, though, it helped me heal my relationship with my son. I also learned that depression is often due to having unmet needs. Once I started building my awareness of this, communicating these needs in a new way was challenging but so worth it! I now communicate my boundaries, expectations and needs in a firm, yet loving way. Last but not least, I now know people that cannot respect my boundaries might not be good for me. Just this alone has greatly improved my mental health!
As my knowledge of mental health issues increased, so did my desire to become an advocate for mental health education and support. I started my YouTube channel, Mental Health Monkey (at the end of 2025) to share mental health tips and my experiences in a fun and transparent style. I call myself a monkey because when I was a kid, my favorite stuffed animal was a monkey. Her name was monkey (lol), and she had a little, rubber banana in one hand that actually fit in her mouth. I loved her so much and took her everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE! I loved that stuffed monkey so hard that my older sister had to sew on new clothes every few years. Anyway, she brought me a lot of comfort, but the other reason is that I’m smart and silly, like a monkey.
If you would like to support Mental Health Monkey, please Subscribe to my YouTube channel: Mental Health Monkey!
You can also find me on Instagram at: Mental.Health.Monkey
Below is a list of books that have helped me feel better:
- The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
- The Highly Sensitive Person, by Elaine N. Aron Ph.D
- Nonviolent Communication, by Marshall Rosenberg Ph.D
- Healing the Child Within, by Charles Whitfield
- Set Boundaries, Find Peace, by Nedra Glover Tawwab
- Radical Self-Care, by Sage Liskey