Telling Tales: Deidre – Day #19

Contributed by: Janet Reynolds

Deidre credits God and her faith with helping her in her daily life generally and in her mental health journey particularly. “My faith has helped me by giving me something to hold on to,” she says. “Even at my lowest point, I’ll pray, listen to gospel music. I always hear from God. He’s at my side. It helps me keep going.”

As someone who’s interested in a career in communications — her dream job is writing for a newspaper or getting a radio position, perhaps as some type of morning host — Deidre was drawn to Write On! both for the writing and as another way to support her anxiety and depression. Currently the editor of Manchester Community College’s The Live Wire, Deidre discovered the class through a flyer at the college.

Like many with lived experience, Deidre had been dealing with depression and anxiety for a while before getting diagnosed. “It’s been a journey, ups and downs,” she says.

Her lowest point came in graduate school for social work in Boston. “I was having a hard day and came close to the point of self harming,” she says. “I was by myself and had to reach out to family and friends online to get support.”

Although she did graduate, when Deidre returned to Connecticut and was laid off from a social work job, she realized she needed to rethink her life choices. “When I changed direction in my career is when things started to recover. I had a new purpose, a new direction,” she says. Deidre expects to get her communications and journalism degree in December of 2021.

Deidre says Write On! helped her delve into her mental health in a different way. “It was the first time I was able to share my journey,” she says. “It allowed me to reflect on it, allowed me to feel comfortable sharing my story with other people. It made me more open about my mental health.”

She also believes the class will help her in her career. “It’s given me tools about how to communicate effectively,” she says. “It’s also given me writing skills and to write on this topic and to have more empathy for people I’m interviewing.”

Here’s what Deidre said in her Telling Tales podcast: