ACT Team Helps Mental Health Patients Uncover a Life Worth Living
Mental illness can affect anyone, at any time.
For Holly, a fourth-generation Arizonan who grew up in Mesa, sports were a big part of her personal identity. She played basketball and ran track in high school. She received scholarships to play both sports in college and, after graduating from high school, left home to attend Utah Valley State College.
Holly was essentially living her dream of being a student and competitive athlete until her mental health forced her to reevaluate her priorities.
“I started experiencing the symptoms of depression and bipolar disorder when I was a junior in college,” said Holly. “I was overwhelmed with the pressures of sports and school. One day, I drove myself up a mountain and brought along a bottle of painkillers and five bottles of sleeping pills with the intention of overdosing. I woke up the next morning on the trail, disoriented and unable to move. It was really scary.”
“When I finally recovered my faculties, I drove myself home and went to sleep for several days until my roommate woke me up, and I confessed what I did,” she recounted. “That was the first time I was checked into a psychiatric hospital for a suicide attempt.”
After Holly completed treatment and a year of medication and therapy, she returned to a “new normal.” But she didn’t realize that serious mental illness, like bipolar disorder, is a diagnosis that requires a lifetime of treatment.
“Unfortunately, I got wrapped up in self-medicating to manage my mental health,” said Holly. “I dropped out of college, quit playing sports, and found myself abusing drugs. When I was 23, I went into substance abuse treatment for the first time. That’s when I became more educated about mental health and substance abuse. It is also where I got assigned a serious mental illness (SMI) team.”
After several years of private treatment, Holly was referred to the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program at Valleywise Health.
ACT is a support system that helps patients overcome serious mental illnesses and get back to a productive and successful life. The goal of ACT is to improve the long-term outlook and quality of life for each mental health patient. Every patient is supported by a team of specialists, including therapists, psychiatrists, substance abuse counselors, pharmacists, support groups, housing specialists, independent living experts, and others.
“I have encountered a lot of mental health care providers on my journey, but I tell everyone who needs an SMI team to come to Valleywise Health,” said Holly. “The people at ACT are extremely compassionate. You never feel like they are too busy for you, and every day, you are greeted with a smile. My psychiatrist, Dr. Beth Darling, is incredible. I feel very confident in her care, and my quality of life has greatly improved since I began working with her.”
Today, Holly is involved with the 12-step community. Sharing her story about recovery and serving others through volunteerism motivates her to get out of bed each day. She also has a supportive family, including six siblings, three of whom also have mental health issues.
“There is such a stigma about mental health and mental illness, and to this day, there is a misnomer that people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are dangerous,” said Holly. “But what I wish people understood is that most individuals with mental illness are good people. They are some of the best people I’ve ever met. They will give you the shirts off their backs; they are great friends, and they are caring and compassionate humans.”
“Mental health programs are historically underfunded,” Holly added. “By helping fund a program like ACT at Valleywise Health, donors are giving people the opportunity to recover and live a life worth living. For that, I am forever grateful.”
To support the work of Valleywise Health Foundation.
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