Not one story about a bi-polar diagnosis is the same. We all have our own experiences to tell and this week on Off The Cuff I was honored to hear Hannah Blum’s, a fellow bi-polar type 2 mental health advocate.

From the outside, Hannah was a normal teenage girl. She had a ton of friends and was even nominated for prom queen. However she knew deep down that something was just not right. For several years she hid behind drugs and alcohol, and the excuse that she was just a hot mess. Her junior year of college she hit rock bottom and knew that she needed help. Unfortunately the system failed her in many ways, and she was involuntarily institutionalized. Overall, it was far from a good experience, but Hannah was able to see some good in a less than desirable situation.

“I think the thing that's positive that came out of the hospital too, was that it motivated me. They told me don’t look back, don’t look back Hannah. And now I see why they didn’t want me to look back. Ya know, they said, ‘these people, you won’t see them, they don’t have hope, you do.’ And I thought, what the hell is wrong with you?!” - Hannah Blum (49:38)

Hannah decided to channel what she was going through by writing and becoming a mental health advocate, which she has found great success in. The more advocacy she did, the better she not only understood herself, but her peers in the mental health community. This sent Hannah on a path of healing and truly helping others.

“So when I got involved in the community, what ended up happening was, I’m with other people with bipolar disorder, in rural America, some of the poorest people I have ever met, and they are out there with their pamphlets doing advocacy, and they have mental illness. And I started saying to myself, these people are amazing. They are kind, they are empathetic, they are supportive, they are cool, why am I believing that this makes me a monster?” - Hannah Blum (17:00)