![]() ![]() Our youth also serve as advisors to adults, telling them how they can help improve things for other young people. It provides opportunities to give back, to engage with peers, and to feel like there’s a reason for all the hard stuff they’ve been through, because their story can help others. How does MY LIFE support youth who are struggling with trauma and mental health issues? Trauma can come in all shapes and sizes, and it has a lasting effect on young people’s lives. Many young people, especially those who have mental health issues, are bullied and ostracized, as Emma was during elementary school, and that’s a form of trauma. Social media feeds into that- comparing yourself with others and thinking that everybody else’s life is perfect. But even for those who have not experienced abuse, there is an external and internal pressure around academic and social success that can be devastating. Many have experienced abuse or sexual assault, particularly the foster kids we work with through MY LIFE. So many young people are dealing with some form of trauma. Having worked with so many young people, what do see as the biggest mental health challenge they are facing? We began implementing MY LIFE programs in other Magellan locations around the country, and today we have 20 programs in six states, and we’ve coordinated 25 MY Fest youth festivals to reduce stigma and raise awareness about mental health and other issues facing youth. In 2007, I was working for Magellan Healthcare in Arizona, and came up with the idea to establish a youth leadership group for them, which became MY LIFE. I also started 12-step recovery groups at the Arizona State Mental Hospital Forensic Unit and at two juvenile detention centers in Arizona. A few months after I completed the training, I ended up being hired to oversee the program, and trained over 100 people as peer support specialists. ![]() I was living in Arizona at that point, and I trained to become a peer support specialist. That’s how I got into the mental health field, to support others on their own recovery journeys. The 12-Step community is all about service-getting better by helping other people get better-and that was and still is the foundation of my recovery. That’s when I really committed to recovery, and for me it was through the 12-Step program. I just fell on my knees and asked God for help, and I heard a voice say, “Help yourself.” I had this realization that God or the universe had been helping me all along, but I wasn’t willing to help myself. A couple weeks later, I came home and I had lost my job, I was on the edge of being evicted, and I was sitting there looking at the walls covered with these psychotic paintings. My family and friends got me into the hospital. I would start to get it together, and then it would all go downhill.ĭuring one of my manic episodes, I decided I was going to paint my apartment with acrylic paint, and I finger-painted psychotic words and images all over the walls. I eventually moved to Louisiana and started a production company with a partner, but I was still using. Over the next 10 years, I was in and out of hospitals, psychiatric units, and drug rehab, and cycled in and out of depressive and manic states. I was hospitalized and diagnosed with co-occurring bipolar disorder and substance use disorder. I was directing a music video when I had my first manic episode. I had abused substances in high school and college, but it came to a head when I moved to LA after college to pursue my dream of working in the entertainment industry. Could you share a little about that journey? Your personal recovery journey inspired you to create MY LIFE. In advance of the screening, Greg spoke with Newport Academy about his own mental health struggles, the creation of MY LIFE, and the making of My Ascension. On Wednesday, February 10, Kristin Wilson, Newport’s Vice President of Clinical Outreach, will host a screening of the film and a panel discussion with Emma, Greg, and suicide prevention activists Tonja Myles and Vanita Halliburton, focusing on the state of teen and young adult mental health and the issues brought to light by this powerful film. The film shares the story of Emma Benoit, who survived a suicide attempt at age 16 and went on to become a speaker and activist, as a way to focus on youth suicide prevention. Greg recently completed a new documentary about suicide, My Ascension, which received a 2020 Media Award from Mental Health America. In 2019, Greg received Mental Health America’s top honor, the Clifford Beers Award, for his work in youth mental health. He is also the creator of the MY LIFE program, one of the nation’s leading programs for youth who experience mental health, substance use, and/or foster care–related challenges. Greg Dicharry is the co-director and producer of the award-winning 2018 film Suicide: The Ripple Effect. ![]()
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