No one needs to struggle or suffer alone.

I can still remember the day I decided to do it. My mind raced and my heart thumped. There was no reasoning. All I wanted to do was sleep and never wake up. I quickly swallowed the entire bottle of pain medication and immediately regretted it.

I woke up on an emergency room table. I could hear what sounded like voices in a tunnel.

“Gwendolyn, wake up!”

“Can you hear me?”

“What did you take?”

“Do you know how many pills were in the bottle?”

While the rest of my memories of that day are fuzzy, I don’t recall any intervention or instructions, leaving my parents clueless on how to help me or themselves. Thankfully, I survived.

My personal story of childhood trauma, struggles and triumph is one that continues to ignite a passion in me to promote the message that “mental health matters.” Today, as a licensed mental health counselor I have the privilege to sit in a different seat and provide a safe place for individuals to heal and grow.

No one needs to struggle or suffer alone. I believe where there is life, there is hope.

- Gwendolyn McLaurine, Licensed Mental Health Counselor at The Sanctuary