My mental health diagnosis was bipolar/manic depression, and I suffered from postpartum psychosis after my second child.

It started when I was around 10 years old. My great-grandmother raised me, and I was always in intensive counseling and then with psychiatrists. I had leukemia when I was three, and they felt that played a big part in my mental health. I had gone through a lot of trauma and was diagnosed with PTSD by the time I was 12. After an attempt to take my life, I went to Valle Vista.

Now I am 21, and I have personally been in recovery from alcohol and my mental health. The biggest obstacles were figuring out my triggers. I had my son at 14 and tackled a lot of obstacles alone. It had interfered with school and relationships, as well as finding out what medication worked best for me.

Around the time I was 16, I was diagnosed with PNES, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, which were stress-related.

Running helped me out the most, along with reading and journaling.

I would like to share with others that it is okay to ask for help and that we are all stronger than we think. I would also like to share that we all have a purpose in life. I have been in recovery for two years now and am now in college for addiction studies. I have been in recovery for two years.

- Katelynn Aguilar