What Amelia Zachry saw as a death sentence has created an empowering new path for her life — one bringing new life to thousands.
“I did not believe it,” she said. “I did not expect it.”
She referred to a medical diagnosis in her late 20s of PTSD and bipolar disorder II.
The resident of Lexington, Kentucky, served as the keynote speaker at the local Mental Health Matters annual meeting Tuesday at The Commons before an estimated 300 people representing a broad cross-section of the community, from those in everything from health care to nonprofits, from faith to the arts and beyond.
“I knew what people with mental illness looked like,” Zachry said. I’ve watched (the movie) ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ right? There are those people in chains, people in lines waiting for medication from Nurse Ratched.”
She drew understandable laughter as she made her over-the-top, serious point about her uncomfortable denial.
The humor was just one of many ways that author and advocate Zachry also made her point that the wide-ranging picture of mental illness can look like anyone and everyone, from the super-successful to the uber-struggling. Her message was timely since May is national Mental Health Awareness Month.
As she began meeting with specialists years ago, she gradually felt an ebb of hope — significant for an impulsive extrovert who finally hit bottom one day by curling into the fetal position while incoherent at a house party.
“I began to realize that there were ways to overcome,” she said. ” … It was just me and (husband) Daniel figuring out the world. We didn’t have any resources, no people around us who knew that I had mental illness because I didn’t want anyone to know.”
She gushed about hearing of all the publicized and evolving resources in Bartholomew County, and all the ways that physicians, counselors, law enforcement officers, nonprofit leaders, and others are working alongside one another in a cause that community leaders have deemed all-important and urgent in all sectors. Underscoring that width and breadth was artwork on hand from local artist Kimberly Rose Free, whose latest creations depict her journey through psychiatric treatment and adorn a new, free Columbus Area Arts Council exhibit at the 411 Gallery in downtown Columbus just two and a half blocks from where Zachry spoke.
Julie Orben, project manager of the local Healthy Communities initiative, heard Zachry speak at last year’s state National Alliance on Mental Illness conference.
“Her message profoundly impacted my thoughts and feelings regarding my loved one’s journey with mental health,” Orben said. “Without even realizing it at the time, she gave myself and other audience members a newfound hope in changing the perception of mental health. By each of us hearing Amelia share her amazing journey, we learned that some perceptions and stigma related to mental health exist within ourselves.
“And by sharing our journeys with each other, we learn that we are not alone, and that together we can and we will be better.”
Zachry eventually discovered what specialists told her soon after her diagnosis — that her situation held the promise of a better life. She speaks nationwide to remove stigmas about mental illness. She as authored the memoir, “Enough: A Memoir of Mistakes, Mania and Motherhood,” covering her aftermath after sexual assault, her bipolar struggles, and more in a life that reads as uplifting and inspirational.
The motherhood portion of the book covers her righteous indignation toward a physician who told her she never would be a mother with her diagnosis.
Zachry posted Wednesday morning on her Facebook page a message that serves as a unified call to action, one that Tuesday’s local organizers stressed: ”Together, we can create a world where mental health is treated with the same importance as physical health, where everyone feels supported and empowered to thrive.”
For more information on Amelia Zachary’s book, blog, and more: https://ameliazachry.com
For more
Information on Amelia Zachary’s book, blog, and more: https://ameliazachry.com
