Teen Mental Health Matters: Breaking the Silence and Ending the Stigma with Abby Porter Artwork

From Survivor to Thriver

We speak with real people who are shattering mental health stigmas and finding their voices. We aim to normalize discussions around mental health topics and remind our audience: "it's perfectly ok to not always be ok."

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From Survivor to Thriver

Teen Mental Health Matters: Breaking the Silence and Ending the Stigma with Abby Porter

June 27, 2023 • Erik DaRosa & Marc Fernandes

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With the global environment that we live in, it is more important than ever for teenagers struggling with their mental health to know that they aren’t alone.

In this special episode of From Survivor to Thriver, we had the privilege of sitting down with Abby Porter, a remarkable high school student. Abby shares her journey grappling with the challenges of her own mental health, which surfaced as early as the tender age of 5. We discussed how her struggles kindled a passion within her to become an advocate for the mental health of teens.

Abby Porter is a high school student from New Hampshire who is also a proud mental health advocate in her town. She has dealt with mental illness since the age of five, has been in therapy for about 11 years and has been in and out of hospitalizations. She helped create her school’s mental health team which is student and staff led.

Abby also partners with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to provide in-school presentations about suicide awareness. These days she is very open about her struggles with bipolar in the hope that the stigma surrounding young adults who have bipolar can be demolished and so all future generations can grow up in a stigma free world.

In today’s episode we cover:

The stigma around mental health among teenagers
When Abby got started as a mental health advocate
What got Abby through her darkest moments
The importance of finding support when you are struggling and where you can find it if you don’t already have a supportive community
Fact checking as a method to help cope with depression
The biggest problems with mental health institutions
Abby’s experience with bipolar disorder and how getting proper treatment changed her life
How world events are impacting the mental health of teens
The effect stress and anxiety students are feeling due to school shootings
Abby’s best advice for students struggling and their parents

We hope you enjoyed our conversation with Abby! She has learned so much at such a young age and we know she will continue to make a profound impact on the mental health of others.

Thanks again for tuning in. We are so grateful to each and every one of you. Please remember to leave a rating and review of our show. It helps us grow and reach those who need it. Also, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode!

Links:

Get in touch: amgits.reverse@gmail.com

Quotes:

“It’s okay not to be okay. And it’s okay to have mental health issues.” -Abby

“Just like how flowers work, nothing grows without rain. So take those hard times, take the rain and realize that the rain and those thunderstorms will make you grow.” -Abby

“It’s so important that teenagers know that they’re not alone and there are other people out there who are like them.” -Erik