My name is Teena Roberts and I'm a stable and high functioning 39 year old who is surviving life with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Bipolar Disorder I (BP) with co-occurring disorders Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Anxiety.
Surviving is the key word as I'm no longer a victim, but I'm a tenacious survivor. I was correctly diagnosed with my mental health diagnoses 12-28-06 after surviving a very traumatic, life altering, and near death episode.
This episode ended with me waking up in excruciating pain with no recollection of having been admitted to two sides of the hospital (the burn unit and the psychiatric unit). If you have not figured it out by now, I set myself on fire while in a manic, psychotic episode, and dissociative fugue state. I have no memory of what happened to me and all I know is what people have told me and what the police report and medical records states.
In psychiatry, a fugue state refers to a temporary condition where the mind flees from reality, usually in response to some kind of trauma.
I do have physical and emotional scars as a result of what I experienced, but I have not and I refuse to let them stand in my way of fulfilling my goals and living out my dreams.
Even though that was a horrible experience I'm grateful for what I like to call my awakening of self that happened afterward.
Ever since that day I have been focused on my mental health recovery by educating and empowering myself and others on mental health diagnoses, going to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical-behavioral therapy (DBT) bi-weekly, attending NAMI Dallas, DBSA Dallas, Celebrate Recovery, and Narcotics Anonymous support groups weekly and monthly, staying on medication as needed for help with symptoms (I mostly use other coping mechanisms), healthy eating, mindfulness, meditation, swimming, water aerobics, cardio, and yoga.
While I've been diagnosed with more than my fair share of mental health conditions, they do not define who I am as a person. I AM NOT MY MENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSES. They are merely obstacles (like having Diabetes or High Blood Pressure) that I work diligently on overcoming on a daily basis.
I have my ups and downs just like anyone else would with a chemical imbalance, but I try my best to always stay on top of me so that I do not have another episode (last one was 12-28-06).
Life is not always peachy, or filled with rainbows and gummy bears for me and if you think it is or should be I have some ocean front property in Egypt or Iraq to sell you.
ROTFLMBO
Everyday is different and full of surprises some pleasant and some not so nice, but at least I'm blessed to be alive to experience the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I'm putting the pieces of my absolutely fabulous life back together again one day, one hour, one minute, one second at a time.
I CHOOSE daily not to dwell on my past as MY PAST is so far behind me now and so not who I am TODAY.
At a very young age I learned that I could not trust people and grew to hate them. The list of traumatic events in my life goes on and on, but those listed above are the major ones that set the tone for how things in my life went downhill momentarily.
This all goes to show that life's circumstances can shape who you become in a negative or a positive way, but you and ONLY you can change your life and your destiny.
I sought out recovery and fought and choose not to be destined to have a life filled with chaos, destruction, and hell.
I DID THAT...NO ONE DID IT FOR ME!!!!
I'm now a NAMI Peer-to-Peer Mentor, NAMI-Peer-to-Peer State Trainer, NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group Facilitator, NAMI Provider Education Program Teacher, DBSA Support Group Facilitator, and a WRAP facilitator. I also founded and facilitate another recovery group independent of any other organization called Phoenix Rising Recovery Group of North Texas. Texas Catalyst for Empowerment (TCE) Board Member, and Consumer and Family Advisory Council (CFAC) Co-Chair (2012-2014). I trained with Via Hope and am now an Advanced Certified Peer Specialist,and a Via Hope Certified Peer Specialist Advisory Council Member. I am trained in eCPR(Emotional CPR) and trained in Mental Health First Aid.
Peer-to-Peer is a unique, experiential learning program for people with any serious mental illness who are interested in establishing and maintaining their wellness and recovery.
The NAMI Provider Education Program is a 5-week course that presents a penetrating, subjective view of family and consumer experiences with serious mental illness to line staff at public agencies who work directly with people with severe and persistent mental illnesses.
The course helps providers realize the hardships that families and consumers face and appreciate the courage and persistence it takes to live with and recover from mental illness.
Certified Peer Specialists are individuals who have been diagnosed with a mental illness, are in recovery, and use their life experiences to assist other individuals in their own recovery.
I do not get paid monetarily for all of the work that I do, but I currently volunteer with NAMI Dallas (National Alliance on Mental Illness), DBSA Dallas (Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance), and several other organizations on an as needed basis. (I do receive a stipend for mentoring NAMI Peer-to-Peer - per 10 week class I mentor.)
I facilitate a DBSA Dallas Garland meeting the 2nd Monday of each month 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm at North Texas Area Christian Church 3525 Lawler Road Garland, TX 75043
I facilitate Phoenix Rising Recovery Group of North Texas the 2nd Saturday of each month 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm at First United Methodist Church of Richardson Women's Center 515 Custer Road Richardson, TX 75080.
I facilitate a NAMI Dallas Connection Recovery Support Group the 3rd Thursday of each month 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm at NAMI Dallas 2812 Swiss Ave Dallas, TX 75204 (Park behind building in gated area off of Liberty St)
I facilitate a NAMI Dallas Connection Recovery Support Group the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month 10:30 am - 12:00 pm at Zale Lipshy Hospital for patients only. (NO ONE FROM THE OUTSIDE CAN ATTEND THIS MEETING!!!!)
I am not court mandated to volunteer!!!! I volunteer because it does my heart good and I love helping others. It keeps me busy, takes me outside of myself, and it is a wonderful way of being used in service for a calling greater than my own.
I'm a Full-time college student at Eastfield College studying Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC) and Social Work Associate-Generalist AAS. When I complete my AAS I plan to either get my BSW and my MSW or get my BA in Psychology and my Masters in Mental Health Counseling. Still working on the path, but I ultimately want to be a Licensed professional counselor (LPC) There is indeed a method to my madness for everything I'm doing in my life today.
What better way is there to use my traumatic life experiences for the better, than to train to become Licensed professional counselor (LPC) so that I can combine my lived experiences with my learned experiences so that I can better help others who are affected with mental illness, substance abuse, trauma, and sexual abuse issues.
I was helped and educated by many wonderful people along my recovery journey and now it's my turn to pay it forward to the universe.
I truly believe that it is paramount to give back to the community that I'm a part of and that is one of the main reasons I started this recovery group.
"I pray to be used in service for a calling greater than my own" - Oprah
Have An Absolutely Fabulous Blessed Day!
Sincerely yours,
Teena Roberts
Founder, Support Group Facilitator, and Advanced Certified Peer Specialist
PhoenixRisingRecoveryGroup@gmail.com
Please only contact me if you have serious inquiries about the group.
Thank you.
