Melissa L. Ross

As early as I can remember, I have always loved to write. As a child, writing stories was my escape, as I really struggled with my mental health. In my late teens, I was diagnosed with a mental illness and began trying to get the help I so desperately needed. Throughout my years of therapy and psychiatric hospital stays, I met many people who were suffering and struggling, as well. One thing that became clear to me was that "it's our secrets that keep us sick." When we stuff our feelings or keep them trapped inside of us, whether because of shame, the stigma of mental health, or just thinking no one else in the world could possibly think/feel the way we do, we stay stuck and continue to suffer alone. However, the truth is that we are not alone in our suffering. In 2013, I decided to help end the stigma of mental illness, by writing my first book, "Surviving Crazy: A Roadmap to the Scars." I found that once I spoke out, despite my shame and fear of sharing my thoughts and feelings, my shame actually started to diminish and I started to heal. It's like once you reveal your shame and are brave enough to speak out, no one can use your shame against you. You also discover that there are others who can relate to what you've been through or continue to go through. That became my goal; to help other sufferers realize that they are not alone. I believe that the purpose of life is to love and help others through this life. With the writing and publishing of my second book, Finding Herself There, I hope I continue to do that. There's a lot of power in the feeling of "Me, too!" I also a firm believer that the only way OUT is through. We have to deal to heal and there's no simple "getting over it." The more we find that we are not alone, that others can relate to what we are going through, and that sharing our struggles with others can give us the courage and strength to go on, we find that our stories do not have to be over yet;