Darkness to Dialogue: Living Well With Mental Illness

Looking Back, Moving Forward This month’s spotlight feature is Caralyn Dreyer, mental health recovery advocate, writer, and the sole creator and voice behind Darkness to Dialogue: Living Well with Mental Illness . Drawing from her own healing journey, Caralyn shares reflections, insights, and lessons from the first year of building this space for connection, compassion, and recovery. Celebrating a year of courage, connection, and the quiet power of healing together. The Journey So Far One year ago, Darkness to Dialogue launched as a space for honest conversations about mental health and recovery. In this founder’s letter, I share the lessons, challenges, and breakthroughs of the past year, and my vision for the next chapter of this community. A story of courage, connection, and the quiet power of healing. Looking Back: A Year of Healing Next month marks a deeply meaningful milestone, one year since Darkness to Dialogue first opened its doors. One year of honest conversations, vu...

Why Healing Isn’t Perfect You’re recovering, yet some days you still wake up with anxiety or sadness, and you wonder if you’re failing. Healing isn’t about perfection. It’s about living a meaningful life  with  the shadows that remain. “Recovery isn’t about erasing symptoms, it’s about learning to live fully with them.” Key Insight True recovery doesn’t always mean being symptom-free. Real recovery is learning to thrive despite symptoms, valuing progress over perfection, and redefining “wellness” for your own life. My Recovery Story I remember the afternoon I realized my “good days” didn’t look like what I thought recovery should. I’d finally made peace with getting out of bed without dread. I laughed at something small. My heart felt lighter. But that evening, a sleepless wave hit, my chest tightened, and the old fear whispered in my mind. I wondered  if I still have nights like this, am I really getting better? I’ve carried that tension a lot: wanting the rising sun to ...

Summary Sometimes, healing looks like an emotional shutdown, and it can feel like a sign of strength. But that numbness may be a detour, not a sign you’re doing better. In this post, you’ll learn how to tell whether you’re truly building resilience or just shutting your feelings off, and why it matters. Quick Insight Strength in recovery is about being emotionally present and processing what comes up. Numbness, although it may feel protective, is an emotional disconnection that can hinder true healing. My Story: When Feeling Nothing Seemed Like Something I remember the moment clearly: I thought I was "strong" because I didn’t cry at that old trigger, couldn't remember why it used to hurt me so much. Later, I realized I wasn’t strong; I was numb. I’d shut down to survive, and that numbness felt like peace…until it didn’t. Over time, I learned the real sign of strength wasn’t not crying, it was feeling and surviving the tears. I began noticing when I was processing emotions...

Mental Health in the Workplace Welcome to the bi-monthly Mental Health in the Workplace feature.  Have you ever felt your heart race or patience vanish during a meeting, email, or deadline? Workplace triggers can spark overwhelming reactions before you even realize what’s happening. Recognizing these triggers and applying coping strategies isn’t just helpful, it’s essential for maintaining mental health and professional effectiveness. Quick Answer Workplace triggers are cues, such as criticism, tight deadlines, or interpersonal conflict, that activate intense emotional or physiological responses. By noticing early warning signs and using grounding and self-regulation strategies, you can manage stress and respond intentionally rather than react impulsively. My Story: Navigating Triggers at Work For years, I noticed that certain situations at work: unexpected emails last-minute changes tense meetings—would leave me anxious, frustrated, or drained.  Often, I couldn’t identify why...

  Each month, I shine a light on powerful voices that challenge the stigma around mental health by sharing honest, transformative journeys. This month’s feature explores the inner work it takes to move beyond survival and into healing. It’s not just about managing symptoms, it’s about awakening to the patterns we’ve inherited, the losses we’ve carried, and the truths we’ve buried. The following story offers a heartfelt look at how pain can be a turning point and how advocacy often begins with our own awakening. Carrying the Invisible Burden: A Mental Health Journey  Through Generational Trauma and Personal Loss Written By: Keisha Anderson   Mental Health Advocacy and Impact After experiencing a personal loss and working through the grieving process, I began to recognize  patterns and behaviors shaped by my upbringing-many of which were quietly keeping me stuck and  unfulfilled. That pain pushed me to seek deeper healing, beyond just coping. I turned to therapy,...

  Summary Recovery often means changing your patterns, but sometimes, it also means:  outgrowing people, roles, and spaces you once needed.  This post explores the quiet loneliness that can follow healing; when the chaos fades, but connection doesn’t immediately fill the space. It’s a compassionate look at how rebuilding life after mental health struggles can feel isolating and why finding belonging is a vital and worthy part of the journey. The Truth No One Tells You I never expected healing to feel so lonely. After years of living in survival mode, I assumed recovery would bring relief, reconnection, and peace. But what no one told me is that healing often creates a space, one where old relationships no longer fit, familiar habits fall away, and you're left sitting in the quiet.  Whether it was surviving toxic and abusive relationships or rebuilding after divorce, there were parts of my journey that I had to travel alone.  That quiet can feel like abandonmen...