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Lived experience is the key for Las Cruces mental health advocate

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Lived experience is the cornerstone of Micah Pearson’s advocacy on behalf of people struggling with mental illness.

With a diagnosis that includes bipolar disorder type one/rapid cycling with psychotic features, PTSD, ADHD and generalized anxiety disorder, it is an issue Pearson has dealt with for most of his 46 years.

As second vice president of the board of directors of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), former president of Southern New Mexico NAMI (2011-20) and an advisor to the New Mexico Governor’s Behavioral Health Planning Council, it is “passion, mission and life” to him.

And Pearson isn’t afraid to talk about his own personal struggles and triumphs with mental health.

“Every person is a miracle” and has a gift to share, he said. “Mine is, I can talk and tell a story; and weird (expletive) happened to me, so I always have a story to tell.”

Last November, Pearson founded a new organization he calls InsideOut to share his skills and experience as a mental health advocate, speaker, writer and consultant.

As an advocate, Pearson is committed to changing the narrative about mental health by reshaping public policy at the state and national level, with a focus on peer support, criminal justice and fair treatment/equitable care for those dealing with mental health issues. He can provide testimony about his own personal experiences with the system – both outside looking in and inside looking out.

As a speaker, Pearson has keynoted local, state and national mental health conferences, and can share “uniquely engaging and powerful” personal stories both virtually and in person.

As a storyteller and artist, Pearson is the author of “A Peek Inside: Illustrated Journeys in Life with Mental Illness.” He has written essays and articles for NAMI, the American Psychiatric Association and online platforms, and created a video for NAMI Wichita’s 2020 Candlelight Ceremony.

Pearson’s goal as a writer is “to turn the conversation surrounding mental health (in) less dire but still important directions for deeper understanding, connection and empathy,” according to his website.

“I want you to leave with the good news – that there’s hope,” he said.

As a consultant, Pearson can not only tell his own story, he can help others tell theirs, he said, and guide them in creating organizations to effectively represent marginalized populations.

“You remind your clients that they’re not powerless,” he said, and “to never stop until something gets done.”

He calls on more than a decade of experience presenting and teaching classes and workshops on a wide range of mental health issues, including crisis intervention, and creating “best-practice programs in the criminal justice and public health sectors.”

Pearson also has a work background in information systems and research.

“I know how to tell a story,” he said. “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and then you’ll get your data.”

Pearson has been in jail – including solitary confinement; been through meltdowns and panic attacks; has been on his meds and off his meds (“I feel better when I take them,” he said); and once published a suicide note on Twitter.

“A key reason why I am where I am today; have survived things that others didn't, didn't end up on the streets or the morgue, and instead had the opportunity to do this work – -is that I'm privileged and lucky,” Pearson said. “My parents had money to pay my medical and legal fees and support me while I got back on my feet.

“I love my brain,” Pearson said. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I wouldn’t be who I am without my brain being what it is.”

His clients and audiences “appreciate how open I am about how difficult it is,” Pearson said. “I’m 10 years into my rock-solid recovery. It’s an almost daily struggle. I do not pretend that it’s easy.

“I just want to do good, that’s all,” Pearson said. “I want people to feel good about their condition,” he said, “not to the point where they don’t treat them, but where they don’t feel broken.”

Visit https://ioadvocacy.com/.


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