The Blessings Behind Mental Illness

Mental Health and Wellness Radio

When you think about your mental illness, how would you describe it? Challenging, a struggle, treatable? Would you ever call it a blessing? Dick Peterson does. He lives with bipolar disorder, major depression and generalized anxiety disorder.

The former journalist is now a peer recovery support specialist for a homeless center in the Chicago area. He’s also a Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) facilitator and in seminary.

He wrote about his struggles and triumphs with mental health in the Northwest Herald article, “Mental Illness-My Life’s Blessing, Not Curse.” He spoke with Mental Health and Wellness Radio Host Jenee Darden about why he sees his challenges as blessings.