top of page
Writer's pictureBrandy Menefee

COPING : BONNIE H'S STORY PT 2

A MENTAL HEALTH STORYTELLING SERIES


Red kayak alone in the ocean


“I realized I was going in a very bad direction. And I’m a happy, joyful, thankful person who enjoys life. So to feel like things were closing in on me was absolutely awful.

 

I didn’t know when or where one of my heart episodes was going to happen. What if I was driving and got into a car accident and hurt somebody? Or hurt myself? It was really scary.

 

I ended up having a heart episode in the middle of the ocean. In a kayak. In Mexico. Someone came over on a jet ski and rescued me. They took me back to shore, I flew home that night, and the following day I saw a cardiologist. Through all of the tests that day, my heart rate was fine.

 

I’d been having these episodes for about a year and a half. My life had been getting smaller. I wasn’t comfortable going out, traveling or driving. I felt like things I love to do were being taken away from me. I was scared and depressed.

 

I’m a lifelong artist. And I knew if I could figure out a way to make art every day of my life, it would be healing for me.

 

But how do you do that? How do you fit that in? I’m an estate attorney with a full-time job. And I didn’t want to just paint a little bit each day. Spending 20-30 minutes a day on a work-in-progress wasn’t fulfilling for me.

 

I knew if I could find something artistic that was calming, nurturing, and joyful – something I could create and hold in my hands at the end of each day – THAT would be healing for me.”


2/6

Comments


bottom of page