Today we’d like to introduce you to Abigail Lewis.
Hi Abigail, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Since I was in the 4th grade, I had co-existed with mental health conditions. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder in grade school and clinical depression and suicidal ideation in junior high.
As you can imagine, when you are young, you don’t exactly know how to help yourself through those situations or in other words find coping skills. I realized in 6th grade though, my dream of becoming a mermaid since I was 3 could be made possible and help me cope with the turmoil I encounter daily. Once I discovered this possibility my mom and I helped my mermaid dreams come true and made my very first mermaid tail…. Fast forward to high school…
In high school, I would experience my first suicide attempt. It was the worst time of my life in full honesty, but that’s when I discovered that you can be a professional mermaid and bring your joy and happiness to others around the world. Since that discovery, I have gone on to make a name for myself as The Mental Health Mermaid and share my story and promote my mental health program and spread awareness and support to those who need it.
Mermaiding has saved my life.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Dealing with any mental condition is never smooth. There were times we couldn’t afford a therapist and I was hospitalized on several occasions because of attempts.
Every day was a new learning experience as well because depression is different for everybody. In high school, I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder which made the journey to becoming stronger a tough one.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
For my main work, I am a residential house manager for people with intellectual disabilities. My job is to be their den mother. That means I help them with their goals, chores, medications, plan activities and vacations… pretty much anything you can think of that a mother would do to an extent.
I LOVE my job. People with disabilities are just so special to my heart because, at the end of the day, all they want and all they crave is to feel just as loved and as human as us. I love the opportunity to get to mentor and help my individuals thrive.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
My first risk-taking was opening up to my best friend that I was thinking about suicide back in my 9th-grade year.
Although I didn’t want my parents to know, I didn’t want to be alone. But I’ve heard so many stigmas about suicidal ideation that I thought if I told someone they’d think I was evil. But I’m glad I took that risk because I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t.
This would be the first of many…
Other risks include getting into pageantry and working on my journey to becoming Miss Volunteer America. I’ve always wanted to be a motivational speaker and talk about my experiences so that people out there could be heard. Yes. Pageants are hard because at the end of the day, you are being judged and not against others but against YOURSELF. It took my 4 pageants before I won my first title in the Miss Utah America organization.
Within my one-year reign, I had to take another risk, and that was to step down to take care of my mental health.
That felt like hell on earth. But I took that risk because I knew that I have a servant’s heart, I have a queen’s heart, and I’ll be able to experience that again. But I just can’t do this when I’m not mentally healthy.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @The_mentalhealth_mermaid
Image Credits
@Valhalla.photos
