Mel Orioli

“The most important thing I’ve learned when it comes to self-care is setting realistic boundaries. For me, it’s important to listen to my body and do what feels best at that time. I consider myself an extroverted introvert, so after a certain amount of social time, I need to take time alone to recharge.”

NAMI: Have you ever had any mental health struggles?

MO: I’ve been living with mental illnesses for quite some time. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and depression back in 2014. I remember being so anxious about needing medication to make me “normal” that I actually waited over a month to start taking them, which is very ironic to me. A few years later, I had a really bad breakup that sent me into a deep, depressive spiral, which took quite a bit of time to recover from. Last year, I was diagnosed with ADHD. I actually had a friend call me out for interrupting her all the time and jokingly asked me if I had ADHD. Well, I looked into it more and realized I met a lot of the qualifications for an actual diagnosis. I’m really glad I spent the time to learn about it, because I feel like I have a better handle on things now.

NAMI: How have you healed and grown from your experiences? If you consider yourself in recovery from something, what does recovery mean to you?

MO: As others have said before, I don’t think you can fully recover from mental illness, but I do think my healing process began when I decided to get professional help and started taking medication. It made a huge difference. I’ve also been in therapy for years, even before my diagnosis. What started as weekly visits has now become an [as needed] basis, so I usually chat with my therapist every few weeks. (Shout out to Susan, thanks for listening to me ramble for hours!)

NAMI: How do you protect your mental health? What forms of self-care do you practice?

MO: The most important thing I’ve learned when it comes to self-care is setting realistic boundaries. For me, it’s important to listen to my body and do what feels best at that time. I consider myself an extroverted introvert, so after a certain amount of social time, I need to take time alone to recharge. I’ve gotten pretty good about having an open dialogue about it, so I don’t think anyone is really surprised when they find me off in a corner petting the dog in the middle of a party. But aside from that, my self-care formula is a mix of therapy, exercise, and setting time aside to focus on my hobbies (like cooking, painting, chilling with my cat, eating, etc.)

NAMI: What forms of mental health-related stigma have you observed or run into personally? How do you try to shatter stigma?

MO: A lot of the stigma is generational, in my opinion. It’s more of a mainstream thing for Millennials and Gen Z, whereas it was a hush-hush thing in our parents’ generation. For example, I follow all these ADHD meme accounts on Instagram and TikTok, and they are beyond relatable. The fact that it’s not a unique experience is reassuring. It’s like, “other people think this too? I guess I’m not so crazy after all.” Overall, I think it’s important to keep talking about it without judging people for it.

NAMI: Do you feel like you have mental health support or is it challenging to find support?

MO: I know it’s not always the case, but I’m fortunate to have a strong support system, which is pretty dope. Of course, I have my therapist, but my family, boyfriend, and friends are all very chill with it, probably because I joke about it a lot to make myself feel better (laughs).

NAMI: What do you personally think needs to change or be improved to make Rochester mentally healthy for all folks?

MO: I’d really love to see more influencers and community leaders talk about their experiences with mental health. It’d be great to have more partnerships/fundraisers to spread awareness. I do think it’s great that we have our own NAMI chapter in Rochester. I’ve actually attended some of the free [support] group discussions that are offered on a recurring basis! I wish more people knew about it. Hopefully, this helps a little.