BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Veronica Jacuinde says she received her bipolar diagnosis at 33-years-old. Now, nearly 20 years later, she breaks her silence, sharing her journey with Kern County.
- Roughly one in five adults in the U.S. experience mental illness.
- In 2021, less than 50% of reported U.S. adults with mental illness received treatment.
- For Mental Health Awareness Month, one Wasco resident shares how she turned some of her darkest moments into a lighthouse of hope for others.
- For those who recently received a diagnosis and looking for resources, Jacuinde recommends visiting the NAMI Kern website.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Veronica Jacuinde says she received her bipolar diagnosis at 33-years-old.
“When I first was diagnosed with my bipolar experience, it was a really difficult time for me,” said Jacuinde. “It was especially difficult for my family who didn’t know how to help me, who didn’t have the tools or the resources.”
At first, Jacuinde said there were many obstacles when it came to getting help from figuring out the mental health care system, to not only finding the right provider, but the right medication.
On top of navigating the healthcare system, Jacuinde says confronting social stigma was its own battle.
“In marginalized communities, especially Latino communities, the barriers are even greater,” said Jacuinde. “And that’s due to cultural shame, language gaps, a lack of culturally sensitive doctors who understand Latino experiences, and the misconceptions that having a mental struggle is due to weakness. And that often leaves people living in silence.
Now, nearly 20 years after receiving her diagnosis, Jacuinde breaks her silence, sharing her story with Kern County.
“It was a lift off of my shoulders when I was finally able to share with people and let people know that it’s okay, that the illness does not define who you are, that you are better than this, and that you can definitely be a happy person, that you can thrive, and that you deserve so much more,” said Jacuinde.
Even being awarded mental health advocate of the year by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Kern.
“... That is just so incredible for me to know that I had hit rock bottom. To know that I’d been institutionalized so many times, to know that I had hurt my family in so many ways, and to now be in this position where I can share all of that pain that I endured, all those times that I felt lost, all those times that I was in the darkness, and to take that darkness and turn it into light and to hopefully turn it into something beautiful, and to be able to help someone that has found themselves in that dark place that I once found myself, and to share that fact that you can rise above,” said Jacuinde.
For those who recently received a diagnosis and looking for resources, Jacuinde recommends visiting the NAMI Kern website.
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