Burgess refused to answer the door or the telephone, withdrawing deeper and deeper into his reclusivity by the day. A friend finally had to break down the door and convince Burgess he needed help.
Burgess was hospitalized and diagnosed with severe depression, one of the many ailments that fall under the mental illness umbrella.
And he’s far from alone.
For three years, Jeannie Ladisic of Beallsville refused to leave her house, subsisting for months at a time on Farina prepared by her husband and creating such animosity with her sons that she did not meet her granddaughter until the tot was 3 years old. She eventually was diagnosed with several mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder.
Lisa Huffine of Fredericktown was physically abused by the men in her life for more than 30 years, and she constantly found herself “fighting the negative messages that were put in my head as a child,” repeating over and over again, “I’m lovable. I’m likable. I’m not ugly.”
Huffine was suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression and anxiety.
After a field fire destroyed the home she shared with her mother for 40 years, Barb Johnson of Waynesburg would sit in her car for an hour or more, checking to ensure the lights were off and the doors locked. She was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“A mental illness is anything that interferes with living life to the fullest,” said Amy Vrescak, base service unit supervisor in the Mental Health Department at Centerville Clinics Inc. “Depression and anxiety can affect anybody at any age.”
The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older suffer from a mental disorder in a given year. That’s about one in four adults, or 57.7 million people.
Those who suffer from mental illness will never be cured, but through therapy, they can develop a recovery plan so they can lead productive and satisfying lives.
Burgess, Huffine, Johnson and Ladisic are proof of that.
All four are employed as Certified Peer Specialists with Centerville Clinics Inc. Their job is to offer support, hope and inspiration to mental health patients during times of crisis and relapse in their recovery process. They also have been professionally trained to help develop individualized Wellness Recovery Action Plans for their consumers.
“Personally, I feel it’s easier to talk to Jeannie than my mental health worker,” Burgess said. “Her illness may be different than mine, but she can relate to the isolation and depression.”
Vrescak said she initially was unable “to wrap her head around the concept” that peers could help her clients because “in traditional mental health, you just don’t do that.”
But the program has been beneficial not only for the clients, but also the peers.
Burgess, for instance, has joined a few clubs, he’s captain of his pool team, and he’s camping again. He’s also pursuing a master’s degree in social work.
And on occasion, the clinic will call him with questions. “That’s very flattering,” said Burgess, who works with six clients on a regular basis.
Ann Gaydos, director of mental health at Centerville Clinics, said the CPS program was an initiative presented by the state to county mental health workers after it was determined that the best way to help consumers was to have them help themselves.
“The beauty of this experience is they’ve been there,” she said. “The things we take for granted make them suffer.”
Ladisic, 53, understands that all too well.
She has been hospitalized five times, and at one point, the shoelaces in her sneakers had to be removed so she wouldn’t hurt herself.
Ladisic’s illnesses began to surface after the death of a family member. She partially blamed herself for the death, convincing herself she could have done more to prevent it. Of course, she couldn’t.
In addition to her bipolar disorder, Ladisic was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety-panic disorder.
“Seeing and talking with my consumers helps me in my recovery,” said Ladisic, who works with five consumers. “I love helping people. There’s no magic answer, but I know how they feel. There’s nothing like a peer.
“I was honored the clinic thought of me as a peer. I jumped on board and have not looked back.”
Huffine, 51, feels the same way. She began therapy 12 years ago – four years after she fled to a women’s shelter with her two daughters. She is still being treated by the same psychiatrist, and she takes comfort in the fact she’s “not in the fire anymore.” She also earned a bachelor of arts degree in psychology.
Johnson is doing well, too, thanks to therapy and daily medication. But it took her about three years to seek help following the fire that ravaged her home.
“Something inside me just snapped,” said Johnson, now 53. “I would just check and check and check to make sure the car doors were locked and the lights were off. It was ridiculous. Once I got into treatment, it was pretty much in control.”
In addition to working as a CPS, Johnson serves as co-director of the drop-in center in the Greene County Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.
Typically, Certified Peer Specialists spend an hour or two with their consumers at any given time. Burgess, however, has spent as many as four hours with one of his consumers.
“Honestly, I’m not going to leave somebody who needs help,” he said. “I promised myself that because that’s how I was. It’s not so much business, but empathy coming through.”
For more information about the Certified Peer Specialist program at Centerville Clinics Inc., call the Washington County office at 724-632-6801, or the Greene County office at 724-627-8156.