YORK, Pa. — May is Mental Health Awareness Month so in this week's Health Smart, FOX43 talked to a local man who turned his own struggles into a way to help others.
Ken Kisselman is the "Pause Program" coordinator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of York and Adams counties.
"You need not suffer in silence," he said. "There’s a community of support for you out there." Wise words from a man who learned that lesson the hard way.
“I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2018, but looking back, I probably lived for many years with undiagnosed mental illness,” he said.
Kisselman grew up in New Jersey. He was a good student, but even in middle school and high school, he struggled with anxiety and depression.
"I did very well in school and got a lot of positive validation out of school, but was also bullied quite a bit," he said. "It was an emotional flip-flop, back and forth from the validation of doing well in school to the negative feelings that came with the bullying."
In college, his mental illness, still undiagnosed, continued to manifest in different ways.
“I was the type of person who would stay away for two, three days writing a term paper and then would crash for two or three days," Kisselman said. After graduating, he worked in marketing and advertising for more than 20 years. When he lost his job though, things started to get worse.
“I find that mental illness festers in isolation," he said. "When we spend a lot of time alone in our heads, that’s when our minds can run away with us. I know for me personally, that when I spend a lot of time alone in my head, that’s when my symptoms get worse."
After that isolation and years of trying to cope on his own, he finally hit rock bottom.
“I ended up in the hospital because I self-harmed," he said. "That brings with it a sense of fear and confusion and trying to understand the aftermath of the situation."
As it turns out, it was exactly what he needed to get the tools and resources he needed to begin his journey to mental health.
“Having a diagnosis and knowing that I had a path that I could follow to navigate my situation was empowering and was helpful and was a route out of the fear and confusion,” Kisselman said.
It was during his time in the hospital that he was first exposed to NAMI.
“I attended my first meeting in the hospital and really enjoyed it," he said. "I found it very, very helpful. NAMI is based on peer-to-peer support. Having the opportunity to talk to people who understand, who are going through similar things, have had similar life experiences, are facing similar challenges, to have a sense of community."
Kisselman continued going to meetings when he go out of the hospital and credits that peer support with helping him take the first steps towards prioritizing his mental health.
“It was a long journey back," he said. "Over time, I’ve put together a self-care regime that includes seeing a therapist, seeing a psychiatrist, and attending NAMI meetings. It’s been a process of trial and error with medication and talking through different things. There’s no one right solution for everyone. It’s a matter of trial and error until you get the right combinations."
Now, as the "Pause Program" coordinator for NAMI of York and Adams counties, Kisselman is going into schools to help other young people identify their mental health struggles early on and keep them from suffering in silence as he did, for far too long.
"That’s been a wonderful help to me too, working with young people who are at an earlier point in their mental health journey...hearing what they’re going through. Hearing what their coping mechanisms are. But also, being able to give back."
NAMI offers programs to support people at all stages of mental illness. You can learn more about their services here.