I am proud to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community because we provide a place to call home for those who might lose theirs for being true to who they are. I am proud to be part of a community that is founded upon moving the world towards acceptance and empathy. I am proud to be LGBTQ+ because I am proud to be me. My Instagram is @kaitlynlunardi.

On January 1st, 2012, I attempted suicide for the first time. However, my mental health journey began a bit earlier than that. Technically, it originated at least a century ago with my great-grandfather. Mental illness has run in my family for as long as we can remember. The only problem? We don’t really talk about it - ever - which is why, when I attempted suicide in 2012, I had no idea what was happening to me. And why, when I attempted suicide for the second time in 2016, I was still confused. Over the last 11 years, I have run the gamut of the mental illness checklist. I have been in and out of therapy with over six different counselors. I have been diagnosed, rediagnosed, misdiagnosed, and then diagnosed again. I have tried medication, CBD oil, yoga, and even had a therapist recommend microdosing mushrooms (the hallucinogenic kind). And, perhaps most influential of all, I have been on the inside of an adult psychiatric ward. Having just turned 18-years-old at the end of 2015, my suicide attempt in 2016 landed me directly in the adult ward. It was utterly terrifying, and in retrospect, quite traumatizing too. However, this encounter helped me to understand the importance of mental healthcare. After the psych ward, and after several years of consistent therapy, I am finally beginning to understand that mental healthcare does not come in the form of hospital gowns and bandages. It cannot be a last-ditch effort to help someone past the point of wanting to help themselves. Mental healthcare means providing easy, affordable access to counselors in every community. It means developing a system for houseless people that promotes wellness, happiness, and security in their lives. It means destigmatizing every mental illness and teaching our world that not being neuro-typical is not scary. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has been utterly catastrophic, it also granted me the time and motivation to go back to school to earn my degree in Psychology. My eventual goal is to pursue a Ph.D. in Psychology and help establish a stronger mental healthcare foundation throughout the United States. Mental health deserves to be discussed, and I want to help get that conversation started.

On January 1st, 2012, I attempted suicide for the first time. However, my mental health journey began a bit earlier than that. Technically, it originated at least a century ago with my great-grandfather. Mental illness has run in my family for as long as we can remember. The only problem? We don’t really talk about it - ever - which is why, when I attempted suicide in 2012, I had no idea what was happening to me. And why, when I attempted suicide for the second time in 2016, I was still confused. Over the last 11 years, I have run the gamut of the mental illness checklist. I have been in and out of therapy with over six different counselors. I have been diagnosed, rediagnosed, misdiagnosed, and then diagnosed again. I have tried medication, CBD oil, yoga, and even had a therapist recommend microdosing mushrooms (the hallucinogenic kind). And, perhaps most influential of all, I have been on the inside of an adult psychiatric ward. Having just turned 18-years-old at the end of 2015, my suicide attempt in 2016 landed me directly in the adult ward. It was utterly terrifying, and in retrospect, quite traumatizing too. However, this encounter helped me to understand the importance of mental healthcare. After the psych ward, and after several years of consistent therapy, I am finally beginning to understand that mental healthcare does not come in the form of hospital gowns and bandages. It cannot be a last-ditch effort to help someone past the point of wanting to help themselves. Mental healthcare means providing easy, affordable access to counselors in every community. It means destigmatizing every mental illness and teaching our world that not being neuro-typical is not scary. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has been utterly catastrophic, it also granted me the time and motivation to go back to school to earn my degree in Psychology. My eventual goal is to pursue a Ph.D. in Psychology and help establish a stronger mental healthcare foundation throughout the United States. Mental health deserves to be discussed, and I want to help get that conversation started.