My Name is Iyanna Rivera. I have brain damage since birth and a traumatic brain injury since age four and living with a mental health dual diagnosis. This has deemed me house bound most of my life and I am currently seeking treatment and tend to visit crisis intervention units to receive confidential care. To receive the best care possible for behavioral and emotional dysfunctions I am prone to be in and out of psychiatric units for at least two seasons of the year; for pharmaceutical technology and other invasive therapies. I attend outpatient care six days a week while taking psychotropic medications and unfortunately i am too competent to be placed in a group home and don’t qualify for many resources in the mental health and recovery communities.
Furthermore, I live with social paranoia anxieties (fear of large crowds and/or unfamiliar people), social separation anxieties (attachment/detachment issues), undiagnosed agoraphobia (fear of going outside alone) due to continuous attacks and domestic violence from different communities in Boston while in my youth. I have severe nerve damage from physical abuse and suicide attempts (not to mention I was unaware of the severity of my neurological brain injury). Though I am no longer suicidal, I suffer from the after effects and medication side effects such as tardive dyskinesia (uncontrollable body seizure like sensations) and many more. This makes it difficult to walk and stand or sit for long periods of times. Because of the fear of riding the MBTA and visiting other people’s homes I am deemed homebound and spend most of my life writing and creating music and using other gifts and talents to cope with trauma from the comfort of my bedroom. As my treatment and therapy became more intense I learned my ways of self-isolation was a trigger for manic depression.
I have been on my own since the age of sixteen. I have faced and survived homelessness, sex trafficking rinks, dysfunctional family abuse, domestic violence and gang violence. Because of this I am aware that recovery can’t been done alone and isolating only makes things harder for me. I show progress by reaching out to pillar programs of the boston communities and now I will be working alongside Boston University taking the Recovery Education Program at the Psychiatric Center as a STUDENT (not a client or patient) with the help of my Peer Supporter. I am a miracle and a productive person nonetheless still trying my best to live a joyful, peaceful life at the age of twenty-five and to continue to be Boston bred and Boston Strong.
Thank You
Honorably Written,
Ziona
© April 2017