Jennifer Haussler Garing is a native of New Hampshire.She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the University ofMassachusetts Amherst. Jennifer has spoken about her experienceswith suicide, mental illness, and resiliency at the American Association of Suicidology National Conference, Texas Suicide PreventionSymposium, and Austin Community College. She works as an epidemiologistin Austin, Texas where she lives in her dream home with her husband and her chocolate Lab-Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, Frannie. Jennifer is also one of the survivors profiled onlivethroughthis.org.

Click to tweet: Jennifer Haussler Garingshares her incredible journey on the i’MpossibleProject #podcast!

Time Stamped Notes

• 1.48 Jennifer made her first suicide attempt at age 13, and at the time she didn’t realize she was living with major clinical depression
• 2.41 Jennifer was intensely suicidal again at age 22 and was hospitalized at Johns Hopkins University’s hospital—one of the best in the world for mental health care—and she credits the great care she got during this hospitalization with saving her life
• 3.27 Depression and mania can be cyclical and can come back during points in life
• 4.05 Jennifer is an epidemiologist by profession, in part because she wants to find a way to prevent suffering by preventing diseases and illnesses
• 5.16 Jennifer says she learned from her mental illnesses that she can’t do it alone and relies on her support system to help her through difficult episodes with her mental illnesses
• 7.33 Jennifer manages her mental illnesses by checking in with her mental health therapist, by being her best advocate and (respectfully) questioning treatment options, being careful with her sleep schedule and her diet, and meditation
• 10.21 Jennifer says don’t be afraid to access and tap into health care laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act
• 12.22 People with disabilities—mental or physical—have value and a special perspective to bring to the table
• 15.09 Jennifer credits depression with making her nicer and empathetic to others and made her work harder as well
• 18.45 Jennifer’s favorite word is “grace” and if someone made a movie of her life, Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) would play Jennifer in the movie (find out more fun facts about Jennifer in the Quick Fire Round)

Key Points

• We can’t do everything on our own! We need a support system at almost every juncture in life
• We are our own best advocates when receiving physical or mental health treatment
• As we grow, it is important to manage and develop current and new coping skills to help deal with everyday life

Resources or Websites Mentioned

If in crisis and you’re in the United States, you can call: 800-273-8255, or you can text “GO” to 741741 (Crisis Text Line)

If outside the United States, please find your crisis center/centre at this link: www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres