Success
As usual, My Best Healer podcast is here to bring into your ears and mind the best and most inspirational true stories of our day to day heroes. People that we know and love and also have a big impact on our lives without even say so. Therefore, I am honored to introduce the CEO of Sondercenters Bo Bergstrom. What that means for you is a renewed focus on initiatives aimed at building a cohesive community of mental health and wellness professionals as well as helping and supporting others as they step into private practice. For those of you thinking, "Wait, but you're not a mental health or wellness professional..." Well, you're right! I'm not a health professional by background, but mental health has touched my life several times and each one has been an eye-opening experience. In fact, that's a great segue to the second thing I promised in this email - an introduction: I'm a small-town kid from Wyoming who went out east to the Naval Academy for college. After graduating, I spent almost 8 years in the Marine Corps, one full year of that deployed to Iraq. When I got back I was angry. Angry about some of the poor decisions that I experienced, angry about the people I saw get hurt and killed, and angry about the year of my life that I felt had been wasted. To say it was impacting my marriage is an understatement. Yet, I didn't go seek help because of the stigma and my fear that it might hurt my career. In the end, I was fortunate enough to have Lindsey, my wife, grasp what was happening, sit me down and talk me through the anger and the negative impact it was having on those around me. Most people aren't that lucky. It was a huge moment in my life to realize that here I was a 26-year-old college graduate turned Marine Officer who couldn't get over the stigma to seek help. I only saw my way through to the other side because of a smart, mature and stubborn partner who refused to give up on me. My Marines were only 18 and 19 years old, most didn't have a college education and even fewer had someone at home helping them through it. In short, they were in trouble with no clear way out. While I may not have known it at the time, it was at that moment that I was "in" on the SonderCenters mission of increasing access to mental health and wellness care. That amazing woman I mentioned before is Lindsey Bergstrom, she possesses an incredible mind, artistic eye, and is the mother to our three children pictured below - Anna Gray, Winslow, and Morgan. When not at work you can find me tickling them, showing them the world of reading with them. It absolutely terrifies me how fast they are growing up! Now that we've updated you on SonderCenters and finished the introduction there's only one thing left to say: Thank you for the work you do every day - it's important. Sincerely, Bo Bergstrom