North Charlotte Today

A woman from Charlotte who has struggled with abuse and mental health issues is hoping her story can help others who see mental illness as a stigma.

Naprice Cathcart has seen abuse throughout her life, including an abusive marriage that ended a few years ago, which sent her into a downward spiral, WCNC reported.

"After I got married, he was real abusive to me. I couldn't be at my house and I was just tired. So after the second attack, I left," Cathcart told WCNC. "I just needed to get someplace to get ground and feel safe again."

Cathcart separated from her husband in 2017, leaving her struggling and in need of help, WCNC reported.

"I was a wreck," Cathcart said. "I had a nervous breakdown during the time. My health was failing, and I've been through a lot of injuries."

The National Alliance on Mental Illness reported that 20% of people in America struggled with mental illness in 2020, WCNC reported. That doesn't take into account those who suffer in silence.

After two years of trying to go it alone, Cathcart went to Monarch's Behavioral Health Outpatient Clinic in Charlotte, WCNC reported. Since 1958, the clinic has helped many North Carolinians in emotional turmoil or abusing drugs or alcohol.

Desiree Matthews, a mental health specialist in Mecklenburg County, told WCNC that Monarch uses a variety of approaches to help people patients depending on their situation at the time. Treatment can sometimes involve getting patients on medication.

"Sometimes, it is sitting down with a clinician, a therapist, a peer support person, and, you know, going through therapy and learning new ways to handle and tackle," Matthews told WCNC.

Cathcart said she relies on therapy sessions in conjunction with antidepressants to help her treat her bipolar disorder, WCNC reported.

An unintended positive side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an increased public focus on mental illness, Matthews said.

"A lot of us were really unprepared, struggling. 'How are you going to put food on the table? Are we able to work? My kids are at home now and I'm expected to go to work. What am I going to do with my kids?'" Matthews said. So I think it really, just for the average person, really exposed some of the vulnerabilities that we may have, and also on the bright side, realize that many of us do have a support system that we can reach out to, whether that's friends or family, whether that's places like Monarch. I think there is a silver lining that during COVID, more people who are willing to say, 'Hey, raise my hand, I need some extra help,' and that's OK. We're in this together."

Cathcart said people who are struggling to get by should not stay on the sidelines and that it's OK to reach out, WCNC reported.

"Don't hide," Cathcart said. "I made a choice that I wanted to live a normal life. I wanted to be in control, that I want to stop living in fear. Don't allow the shame and the hurt. Don't allow people that put you down, even as we isolate ourselves because we don't want that stigma. Our families may know about it, but they don't really know because we hide it so well. Be able to be free and know there's help. You're not the only one and you can make it."