Is a positive outlook on life innate within some people or a learned perspective? After Dale experienced a lonely childhood, the deaths of a child and spouse, the loss of his home and all of his possessions to a fire and multiple mental health diagnoses, you might think it impossible for him to feel any sense of optimism. 

You’d be wrong.

Through the gauntlet and back again

From Madrid to Cheyenne and San Diego to Seoul, Dale has lived all over the world due to his father’s military career. While a global childhood may sound glamorous, it was incredibly isolating to Dale and deprived him of the opportunity to make lasting friendships. Combined with his father’s difficulty managing anger, Dale’s younger years were rough, to say the least.

“I was never able to make friends, so I was always kind of a loner,” said Dale. “Everything would kind of bottle up in my head and I’d put these mental walls up to protect myself. The problem is that I didn’t learn how to undo those barriers until way into my adulthood, so I dealt with a lot of anger, grief, loneliness and pain for too many years without help.”

About seven years ago, while living in Pueblo, Dale realized he needed more help than he was able to get in his current location. He had been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mood swings and was taking multiple prescriptions per day. Between the side effects of the medications and the mental health challenges he was facing, Dale felt like a walking zombie, and he’d had enough.

He moved to Denver, received a referral to WellPower from Denver Health and has been slowly improving ever since.

“I got into services with WellPower and that really kicked off the healing process for me,” he said. “This hasn’t been a quick or easy journey for me. I’ve had setbacks, I’ve been angry and I’ve had to pick myself back up again more times than I’d care to count, but I’m still here. I’m still waking up every day and choosing to live my life.”

Cultivating a positive perspective

Talking to Dale now, you’d think he always had this sense of optimism. He has a twinkle in his eye and an infectious grin when he speaks about his life now.

“WellPower helped wean me off of all the medications I was taking, which weren’t actually doing anything to help me,” he said. “My care team really helped me to uncover what was happening beneath the surface and get me onto a treatment plan that supports me living the way I want to. I don’t feel like a zombie anymore, and I’m actually able to look forward to each day.

“It’s kind of wild to be in this place, mentally and emotionally,” he continued. “I’ve gone through so much tragedy. My son and my wife died, I lost my home and everything I owned in a fire, I’ve dealt with drinking too much and needing services from the STAR team, and yet here I am with full-time employment and my own apartment. I wake up each day excited to go to work and to see the people I’ve come to care about. Getting help with WellPower completely turned my life around.”

In addition to therapy and medication management at WellPower, Dale has found solace and safety at WellPower’s Adult Resource Center. Between receiving necessary clothing, toiletries and food after losing his home, to working through the vocational trainee program, Dale is now surrounded by support on all sides. He recently started working full time as a driver with the Adult Resource Center, and he’s beyond proud.

“There are too many people to name at the Resource Center that have helped me,” said Dale. “And one person I really want to call out is Shevieve Gallegos. She’s been a mentor to me, always smiling and upbeat, always willing to help with whatever I need or questions I have. Everyone needs a Shevieve in their lives, because she makes such a difference to everyone around her.”

Always looking forward

Fortunately for Dale, his mom and sister have been steadfast supports throughout his life, and they’ve celebrated his healing journey as he received care with WellPower. Now, more than ever, he sees their unyielding commitment to him as the gift it is. He also has a newfound appreciation for several people from his past who have reached out recently on social media.

“There’s this one guy I knew in fifth grade who I almost became friends with before we had to move again,” said Dale. “We were both in military families, so we lost touch and I thought I’d never hear from him again. He found me on Facebook recently and added me, and I was shocked and excited. I feel like I’m finally in a place where I can welcome friendships into my life because I know how to bring my walls down. It feels like a piece of my past coming back for a do-over, in the best way.

“I really want everyone to know that there’s help out there, especially with WellPower,” he said. “My biggest motivations to keep going now are the people in my life and this job with an organization that has stood by me through some of my toughest times. I have a social life now, I don’t feel lonely or isolated like I used to and I have the people at WellPower to thank for that. I did the work to get here, and they gave me the tools to get it done.”