From childhood through his adolescence, Jahmon was an outgoing, friendly kid. He did well in school, was going to CU Boulder for engineering and had a bright future ahead of him. Then, in 2004, his world turned upside down.

Start at the beginning

Jahmon and his brother were raised by their mom, a hardworking accountant and fierce advocate for her sons. While his dad wasn’t around much during his adolescence, Jahmon’s childhood was stable and comfortable.

“I was a happy kid, and I had a lot of friends – I didn’t have the kind of traumatic childhood that you’d expect to lead to a mental health diagnosis,” said Jahmon. “You never really think something like that is going to impact you, especially when you’re a child or teenager.”

Jahmon graduated from high school with the highest GPA among his friends and went on to CU Boulder to begin an engineering program.

He was there for two semesters before his world changed forever.

“I have a psychological disability”

In 2004, Jahmon got into trouble and spent some time in jail. He was experiencing what would later be recognized as a manic episode, but had no idea what was happening to him in the moment. During this event, Jahmon threatened to kill himself, which led to a judge recommending that he get tested for mental illness, or as Jahmon refers to it, a psychological disability.

Upon pursuing a diagnosis, Jahmon was connected to WellPower and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a mental health condition that impacts mood to extreme degrees through manic and depressive episodes.

“Once I got reconnected to WellPower, I started doing therapy sessions,” he said. “When I first started those sessions, I didn’t talk at all. I didn’t like conversing with people. I was only 22 years old.”

“The clinical team I worked with at WellPower also had me trying different medications as we tried to see what might work for me,” said Jahmon. “But a lot of those medications had pretty bad side effects. Some of them made me gain weight, some of them weren’t good for my heart – it was a lot of painful trial and error for me at that time.”

Glimmers of hope

While Jahmon was trying to find balance in dealing with his new diagnosis, he was also attempting to navigate what his new future would look like.

His mother, always his staunch and unwavering advocate, suggested he start school again and think about pursuing a business degree.

Jahmon took her advice and enrolled at the Community College of Aurora.

“I felt like I had to start from the ground up in a lot of ways,” he said. “Honestly, it was really hard for me. I was trying to rediscover who I was in the wake of all this trauma from my psychological disability, while also attempting to build a new future for myself. They don’t tell you how difficult it is to figure out your life while you’re digging yourself out of a hole you didn’t even create.”

Jahmon’s determination paid off. After four years, he graduated with his business administration degree.

As we know with mental health, though, the path to recovery often isn’t linear. It takes time, patience and work, and there are often setbacks or unexpected challenges.

Navigating the hurdles

In 2009 Jahmon began working with Dr. Carl Clark, who has maintained his clinical practice throughout his time as president & CEO at WellPower, and has continued his sessions with Dr. Clark for the past 15 years.

“Working with Dr. Clark has been one of the best things for me,” said Jahmon. “It hasn’t been easy, though. Dr. Clark asks great questions and he breaks down topics to help me understand what I’m experiencing. You can tell he’s passionate about helping people, about helping me.”

Part of working with great clinicians like Dr. Clark means that sometimes there will be new information that comes to light about a person’s diagnosis. In 2010, Jahmon was re-diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which affects mood and thoughts.

“This was a really difficult period for me,” he said. “There were times I couldn’t even articulate words. I remember my mom taking me to a university hospital and the doctor there said that, unfortunately, this was just a part of the disorder. I remember feeling so hopeless and majorly disliking that word – ‘unfortunately.’ I still don’t like it. It’s like a clamp on your soul. People say it when they can’t or won’t help you.”

Not all hope was lost for Jahmon, though. In addition to his regular clinical services, he was also able to access psychiatric rehabilitation through WellPower’s NextChapter (formerly 2Succeed) program.

“NextChapter was absolutely amazing,” said Jahmon. “They helped me with getting to my appointments, helped me with my medications at times and they helped me get a job at WellPower. That truly kicked off my trajectory towards my recovery. I’ll always be so grateful to the people at NextChapter – they’re incredible, they’re compassionate and you can tell how much they care.”

Finding his path alongside his psychological disability

The next 10 years of Jahmon’s journey were marked by slow, steady positive progress. He worked on the custodial team with WellPower’s vocational trainee program for five years. He interviewed for and got the job as a residential manager for one of WellPower’s apartment buildings. He also met his wife.

“Through all this time, I’ve had to figure out who I was as a person while also managing my psychological disability,” he said. “It was hard to go through, and it was really hard on my mom to watch her son going through so many unknowns for so many years. My mom and my wife have been the rocks that have held me steady.”

“I look back on that time now, and I can see with such clarity how much support I’ve gotten from WellPower and from the people who love me,” said Jahmon. “WellPower encouraged me to start putting myself out there more, to reach back to the happy person I was as a kid. No one expected me to forget what’s happened to me or what I’ve gone through, but to instead grow from a part of me that’s always existed.”

Jahmon began taking steps to recapture friendships, find healthy hobbies and to surround himself with people who mentor and support him. Through his extremely hard work, perseverance and holding fast to his values, he’s proud of the person he’s become.

Find yourself and be true to that person

At 41 years old, Jahmon is a happily married father of two, a homeowner, has a great career, is surrounded by loved ones and has a solid understanding of who he is, psychological disability included.

“Once you get to know the people at WellPower, you see that they want you to succeed in life,” he said. “It gets easier to confide in them, to talk about what you’re going through. Being vulnerable and willing to have someone help you isn’t negative or weak; it’s not a bad thing. There are people who do truly care about your well-being, and who want to help you help yourself.”

“I’m living proof that people can overcome all odds and obstacles in their lives,” said Jahmon. “You just have to take things one step at a time, build on your strengths and recognize that your weaknesses can become strengths, too.”