Keynote Speaker in Mental Health
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I Thought I was a Monster
Keynote Speaker in Mental Health
Check availability for your event!
I Thought I was a Monster
When I think on all the destroyed relationships, the lost jobs, the unfinished projects and departed dreams, the reckless moments that would haunt me for years, the countless days stolen away by infinite darkness – the shame, the shame, the shame.
Jen Hogue, I Thought I Was A Monster
About Jen
Mental Health Keynote Speaker
JEN HOGUE is a keynote speaker in mental health. Having faced her own personal journey of battling bipolar disorder, she spends her time advocating for mental health awareness and support through speaking events in colleges and high schools, conferences, and the workplace. She has a Master's Degree in Leadership studies with an emphasis on navigating difficult and controversial conversations. Her purpose is to shine a light on the stigma surrounding mental illness and encourage those plagued by it to seek support.
Keynote speaking events
I Thought I Was A Monster
Introduction: Well, this is terrifying. Paralyzing almost. My hands sweat and tremble as I try to speak the words. My heart quickens. When I allow myself to think about your reaction, your judgement... I falter just a little. When I allow myself to think of all the people that will hear this... people I know. People I work with. Students I teach. Students I’ve taught. My in-laws. My exes. Their families who will say, “I told you so!”. My friends. Their friends. My family. My children. Then they’ll all share it with even more people that might know me or will know me, that will see me around and avoid making eye contact with me. When I allow myself to think about that – the people that might see this, hear about this – every self-doubting, loathing, shaming, insecure demon inside me surfaces in protest. BUT… but. That’s the point, after all. For people to hear this. To just maybe help others claw their way out of the uncompromising, crippling, and degenerative grasp of mental illness, my own demon being bipolar disorder. There. I said it. I’m bipolar.