Mental Health - Less Stress In Life Podcast Interview with Deb Timmerman - We Discuss Mental Health, Child Safety & Breaking The Cycle Of Abuse

Lisa Zarcone: The Journey From Abuse to Advocacy

Mental Health Awareness Month, wraps up today, but my conversation with bonus podcast guest Lisa Zarcone, is a vivid reminder that the mental health conversation needs to be one that constantly continues and at the forefront every day.

Lisa is an abuse survivor, who uses her title as the Massachusetts National Ambassador of NASCAR (National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse) and personal story as a platform to educate about child abuse, mental health, and suicide prevention.

In her memoir, The Unspoken Truth Lisa purposefully shares her story of abuse from the child’s perspective. She calls her story graphic, raw and dark, but wanted to convey what she felt in the moment of the abuse and how it damages the mind of a child. While some have found her story difficult to hear and read, others have found the courage to break the silence around their own experiences, 

Lisa decided to use her personal story about abuse and having a mentally ill parent, to be the voice for the voiceless and to give others the courage to break their silence.  She’s been on numerous podcasts, radio shows and television sharing the message of normalizing mental health conversations and bringing awareness of what happens to children (and adults) who fall through the cracks.

Feeling safe and validated by someone gives people the courage to share what they have held inside for many years. Once a person can express what happened to them, they move from victim to survivor and healing begins. In Lisa’s high-profile work, disclosure happens frequently.

Lisa set the intention to break the generational curse of abuse and was intentional about the way she was able to mother her children. She had a goal and the mindset to create a safe space and used her dreams of what a family should look like to forge a different path. One with lots of love, support, and connection.

Lisa hopes to begin a support group for other adult survivors soon. You can listen to her full podcast here.

Less Stress in Life by Deb Timmerman

Lisa Zarcone joined me for a conversation around mental health advocacy and her memoir, The Unspoken Truth. You can read the highlights of our conversation and download the podcast here. lessstressinlife.com/507/Let's keep the conversation going! #mentalhealth #podcast #mentalhealthawarenessmonth #traumahealing #traumarecovery #breakthecycle #stopthestigma #resilience #survivor