The Precipice of Mental Health
“If you want to know who you are, invest in understanding yourself.”
The Precipice of Mental Health
About The Book
In The Precipice of Mental Health, Achea Redd shares her personal battle with mental illness and helps readers understand that there is a path to help and healing for those who are suffering, struggling, and stressed.
The mental health crisis is worse than ever: In an age of increasing isolation, insecurity, and loss, people are suffering, and not everyone is able to afford or access the help that they need. Mental health activist Achea Redd wants to change that, because for her, it’s personal.
Though Redd seemingly led a charmed life as the daughter of a pastor and wife of NBA legend and former Olympian Michael Redd, the mother of two battled debilitating mental illness and is determined to help others overcome their own trauma and mental health struggles to thrive—all while knowing and acknowledging that it’s OK to not be OK.
In this remarkably reflective story about the societal issues of mental health, Redd opens up and shares a broader perspective through her journey through depression, anxiety, and atypical anorexia, including the impact that COVID-19 and its variants imparted on her battle, to prevent others from reaching the precipice of mental health.
Through her own personal experiences in the trenches of her own mental health struggles, including eating disorders, panic attacks, and suicidal ideation, Redd reveals raw and valuable insight that will help readers understand themselves and others who suffer from mental illness—and let them know that their mental illness does not define them. As Redd says, “Anxiety and depression are what I have. They are not who I am.”
Redd taps into topics that are not commonly spoken of, but are necessary for managing mental health, to ensure those struggling feel seen and understood. The Precipice of Mental Health offers encouragement to seek the proper and necessary help to a path of healing and understanding before it’s too late: It’s important for readers to know that things can and will get better, and it’s just as important for them to know that they aren’t alone.
“Being vulnerable, kind, approachable, real and inspiring is not easy to do; and yet, Achea Redd achieves the balance flawlessly. I’ve had the privilege of being both in the audience and working with her behind the scenes and from every vantage point, she is a breath of fresh air. Whether you’re listening to her voice or reading her words, it’s the next best thing to having your best friend by your side to tell you everything is going to be ok while also giving you the perfect push to get up and make the world what you want it to be.”
“Being vulnerable, kind, approachable, real and inspiring is not easy to do; and yet, Achea Redd achieves the balance flawlessly. I’ve had the privilege of being both in the audience and working with her behind the scenes and from every vantage point, she is a breath of fresh air. Whether you’re listening to her voice or reading her words, it’s the next best thing to having your best friend by your side to tell you everything is going to be ok while also giving you the perfect push to get up and make the world what you want it to be.”
Achea Redd
Achea Redd makes mental health awareness her mission—because for her, it’s personal.
In early 2016, Achea was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Terrified and ashamed, the mother of two hid her condition from the world, but she quickly realized it was only getting worse.
Her GAD, combined with her history of depression and past eating disorder, affected her both mentally and physically, culminating in a full-blown nervous breakdown. It wasn’t until she acknowledged the situation with her loved ones and sought treatment from her therapist and doctor that things finally started to get better.
As a form of self-expression and healing, Achea created her own blog, sharing her feelings about mental health and authenticity. The support she received from the community compelled her to create Real Girls F.A.R.T., a space to empower and equip women with the necessary tools to use their voices and become their best, most authentic selves.
Achea uses her own life experience and mental health disorder to help women find their voice and let it out—and most importantly, to let women and girls who are suffering, struggling and stressed know that they are not alone.
“Raw, vulnerable, and beautifully written The Precipice of Mental Health: Becoming Your Own Safe Space by Achea Redd is a MUST read for anyone who is witnessing a loved one currently going through a mental health challenge.
Her brave recount of her face-down-in-the-closet breakdown and how she clawed back out of the precipice, helps readers come to a place of acceptance, empathy, and understanding.
Throughout the book, Achea demonstrates how she (and her loved ones) personally processed through her pivotal episode and how she contemplated the radical changes happening in her brain that were a cause of her genes PLUS her own experiences.
Through this journey, Achea also offers reflection questions for the reader. Many of these questions, when posed from a loved one, have the potential to help create a jump start on the journey to healing.
From establishing a self-care routine, to communicating expectations and boundaries, it is evident that for someone to become their own safe space takes practice, patience, and people to lean on. It also requires the person experiencing the mental health challenges to take sovereignty of who they once were, who they are now, and who they want to become.
As a reader who experienced a breakdown and recovery motivation that was remarkably similar to Achea’s at the onset of COVID-19, her story also helped me reflect, realize, and accept, that a diagnosis such as depression is not a one and done episode; it is not something to hide and be ashamed of; and not something to brush off. Rather, it is something that can be managed. We CAN live a joyous life and help our nervous systems process through the precipices of mental health. Every. Single. Time. ”