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Spotlight
A path to purpose and happiness
When Lori “Mish” Megow celebrated her 11th anniversary Vail Place member this year, her life felt more stable and full of purpose than it had throughout the two-decade span of her career in finance. In spite of struggling with severe anxiety and depression since her teen years, Lori had worked her way through college and remained employed in her field, although she bounced from job to job as her anxiety worsened. Eventually, her symptoms forced her to quit.
Lori first looked into volunteering with Vail Place at the suggestion of another member she met through a dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) class. After Lori met with Vail Place staff, they suggested she consider becoming a member due to her own struggles with mental illness. At the time, Lori didn’t see her mental illness as “serious enough” to become a member. However, the consequences were there. Because people didn’t fully understand what was going on in Lori’s life, she lost many of her friends after experiencing a major breakdown. Although she was under the impression that she was merely on a leave of absence, she had, in fact, been let go from her job.
