In 2022, society is seeing a sky rocketing of mental illness. According to “Mental health by the numbers”  One out of four adults over 18 have been diagnosed with a mental illness. Most people live with this issue or don’t even notice they’re suffering from it. Mental illness doesn’t only affect the person, but others around them including friends and parents. In my case, it’s all a never ending trip. 

John Kearny is a 45 year old man. For his whole life he’s been in and out of foster care, jail and other placement homes. This all made him who he is today. He suffers from bipolar disorder or other times, manic depression. However, this in no way makes him a bad person or father. It just shows how society can affect a person mentally. 

My step-father is a realistic person, but sometimes his emotions can swing up or down. It’s like living with four different people in one body. It’s either he’s so depressed he can’t get out of bed or so ecstatic he wants to take the whole family on a road trip. However, this could be in just the span of two hours. This made me as a person be more aware of people around me. This exposure taught me the tone in people’s voices. The facial expression changes, it made me hyper sensitive to people’s emotions. 

John was a big help in my life. He was a father but also had his own battles in himself and this showed me as a daughter. Complete strangers are struggling with these same problems, he did and I give them respect. Through my experience it’s a lot for me as an observer and for the person.