Spread the light with Dr Devika B
Welcome! We feature first-person accounts of living with mental illness that aim to dispel stigma and stereotypes and instead, spread hope and light. Because stigma festers in the dark and scatters in the light. ||| I'm your host, Dr Devika Bhushan, a pediatrician, public health leader, and equity and health changemaker. In 2022, I served as the Acting Surgeon General for California. I also have lived experience as a woman of color, a parent, a person with bipolar disorder, and an Indian-American immigrant to the US by way of the Philippines. ||| Join our transformative well-being newsletter community — with written versions of interviews like this, along with deep dives into evidence-based trends in health, innovation, and culture: www.askdrdevikab.substack.com/about and watch video versions of our conversations here: www.youtube.com/@drdevikab
Spread the light with Dr Devika B
Amy Brinkley’s journey with substance use disorder and mental illness
This episode features Amy Brinkley’s incredible journey — and how she uses her personal experiences with substance use and mental illness recovery to drive national change and support others to sustain recovery, especially after incarceration.
Amy Brinkley is a nationally recognized leader in mental health and substance use recovery. Motivated by personal recovery experience and the suicides of three brothers and her mother’s overdose, Amy is dedicated to driving change through effective peer support and recovery-oriented systems of care.
Amy serves as the Recovery Support Services Coordinator for the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, and also serves (with me) on the national Board of Directors for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). She founded Paul’s Plan Ministries, which supports people exiting the criminal justice system, named in honor of her brother.
Amy lives in recovery with opioid use disorder (14.5 years sober), depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. She is mother to four children, three cats, and a cherished Labradoodle named Ruby.
Trigger warning: In this episode, we talk about substance use, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation and attempts, loss to suicide, and incarceration.
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SPREAD THE LIGHT WITH DR DEVIKA B:
Because stigma festers in the dark and scatters in the light.
* Join our well-being newsletter community that examines evidence-based trends in health, innovation, and culture, and destigmatizes mental illness — centering lived experience, equity, justice, and cross-cultural nuances: askdrdevikab.substack.com
You'll also find written versions of this interview and others like it there — and links to relevant sources.
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If you or a loved one needs help for a mental health crisis in the US, don’t hesitate to call or text 988 — or reach them online here. Find other resources here, search for a treatment facility here, and find a therapist here. Here are resources specifically for LGBTQ people. If you’re a US-based clinician or health student dealing with “any issue, not just a crisis,” reach out to the Physicians Support ...
Transcript and sources are available here: https://askdrdevikab.substack.com/p/spread-the-light-amy-brinkleys-journey