Mental health presentation features Cleveland-based photographer Marc Golub

Cleveland-based photographer Marc Golub

"In one study, 92 percent of depressed patients who had attempted suicide were also plagued by severe anxiety," says Cleveland-based photographer Marc Golub. "Like alcohol and barbiturates, depression and anxiety can be a deadly combination when taken together."

Golub knows first-hand. He experienced a harrowing, life-threatening journey through 22 months of treatment-resistant clinical depression along with a co-occurring major anxiety disorder. A world-class professional photographer and computer geek, Golub has photographed every U.S. president from George H.W. Bush to Donald Trump. With an extensive and diverse body of work, Golub’s photos have appeared in every major publication in the United States and around the world. He is also an entrepreneur, owning ClikSEO – a search engine optimization and social media company.

“Depression is an ocean 1,000 feet deep. When a person is a few inches under water he/she is depressed. When a person is 999 feet underwater he/she is also depressed. The only difference is the person at 999 feet is closer to suicide and death,” says Golub. “During the height of my anxiety, I was afraid to shower. I was afraid to go in a car and feared being seen in public. There was no rhyme or reason to this – it just was. And anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 18 percent of adults,” he adds.

Along with a clinical presentation by licensed professional counselor Shelle M. Mathis, Golub will be sharing his 22-month ordeal as a case study on Tuesday, April 6, in the presentation, “The Sea of Depression and River of Anxiety: Mapping a Journey of Survival.”

Shelle M. Mathis is a licensed professional counselor and a licensed chemical dependency counselor. She is CEO and founder of Shelle M. Mathis Counseling Services, where she specializes in substance abuse, depression and anxiety disorders. She is also CEO and founder of Lilly in the Valley Christian Center in Elyria, a non-profit organization created to heal the broken through the arts and holistic recovery. Mathis engages eclectic counseling methods to help those recovering from mental health, substance abuse and other life-altering issues. She is a member of the Lorain County Suicide Coalition Behavioral Health Outreach Committee, facilitates the Elyria Survivors of Suicide Support Group and a member of the LOSS Team.

Cosponsored by Westlake not-for-profit Passion for Change and the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County, registration is $35 and open to the public. The program will be held at the ADAMHS Board, 2012 W. 25th St., Cleveland. It is approved by the State of Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage & Family Therapist Board, and offers 2.5 CEUs for counselors, social workers and marriage and family therapists.

To register online, go to passionforchange.org, or the direct link: passionforchange.networkforgood.com/events/2044-the-sea-of-depression-and-river-of-anxiety-mapping-a-journey-of-survival.

For more information, contact Passion for Change at 216-496-3295 or info@passionforchange.org.

Marilyn Quill

Passion for Change is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3), which serves as a catalyst in breaking the stigma of mental illness by shedding light, challenging misperception and driving change through research, advocacy and education.

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Volume 9, Issue 6, Posted 10:18 AM, 03.21.2017