We recently connected with Morgan Hebert and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Morgan, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Some of the decisions we make are about bettering ourselves in numerous ways. A risk is defined as a situation involving exposure to danger. Taking a leap of faith on starting a statewide support group for Body Focus Behaviors and advocating world wide for this mental disorder was one of the hardest decisions that I had to make. My story starts in the year 2018 when I self discovered that I had a anxiety disorder called dermatillomania. When everyone I encountered didn’t know much if not anything about it. I believe that my therapist was trying to put me down easy on the new diagnosis but it only lead to fear and danger. At that time I didn’t find the support groups around me, it was always 1 or more states over or away. I was so lonely in trying to understand this by myself, to digest this big term derm a till o mania otherwise known as skin picking or excoriation disorder. I went for additional help and did not receive what I wanted in return. It felt like I was cornered or drowning in the own blood pool I created with the constant skin picking I was doing. Over time, I learned to live with it, living with a label. That label was misunderstood, and often when we are misunderstood we are also mistreated. I was comfortable in my own shell, pivoting over the imaginary cliff edge of what I should do. I knew the danger that would come with advocating, the work that it so direly needed but I was to scared. And the more scared I had become the more I would regret the day before thinking if only I could talk openly about this problem then I could save someone else from the same damage. I am proud to fast forward into about 2 and 1/2 years later that I am advocating, helping not only people around the globe but also myself as I feel like I belong. The more I spent individual time with the community it just made the risk factor disappear into thin air.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am Morgan Hebert, a young adult that found a need that a unknown community was struggling. The body focused repetitive behavior community is a unknown community that is found in 1 to 20 people ratio. This community suffers in silence because of the shame that is surrounded by the stigma. I am a advocate that started a group for people who lives in Louisiana and have opened it up to other people all over the world. When I am not working with my own work, you can often find me in other people’s support groups or communities giving advice or sharing experiences. What I went through was not fun or great. I do not wish other people to experience what I went through as a kid and that is what motivates me to push forward and be hopeful for what the next generation can bring to this community that is rising to become known.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

Honestly I didn’t choose my profession on becoming a free mental health advocate. It chose me in fact, to see million of people suffer in silence or to only assume the worse, that they were not understood as a person, not getting what they need. If I could go back in time, yes I would love to change the way and actions it took me to get here but I wouldn’t change to not have the condition at all. The people that I have encountered have been a life saver to say the least and I don’t know what I would do without them.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I am not a licensed professional, but I have gained much knowledge over the past couple of years from advocating. I believe everything is equally helpful when advocating. When I see the work that I, myself or someone else does it brings me not only joy but a since of feeling invaluable, irreplicable. The stories that we get to hear, the lives we get to not only offer to change but get to see transform into something beautiful is truly breathtaking, and it is there to not only help ourselves strive and blossom as a better person with greater compassion but it also helps others do the same. Knowing that they are not alone in this battle, knowing that we are in this together, knowing that the struggle is real and we are here for it all. For me it is not about succeeding in the field of mental health advocacy but being there to experience it all, like life.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://louisianabfrbsupport.wordpress.com/
• Instagram: hope.for.bfrbs

Image Credits
Morgan Hebert (myself)