Tracy: Hello Lloyd, thank you taking the time to share some of your wisdom with us today. To start off, could you tell us a little bit about your foundation and what you do?
Lloyd: Certainly! I founded The Rosen Foundation to help people who are suffering from depression. I’m also putting the finishing touches on a book about the same subject and I’ve hosted a radio show.
Tracy: How did you come to be passionate about helping people with depression?
Lloyd: It was something I struggled with personally for 36 years. After working with a therapist, I was able to get healthy. It was then that I realized how much quality of life I had lost to depression. I want to help as many people as I can find their way through that darkness.
Tracy: Was there a specific moment when you knew you were destined to do this?
Lloyd: I first caught the bug of wanting to start a non-Profit after I got healthy and realized how it felt to live a normal life without self-esteem issues, as well as constantly thinking I was not good enough to have what I wanted or desired. At that time I made the decision that I wanted to help people realize that there was help out there and they did not have to suffer as long as I did because I did not have the help that I was willing to give them my story that began in 2006 when I first started with my therapist. He first helped me to understand how to understand what I was dealing with and how to live with it. After a year of session with him I had a real grasp on what I had lived with for 36 years and knew immediately that I did not want to see other youth especially, have to learn the lessons the hard way the way I did. So the first thing I did was start writing and putting the information out in a book so people could read about my journey. After writing the book I decided that everyone youth, young adults as well as adults needed a place to be educated and supported in a safe environment. A place where they could talk openly and honestly about what they wanted to learn as well as issues they needed support in.
Tracy: What was your inspiration for The Rosen Foundation? How did the idea come about?
Lloyd: The inspiration happened for me when I was a radio show host of a show titled Life’s Issues with Lloyd Rosen where I talked to authors that wrote books on topics that affected their lives and how they overcame them. One issue that kept reoccurring in a lot of my guests was depression and in some cases suicide. Even though I had been thinking about the idea of creating the Non-Profit for some time it was when I interviewed guests week after week with a lot of the same issues that boiled down to depression and suicide.
Tracy: I imagine there are questions you are asked all the time. What’s the most common question people ask about your work?
Lloyd: The most common questions I get asked is how I can feel so comfortable discussing an issue that has so much stigma attached to it. I also get the question where did you find the strength to overcome such a debilitating problem. The answer to those questions are easy in the sense that if I help one person by talking about it then I have done my job. I believe in dealing with the issues of depression and suicide is so difficult because of the stigma attached to mental health. People are not ready to talk about their problems or issues in an open forum.
Tracy: You talked a bit about how hard it can be for people to take the step to get professional help. What do they do instead?
Lloyd: I have found that you can wallow in all the self-pity you want when you are dealing with a bout of depression but, you eventually find out you are all alone with no way of coming out of it. The one thing people can do is to identify what it is that is making you feel the way they are feeling and act upon it. I know the first move is the hardest but once you take that step the rest seems to fall into place and you learn for the next time it happens.
Tracy: It’s easy to see that you have a lot of passion for your work. What do you do to refuel that passion and keep yourself going?
Lloyd: Besides accomplishing getting a degree. I have continued to educate myself by getting certified as a Life Coach to help people take their lives to the next level and keep improving. I continue to blog occasionally on my site www.lloydrosen.com and encourage everyone to go read my blog. In my down time I enjoy Bowling, traveling and sightseeing, as well as reading and writing.
Tracy: Talking with you today has been a real treat, you’re doing a great work and it was enlightening to get a glimpse of it. To end, could you leave us with a bit of advice for people who might be struggling with depression?
Lloyd: Of course, I would encourage them to first and foremost believe in themselves..
To learn more about Lloyd and what he offers, visit his website at www.LloydRosen.com or email him at lloydrosen1@gmail.com
