ADAA Allies

My name is Adnan Alkhalili, a 16 year old born and raised in the state of New Jersey that founded Free The Bird (https://freethebird.org), an unincorporated nonprofit association/foundation run by the youth for the youth in an effort to break free of the dysphoria.

Sunset Therapy Apparel is a Mom and Daughter business that was created to spread awareness and offer support for those who are personally affected or have loved ones affected by mental illness. In the United States alone, 1 in 5 adults will experience a mental illness at some point in their lives.

Many of us involved in the arts maintain a complicated tango with our mental health. For someone like me, a theatre director, actor and songwriter with lifelong OCD and anxiety, an overactive imagination has been a source of both severe difficulties and some of my most creative work. The same impulse that makes me need to touch everything three times is the one that, when I’m staging a show, makes me meticulous about finding the perfect image.

Mama K Breaking Bath is a small bath and body company based out of Durham, North Carolina. Kate Kalinowski, owner and artisan behind all Mama K products, firmly believes in self care that takes place both mentally and physically. While bath bombs and luxurious soaps are a fun part of self care, caring for one’s physical and mental health is more complex than bath products alone.

 Each of our mighty miniatures are perfectly imperfect and beautifully flawed, as is the human spirit. And don’t underestimate their size, for they may be itty-bitty, but with the biggest of hearts, the most positive of attitudes, and the purest mindset, they are here to bring a bit of light, love, and whimsy to you and your loved ones. It’s about finding happiness in the “little” things.

How it all started:

From 2010 through 2018, I worked for the federal government as an Equal Employment Opportunity Investigator. I investigated allegations of discrimination in the workplace based on disability. Though it was a rewarding career, the symptoms related to my diagnosis of general anxiety disorder made it difficult to complete the essential functions of my job. I subsequently focused on my mental health towards the end of 2018.

OCD, ADHD, Depression, and Anxiety: these are the mental illnesses I’ve dealt with my entire 33.5 years of life. I spent many of those years not knowing there was a name for what I was experiencing, that there were things I could do and people I could talk to to help navigate life with mental illness.