MEET CARRIE SPICE

Working to heal the wounds of generational mental illness

BY ANGIE ARLINGTON

THE BEGINNING “My maternal grandparents were from Russia and Poland. After they came to the U.S., my grandmother gave birth to three daughters,” Carrie Spice recalled of the maternal side of her family. Each daughter had a mental illness that lasted her entire life. Medications and other interventions proved to be unhelpful. While the sisters were seen as the familial starting point of a lifetime of mental health issues for every generation that followed, it would become clear that mental illness plagued Carrie’s grandparents, too, and quite possibly, the generations before them. The oldest daughter was diagnosed with schizophrenia and passed away from a lithium overdose. The middle daughter had depression and died by suicide when she was in her 40s. When Carrie’s grandmother died, her grandfather jumped off a bridge. Carrie’s mother was the youngest of the three sisters. “My mother’s life was not easy from the beginning,” Carrie sadly explained. “My grandmother [would] put my mother in a bassinet and forget she put her there. Instead of being picked up, she cried and kicked her little feet out of the bassinet. My mother was not comforted or well taken care of due to my grandmother’s mental illness. At the age of 5, my mother lost all her teeth because of malnutrition.”

GROWING UP In her high school years, Carrie was homeschooled so she could care for her mother, who had had a nervous breakdown by then. “She received shock treatments and lost all her short-term memory,” Carrie recalled. “I had to become ‘Mom.’ I did all the cooking, cleaned the house and helped raise my brother till my mom got well again. My dad had anger issues. He has never told me he was proud of me or thanked me for taking care of my mom and brother. Instead, he would worship music. “I have found so many resources to help me. I attend a bible study group at my church, i Town, in Fishers.

I have learned from my own family’s past that people can be healed and their lives changed with support.”

Carrie’s goal for the future is to open a Dream Center in Honolulu. There are many Dream Centers across the United States, where people can come to heal from their past and get help from several resources, all available in one spot.

“It is a dream and a prayer right now, with so many people helping families in need,” Carrie said. “My passion is to help others heal like I have. I want to help people who want tochange their lives by living at the Dream Center for two years to heal and find their purpose again.”

There is a Dream Center located in Indianapolis. For more information, go to https://dc-indy.org.

Carrie also wants her children and grandchildren to continue living healthier and more hopeful lives. She is determined to create a future that supports others with mental health issues and allows them to have access to everything they need.

tell me not to cry, to “stuff it,” and to make sure the house was spotless. He was never loving to my younger brother or me.”

Carrie left home at the age of 17 to go to a college near the beach. “I missed my mother and brother and prayed God would protect them while I was gone. But I was so behind [the other students] in all my studies. I took a psychology class that helped me understand my dysfunctional family.

“I felt so defeated and behind and had no idea how I would catch up, so I went home and never returned to college.”

CARRIE’S JOURNEY Carrie has lived with depression and anxiety for most of her life. “I started therapy in college and have not stopped since,” she said. “I have a therapist, counselor and mentor. I also have a psychiatrist who helps me find the right medicine that helps me live a happy and fulfilled life.” Carrie’s self-care involves attending church and listening to worship music. “I have found so many resources to help me. I attend a bible study group at my church, i Town, in Fishers.

I have learned from my own family’s past that people can be healed and their lives changed with support.”

Carrie’s goal for the future is to open a Dream Center in Honolulu. There are many Dream Centers across the United States, where people can come to heal from their past and get help from several resources, all available in one spot.

“It is a dream and a prayer right now, with so many people helping

families in need,” Carrie said. “My passion is to help others heal like I have. I want to help people who want tochange their lives by living at the Dream Center for two years to heal and find their purpose again.”

There is a Dream Center located in Indianapolis. For more information, go to https://dc-indy.org.

Carrie also wants her children and grandchildren to continue living healthier and more hopeful lives. She is determined to create a future that supports others with mental health issues and allows them to have access to everything they need.