Beyond Medication: A Mental Health Journey in Foster Care

Written by Hannah Leszyeski

If you met me today, you would see a mother who loves her children and is working hard to build a life rooted in stability and hope. What you wouldn't immediately see is the journey that brought me here. My name is Hannah Leszyeski, and like many young people who experience foster care, my journey of mental health didn't begin with a diagnosis. It began with trauma.

A Childhood Without a Place to Belong

I entered foster care when I was four years old and remained in the system until I aged out at eighteen. During those fourteen years, I lived in 32 different placements, including five residential treatment facilities. Every move meant starting over. A new home. A new school. New caregivers. New rules. And over time, I stopped feeling like I belonged anywhere. Instead, I felt like I was simply being passed from one stranger to another. I never knew how long I would stay in one place or who would still be in my life tomorrow. That constant instability made it difficult to trust others and even harder to feel safe. Although I didn't realize it then, those experiences were laying the foundation for the mental health challenges I would later face.

When Survival Became Too Heavy

By the time I was seventeen, the weight of everything I had experienced felt unbearable. As my eighteenth birthday approached, I became terrified of what came next. Aging out of foster care meant losing the only system I had ever known. I believed I would be completely alone, without support, resources, or anyone to help me navigate adulthood. I couldn't see a future.

Feeling hopeless, I attempted suicide by swallowing many pills. I survived and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. While the hospitalization kept me physically safe, it didn't address the trauma underneath everything I was experiencing. My focus became getting out as quickly as possible. I told people what I thought they wanted to hear because I believed pretending to be okay was the fastest way to leave. Looking back, I realized that I wasn't ready to heal, I was simply trying to survive.

Becoming a Mother Changed Everything

Years later, after becoming a mother, I began noticing patterns in myself that I could no longer ignore. Sometimes I would cry without understanding why. Other days I felt overwhelmingly exhausted, even when nothing seemed wrong. These emotions didn't feel temporary anymore. For the first time, I asked myself if something deeper was happening. That question led me to therapy. Through therapy, I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Instead of feeling defeated by those diagnoses, I actually felt relieved. For the first time, my experiences had names. The confusion I'd lived with for years finally started to make sense.

Finding the Right Support

Finding help wasn't as simple as scheduling one appointment. I met with multiple therapists and worked with several different providers before finding someone I truly connected with. Although each provider reached similar conclusions about my diagnoses, finding a therapist who understood me and created a safe environment made all the difference. That experience taught me an important lesson: it's okay if the first therapist isn't the right fit. Healing is personal, and sometimes finding the right support takes time.

Beyond Medication

Everyone's mental health journey is different, and there is no single approach that works for everyone. For me, therapy became the most effective path toward healing. Through counseling and therapeutic coping skills, I learned healthier ways to process trauma, manage anxiety, and understand my emotions. Personally, I chose not to use medication as part of my treatment plan because therapy provided the tools I needed. That decision reflects my own experience, and I recognize that medication can be an important, and even lifesaving, part of treatment for many people. The most important lesson I've learned isn't that one treatment is better than another. It's that healing looks different for everyone, and each person deserves the opportunity to find the support that works best for them.

A Message of Hope

Foster care shaped my childhood, but it does not define my future. Healing hasn't erased my past, but it has helped me understand it and I continue to grow through it. If you're struggling with your mental health, know this: asking for help is not a sign of weakness. If one therapist doesn't feel right, keep looking. If one approach doesn't work, don't give up. There are people who want to help, and there is no shame in finding the path that's right for you. For years, I searched for a place where I belonged. Today, I'm building that place for my children, and for myself.