David Romano- Emotional Wellness Keynote Speaker

David Romano lives with depression; in his presentation, “It Wasn’t Supposed to Happen to Me”, he reveals his experiences with the dark lows of self-injury and a suicide attempt during high school, and his ongoing path to recovery.

When he began to feel the early symptoms of depression in middle school, he thought everyone felt that way, and that it was part of growing up; but when he reached tenth grade and depression turned into a sense of darkness enveloping him, David assumed that he was failing everyone, including himself, and that he wasn’t the man he was supposed to be.

The popular student and multi-sport athlete tried to maintain his outward image as the fun, goofy kid, and used sports and other activities to cover his inner struggle. A mental health check-list he read in health class shone a light on his symptoms, and he began a treatment plan under the care of a professional; after some ups and downs, he found the right combination of medication and therapy, and has focused his energies on self-healing and spreading awareness about mental health and suicide prevention, as a speaker and through his Bike Across America for Mental Health campaign.

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