Jenna’s Journey to Recovery and Healing at DSHS’ Western State Hospital
Compassionate care from hospital staff helps support her mental health recovery and path forward.
Growing up in Olympia, Jenna Cook never felt deeply rooted or connected. She shares her story not to center struggle, but to offer something meaningful to those listening — an invitation to understand the lived experience behind mental health and substance use challenges, and to ask questions that deepen collective learning.
Navigating Health Challenges and Loneliness
Between the ages of five and seven, Jenna underwent major surgeries for an Arnold Chiari malformation, a condition that caused swelling in the back of the brain and nerve damage. The surgeries saved her life but left lasting physical impacts, including limited use of her right side.
Childhood became a landscape of difference — sitting out of sports, feeling separate from peers, and carrying a quiet shyness that deepened the ache for connection. Frequent hospital visits and the sense of being “other” planted early seeds of depression and isolation.
High school brought the first taste of belonging. After Jenna’s parents divorced and her mother remarried, Jenna moved to a new neighborhood and school district. There, she connected with older teens who drank. Alcohol became a bridge — “the first time I felt a part of something.” It softened shyness, created ease, and offered a temporary sense of community. But it also opened a door that would be difficult to close.
Depression, Self-Harm, and the Collapse of Community
Depression had always been present, but alcohol masked it just enough to feel manageable. Jenna had a history of self-harm, believing at first that drinking helped. Over time, the opposite became true. Alcohol worsened isolation, and when it stopped working, harder drugs followed.
Jenna’s father struggled with alcoholism, but she had never been taught about hereditary risk or the science behind addiction. What began as a connection slowly became a trap.
As substance use increased, Jenna’s world shrank. The people around her were not friends — they were individuals seeking the same escape. Jenna describes this period as profoundly lonely, marked by depression, suicidal ideation, and around ten suicide attempts requiring hospitalization. Despite being in mental health services and on medication, Jenna felt unable to work, unable to connect, and unable to imagine a different life.
Medication, Substances, and the Cycle of Hospitalization
Jenna knew not to mix alcohol with antidepressants, but misunderstood the consequences. She assumed the risk was physical, not realizing that alcohol — being a depressant — would counteract the medication’s effects and undermine any chance of healing.
Life became a cycle: stay in bed, use substances, return to bed. Involuntary commitments to hospitals and evaluation centers in Olympia became routine, every other month. These facilities became the only place where Jenna felt temporarily supported, even if only because someone else was in charge.
After a serious suicide attempt, Jenna was admitted to the ICU and considered for a liver transplant at Harborview. Just before transport, her bloodwork unexpectedly improved. Doctors were stunned. Jenna survived. This moment became a turning point — one that eventually led her to Western State Hospital.
Western State Hospital: A Place of Stability, Sobriety, and Support
Jenna spent about three months at Western State Hospital following the attempt. It was the first time in years she had had enough stability to experience sobriety. She received physical therapy for her disability, including a shoe lift that eased chronic hip pain.
Western State Hospital became a place where healing began — not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually. It was a place where staff saw Jenna as a whole person, not a diagnosis — a place where recovery felt possible.
Relapse, Therapy, and the Return to Hope
After leaving inpatient treatment for substance use disorder, Jenna returned to Western State Hospital for another month. This time, she was connected with a Dialectical Behavior Therapy center in Olympia and completed an intake while still hospitalized. DBT and Alcoholics Anonymous became lifelines. Through AA, Jenna found a community, a sponsor, and a structure that supported long-term sobriety.
Peer Support: Turning Pain Into Purpose
Jenna began volunteering at a peer support agency in Olympia and eventually became a peer support counselor. She facilitated groups, including an art expression group, and later returned to school to earn a degree in substance use counseling. She also returned to Western State Hospital on Fridays to share her story with patients.
“I just have really good, really supportive memories of being at that hospital,”Jenna said. “It’s been a really positive place for me.”
Career Growth and Rediscovering Belonging
After five or six years of substance use counseling, the pandemic shifted services to Zoom, leading to burnout. A friend encouraged Jenna to join Peer Washington’s Olympia site. There, she rediscovered her calling. “This is just where I belong,” she said. Peer support allowed her to use her lived experience as a tool for healing — something clinical training alone could never replicate.
Jenna now trains peer support specialists, preferring to support trainers and participants rather than lead sessions due to anxiety. A Western State Hospital nurse once helped her set short- and long-term goals, including:
• Managing anxiety and depression
• Staying sober
• Becoming involved in the Olympia Drop-in Center
• Becoming a role model in recovery
Years later, Jenna reconnected with that same nurse at a conference in Yakima. They still keep in touch. Jenna used to send New Year’s cards to hospital staff, updating them on her progress — a testament to the hospital’s impact.
Life Today: Recovery as a Daily Practice
Jenna attends AA regularly, maintains a strong community, participates in an annual surfing retreat in Oregon, and has worked with a personal trainer for three years. She still experiences depression and suicidal ideation and continues therapy and DBT. Recovery is ongoing — but it is supported, connected, and grounded.
Jenna’s journey shows that our hardest chapters can become someone else’s survival guide. Clinical tools matter, but connection sustains recovery. Peer support bridges the gap between treatment and a sense of belonging.
“You don’t need to have all the answers to make an impact,” Jenna reminds us. “Sometimes simply being the person who says I hear you is the most powerful intervention there is.”
