ABOUT
ANGIE READ DOYAL
Angie Read Doyal is the co-author of Marketing to Gen Z: The Rules for Reaching this Vast—And Very Different—Generation of Influencers, the author of Mental Health Hacks: 10 Easy Hacks to Help Manage Anxiety and Depression, and now her personal story Invisible Scars: Stroke Survival, Recovery, and the Unexpected Mental Health Fallout.
Angie considered her life truly blissful. She had an adoring husband, three wonderful teenaged children, and a 25-year ambitious career as a public relations professional. She was active and healthy and about to embark on a mission to travel the world to share her passion and knowledge of marketing to Gen Z. But then life took a horrendous turn.
Completely out of the blue, at the age of just 46, Angie had a right-side ischemic stroke that required emergency brain surgery to remove a blood clot. In the blink of an eye, Angie went from a successful career woman and doting mom to an empty shell, terrified for her future and angry at the injustices of her situation.
Despite surgery going well, Angie was far from her previous levels of health and well-being. Anxiety and depression had taken over her life. She had lost her vibrant, energetic self, she couldn’t work, and she had to depend on her friends and family. Dignity and independence had been replaced with fear and sorrow. Angie was desperate to get back to her normal self but each day, all she could feel was that her body and brain were betraying her, despite having successfully ‘graduated’ from intense physical, speech and occupational rehabilitation.
Realizing that things were spiraling out of control, Angie agreed to being admitted to an in-patient mental health facility—twice. It took years of dedication, self-discovery, and continuous professional support. Angie completed an Intensive Outpatient Program and learned about simple daily practices that would enable her to manage the symptoms of anxiety and depression. She went through talk therapy and required prescription medication.
Her perseverance paid off. Not only was Angie able to return to her career, but she was also in a much better position to support her family, especially when her 22-year-old son had his own mental health crisis.
Now, Angie is back, better and bolder! Enjoying the smaller things in life like time with her friends and family, running, weekends on the lake, and any chance to see the Kansas City Chiefs dominate their opponents. Her own experiences have taught Angie that there is still a huge stigma surrounding mental health and her new passion is to share her story so nobody has to suffer alone.
