Totality of a Woman: From Businesswoman to Women's Mental Health Advocate

Stephanie Carnegie is a single mom and entrepreneur. For more than 10 years, she owned a public relations company representing artists and entertainers. Like many other working women, she struggled to balance a personal life and a career.

"Handling motherhood, being an entrepreneur, being a businesswoman and just the daily routine of life sometimes can sometimes bring on a lot of stress," Carnegie said.

Three years ago, that stress became unbearable and ultimately lead to depression.

"It just came to a point where I needed to find more purpose in what I was doing," Carnegie said. "And going through that, I ended up going through a lot of changes myself and I ended up battling with depression."

She suffered in silence. Until she couldn't anymore.

"People were so used to me showing up and not just showing up but showing out and getting the job done," Carnegie said.

She began to talk about her struggles and realized she wasn't alone. So Totality of a Woman was born.

"It's about the core handling mind, body, and soul," she said. "The totality of a woman."

In March, Carnegie held her first Totality of a Woman conference. About 150 women showed up.

"For the first time, they felt like they were in a safe environment to be able to open up and share and express what they were going through," Carnegie said.

This month, she launched a campaign called Stop the Stigma and Start the Conversation.

"The stigma is that we don't want to talk about because of the labels—you're labeled as 'crazy,' you're labeled as 'weak,'" Carnegie said.

Carnegie recently received her certification in mental health first aid. She said that African-American and Latin women suffer the most from mental health issues.

"You have to find a self-care regimen that's going to work for you," she said. "And that may look different for every single woman that's experiencing it."

This summer, Carnegie will be working with local leaders to start community initiatives and workshops. She also has a podcast in the works.

This fall, she will be taking Totality of a Woman on the road to Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Miami.

--JESSICA FORMOSO