Yesterday was a particularly intense day for Stigma Fighters and mental activists throughout the world. #Cut4Zayn trended on Twitter after Zayn Malik left the band One Direction. Teens posts graphic images of self harm in response to Malik's absence from the band. The images were explicit and painful. Stigma Fighters responded to the global event [...]
My dad was slowly changing before my eyes. He turned inward, he became quieter, more detached. he stopped asking me questions and stopped listening when I told him about my day. Instead of playing with me on the weekends he would take naps. He stopped smiling and the light went out of his eyes. I [...]
“The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.” ― Peggy O'Mara We all have those nagging voices in the back of our heads. "The sink splashed me at work and I look like I peed myself! Now I'll never get a promotion." "Get in shape! Preferably one that isn't round and covered [...]
I may be in the minority here, but I think living with mental illness is a blessing in disguise. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (II) in 2008 (I have been diagnosed with bipolar I as well, so who really knows!). Prior to the diagnosis, I battled depression and severe anxiety for years. Since my [...]
So they say life’s a ride – a roller-coaster even. And the people saying that are – quote unquote – normal. If my colleagues, friends and family think this is something akin to the Big Dipper, where does that leave me? Three years ago I fell dangerously ill. A life threatening health issue brought me [...]
Last Saturday I attended a birthday party for a friend of mine. At first, I was excited at the idea of a night out without the kids. But, as it got closer to go I started to panic. My thoughts ran wild- a new place, people I don't know, the inevitable dancing that resembles that [...]
The minute she was born I knew she was special. She had a full shock of dark hair and a wise air about her as if she'd done this many times before. I instantly fell in love with her. I wanted her so badly that I stopped the anti-depressants I was on after the birth [...]
I was always a nervous child but to me, that was normal. It stopped feeling normal at 25 when an unrelenting wave of panic attacks landed me in the local crisis center. Well-intentioned friends dragged me there, against my will, after I barricaded myself in the house—for weeks. Anxiety. Panic disorder. Agoraphobia. Those were the [...]
The weight on my chest is suffocating. I try to inhale deeply despite knowing what is coming. As my lungs fill, I am forced to stop short. A hand is gripping a balloon in my chest. The deeper I breathe the tighter it squeezes. It's going to pop unless I stop breathing. Sip, sip, sip [...]
Knowledge is Power For many of us it starts when we are small. For many of us it continues through adolescent and teen years. For many of us we grow up unscathed from childhood issues, taunting, or typical “rites of passage” intended to mold us into adulthood. For many of us, this is not the [...]
