My journey of depression and anxiety has been a family legacy. Family members have each handled it in different ways. Some through gritting their teeth and pushing through. Others handled it by denying that there was anything to address. It is a legacy that has been handed down. Cycle after cycle...one of anger and loss of control [...]
VA: VETERANS ABUSED Help wanted. Help needed. Help sought. None found. Child abuse, sexual abuse, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, military service, service-connected disabilities, high-stress jobs, debilitating injuries, chronic pain, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder…stuff. I’ve got issues. Who doesn’t? I earned mine the hard way, by that I mean as victim or observer or worse, but [...]
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…but can I? By Buffy Close Once upon a time, I was going to do it all and have it all. I was going to be an actress, a dancer, a singer, a business owner, an author, a teacher, and a psychologist. It sounds [...]
adhd: it is not child's play anymore I’m an adult with a disorder most people think children grow out of. I have ADHD. For those that aren’t “in the know” ADHD is an acronym for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Usually it’s tossed around as a joke. “Oh, I got distracted while I was in the [...]
The funny thing about depression... First of all, let me say that I am in no way making light of any kind of depression... except that I have the less intense kind of depression.... depression light, as it were... I mean, I'm not crushed by overwhelming waves of despair or suicidal thoughts or anything. I [...]
THE DAY MY FATHER COMMITTED SUCIDE My father committed suicide on July 27, 2011. I was the first person to find him. It was a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. When I found him, he was outside, face down, with a .38 revolver in his hand, which I was unaware of him having. He had told me [...]
My Amazing friend Ryan Omega put together a book called "Letters To My High School Self". He requested that I contribute to it, and my initial reaction was that since I really didn't attend High School (I had dropped out, had a child, was married, and working two or three jobs at a time during [...]
My name is Becca and I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder four years ago. This is after being misdiagnosed and wrongly treated for 13 years. I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have seven children, one dog and two cats. Even when I was younger, everyone knew there was something a bit [...]
I was about nine I think when it first happened. I was at summer camp in Pennsylvania. I couldn't breathe. I could feel the air slipping away and I couldn't get it back into my lungs. I swore in that moment that my heart was going to stop beating. It was over. I would die [...]
“I am what I am and that’s all that I am.” –Popeye It’s not politically correct, but I have two terms I use when talking about mental illness: depressives and norms. Yes, I’m sure some find this offensive, but I assure you, that’s not my intent. It developed from trying to help my husband understand [...]