According to the internet, my friends, and mental health groups all over the world, I am a stigma fighter. I’m an elite, mentally ill stigma fighter looking to change the perception of mental illness in a single bound. I, of course, am not an elite anything, but I am a person with knowledge, lived experience, [...]
Looking back on my life with the ever-expanding knowledge of mental health that I have been amassing, I now realize that I have suffered from depression and anxiety for most of my life. As a teenager I was accused of being lazy, angst-ridden, self-absorbed. While I agree that most people go through these phases during their [...]
“We’ll need to address your daughter’s depression.” The doctor had said it as if it were an afterthought, a plate of French fries tacked on to the side of the main course, her autism. My seven year-old has a high functioning form of ASD some doctors still refer to as Asperger’s. It’s characterized by anxiety, [...]
Game Changer: My Bipolar Journey Some people’s depression is triggered by an event, a major loss or a tragedy. My first depressive episode had no inciting incident. It happened slowly and all at once. The sadness and dread was overwhelming. I couldn’t stop crying. I stopped going out. I stopped talking to my roommates. I [...]
On June 18th, 2012, I had the panic attack that changed my life. It was easily the worst I'd ever had; I wasn't really sure I had ever had a true attack before that, but on that particular day, driving across Staten Island and attempting to avoid the standstill on the ironically-named Staten Island Expressway, [...]
As children, many of us had high hopes for the future. Will I be rich? Famous? Twirling a sign for money? I only had one hope: I hope it ends quick. Living in the late 90's/early 2000's, I was not diagnosed in the way I am now. I have Asperger's, social anxiety, depression, and ADD, [...]
My name is Nikki and I have depression, anxiety and slight bipolar type II. I am 27 years old and have been living with depression and anxiety for over 10 years., Well, I think it's just over 10 years, but if I'm honest it's probably a lot longer than I think it is. But, anyway, [...]
Hi! I'm Cat, and I'm very happy to be sharing my testimony! The words I will speak here today are the words that God has given me. I have come to know and love Jesus Christ on a deeper level in the last several years. In December 2012, I tried to take my own life. [...]
I have to start by admitting this has been a difficult piece for me to write. You may be thinking “Obviously, it takes a lot to write about your mental health issues/eccentricities in a public forum”, however talking endlessly about myself has never been an issue. You see I write about my anxiety, my agoraphobia [...]
My brain is trying to kill me The Early Years My mom was a paranoid schizophrenic. When I was a kid I never understood why my mom felt compelled to collect odd things for her scrapbooks, why she had conversations with people that didn’t exist, or why she would hide in the closet for hours [...]