Life has never been an easy one for me. Looking back, yes, I’ve been dealt an odd card. I have life experiences I would wish on no one and yet, I’m still here…still kicking. A mother, a girlfriend, a survivor. While I had no choice in the experiences I faced as a child, it set [...]
I am a 41-year-old man with a perfect life: a family that is proud of the man I grew up to be, a partner of eight years (and counting) that cares for me, friends that support my aspirations, and a job that I love, but more often than not, I can’t enjoy it because I [...]
"To Hope Again" By Rebecca PhillipsI grew up in a wonderful home with parents who loved me. I attended good schools and seven years after I was born, my sister Laura came along. I was always involved in school activities and I remember smiling in most of my pictures growing up. In 1986, my family moved to [...]
As a freshman at UCLA, I fell into a deep depression, believing that my parents, my sister, the whole world would be better off without me alive. I saw a UCLA psychologist whose cognitive therapy helped me with my suicidal thoughts. Still, my underlying mental illness remained, and I ended up quitting UCLA. Eventually I [...]
My name is Keira. I’m a 27 year old divorced mother of two. I have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, PTSD, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, severe chronic depression, generalized anxiety disorder as well as bipolar. They do not define who I am. I am so much more than a label. So I know that I have [...]
I'd like to say I'm immune from stigma. After 3 years of blogging about mental health, and 2 years as an advocate, you'd think I'd be able to shake the shame surrounding my diagnoses of postpartum anxiety (and postpartum depression, antenatal depression, postpartum OCD, and generalized anxiety disorder) with ease. And from the outside, it [...]
I am a survivor of many things. I am a trauma survivor. I have survived multiple adverse childhood experiences, suicide attempts, psychiatric disability, addictions, profound losses. I was born to a single mother, a creative artist with a delightful spirit who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, whose care I was removed from by the age of [...]
I am the eternal optimist. I am that happy, perky little person that probably drives you nuts on a Monday morning. You may catch me doing Sean Connery "Celebrity Jeopardy" impersonations or spot me dancing down a hallway at work. I love to post inspirational things, make people laugh with crazy stories, and fight for [...]
Double Depression. That was my first mental health diagnosis, at age 40, two years ago, almost to the day. I didn’t believe it. Men don’t get depressed… that’s a woman thing, right? Too much touchy-feely stuff leaves you touched in the head. Better to just buck up, suck it up buttercup, and move on. Yep, mental illness stigma was [...]
My first dealings within the mental health system was at 13 years old. I was suicidal and deeply depressed. I was prescribed anti-depressants and had to see a counsellor. My counsellor tried family therapy where she told my mother that she considered me to be an attention seeker. I stopped talking about anything with her [...]