Trigger warning: I go into a bit of backstory regarding how my super religious homeschooled upbringing changed how my mental health as a teenager was/wasn’t treated. Some of this content could be triggering. In the deep South, you go to church every Sunday, say “y’all”, and always properly address your elders. You drink sweet tea [...]
Mervyn Kaufman gives voice and color to the full range of emotions he experienced while seeking help to treat his depression. Who knew that this wimpy guy with a wispy beard was actually tough enough to help me turn my life around? He was of medium height with sloping shoulders and a slightly thick gut. [...]
My dear old friend depression used to visit me a couple times a year, then she started coming around once a month, eventually she just moved in. Now I can't imagine not living with her by my side. She sleeps in my bed, she eats my food, she goes out with my friends. At first [...]
Author’s note: This is the full text of a long-hand letter I wrote to myself six years ago, when in the middle of an acute period of depression. While I cannot vouch for the trustworthiness of the narrator, I share it because its a raw first-person account of what it feels to be depressed. P.S. [...]
The First Day of the Rest of My Life For as long as I can remember, I’ve always felt as if I were living two different lives: the life everyone sees and the life that only I see. In the life that everyone sees, I am a friend, a daughter, a sister, a straight-A student [...]
For as long as I can remember I have felt as if I don't belong, like I just don't fit in this world. I think that these feelings haunting me everyday are something that seriously contributed to the development of my depression. I have a hard time even pin pointing when this started but I'm [...]
When I was in high school, I would wear a bow in my hair every day. It became my signature. People in my community knew me as the happy girl with the bow. I was bow girl. When I was seventeen, my depressive symptoms arrived. I felt miserable and I didn't know why. I didn't [...]
One Man. Talking About His Life With Depression. "I'm ready to tell my story. It's time." That's what I heard from Stuart Walker, owner of Clubhaus Fitness, a tall, muscular guy with a boisterous laugh and incredibly busy schedule. He knew I was researching Perfectly Hidden Depression. He had listened to me talk about how [...]
Destigmatizing Medication: How Psychiatric Medicine Helped Me Survive Isaac James Baker shares his personal story of how his psychiatric drugs helped to save his life, as he battled anorexia, anxiety and depression. When my psychiatrist told me he was prescribing medication, I told him, “No thanks, I’m fine.” But he insisted, rolling off an impressive [...]
JUST PRETEND _____ Dear friend, How are you? Sorry I keep on forgetting to ask you about you.. I guess I am just too lost to look beyond my own head and that kinda makes me a bad friend. So, I apologize. This week hasn’t been a good one… I made a few decisions… Have [...]
