For the past 25 years I was oblivious to the fact that what I have been living with is considered a mental health condition, instead I went about my days thinking the others around me were strong and confident individuals whereas I believed I was just not. As I grew up I came to learn [...]
A Mental Health Autobiography I'm never certain how much of my own experiences are unique to me, and how much of my experiences are universal, shared by everyone: a part of the human condition. Sometimes I think that our feelings are all more or less the same. Sometimes I think it's just me. Sometimes I [...]
For a bizarre fucking reason growing up, I was taught to bottle my feelings so that I could reserve my place in 'real-man' heaven. I always believed that crying was an expression of inner weakness which I needed to contain so I could keep up the appearance of this red-meat eating, lumberjack who was impervious [...]
MORE THAN THE MADNESS My name is John Kaniecki and I suffer from bipolar disorder. Please allow me to present my credentials. I have been hospitalized nine times three of them being committed. I have spent over a year locked away. I even spent a night in jail. When I first started taking the medicine [...]
Hello again, This is a companion to a piece that I penned on October 27, 2016. I would like to thank The Mighty for publishing my original post. The editors give a much-needed voice to the voiceless. The publishers at The Mighty have given a lost soul like myself a forum to tell my own [...]
Safety from Stigma Learning how recovery, addiction, and mental illness are so intertwined has been eye-opening in my three years of sobriety. Being able to see how my depression opened the door to the depths of addiction in my life now makes perfect sense. The stigma that comes with both addiction and mental illness is [...]
Me Vs. My Eating Disorder: How I realized that I was sick and learned to differentiate myself from my sickness By Sparklle Rainne My eating disorder began when I was only eight years old. It began with bulimia, but my diagnosis has changed multiple times throughout my life - I've been diagnosed with bulimia, anorexia, [...]
Living with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Every October since as long as I can remember I have been sad, angry, confused, upset, and illogical. What about October made me upset? Was October just a weird month thanks to Halloween? Many people have feelings of depression, mood swings, and less energy during fall and winter. Some [...]
I remember driving over the Gold Star bridge as a child (the summer before the fifth grade), on the way to an art fair with my mom, and seeing him. He appeared to be standing on the opposite side of the fence of the bridge, and if I remember correctly he was wearing shorts. My [...]
For everyone with depression, the experience is different. But you wouldn't know it from our societal image of the black dog. A million and one cookie-cutter 'signs and symptoms' pieces online, will blithely tell you the things to look for. Sleeping too much or not enough, isolating, lack of personal care and loss of interest, [...]
