I was diagnosed Manic Depressive in 1987 long before it became politically correct to be called Bipolar. I spent years hiding my illness, refusing treatment and medication and my life went spiraling out of control. My rock bottom was a 4 year stay in federal prison for securities fraud, or more commonly known as stock [...]
Freed Control is my Insanity My name is Jay Insalaco. I am a husband, father of two beautiful children, and a public worker. Life wasn't always like this, here’s my story. In 1995 when I was 19, I started going to a rave club in New York City called "the tunnel". At this club I [...]
I bet you are thinking how can a man possibly have postnatal depression, well it happened to me and it was the reason why I set up Fathers Reaching Out. People say Mental health has a stigma attached, but a man with postnatal depression - trust me that's hard. Postnatal depression can occur in men. [...]
What is anxiety? It seems like I've been asked this question a million times in my life. How do you explain something to someone that you don't fully understand yourself? I envy you people who ask me this question. I think you people are so lucky to not understand. I sincerely hope you never get [...]
Social Media Hell At the time of writing this I have just come out to my friends and family on Facebook that I have been struggling with social anxiety and depression. I hate Facebook, it fills me full of anxiety and pressure knowing that everyone I know is looking at what I say and judging [...]
Have you ever had a nagging feeling at the back of your mind .. you know, the one that says oh so quietly "I need more"? Not the voice that says "buy the shoes!" or "I need a holiday". The voice that gnaws at you, bit by bit.. "I need more... life, more purpose." "Ssssh" [...]
Never Judge Someone Until You've Walked A Mile in Their Shoes I flip through my memories like stacks of paper left unorganized for years. I fade away into these memories while I try to sleep, as I drive or even standing in line at the grocery store. No matter how many times I sift through [...]
In April 2015, I went to a health and wellness retreat sponsored by my college. I had signed up to attend several months prior because I knew I needed to start focusing on my own health and wellness, especially my mental health. I felt like I really needed some alone time away. It had been [...]
Leave it to me to be the dissenting voice. My mother wouldn’t at all be surprised. She might however be surprised to know that a few years ago I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. In fact most people in my life don’t know. Not because of stigma, not because of any sense of shame [...]
I suppose I have had anxiety my whole life. I was born into a strong Catholic family were everything was a sin. My older brother had epilepsy and so our family was always on edge, I guess I felt it was normal. It peaked at 13 when one night I was quietly watching tv like [...]
