For the 10 years my boyfriend Dave and I were together, I knew of his emotional pain that stemmed from the death of his mother in 2001; she passed away from lupus. I also knew of his lifelong intense pain and depression from a complicated upbringing of severe narcissistic abuse. Some prefer to look the [...]
I dreamt of a snake shedding its skin. And as it did, I killed it. In fact, I suffocated it. In its place, a smaller, shiny snake appeared. I felt okay with this one. I awoke from this dream feeling shaken; it stayed with me for days. Ever had one like this? A dream so [...]
For years, I kept my struggles with depression hidden away. I was embarrassed. I was afraid. I didn’t want to burden people. I didn’t want anyone to think I was flawed, or weak, or crazy. It made me feel truly alone. But then, I met a few other people willing to open up about the [...]
The cocky fireman got way too close to my face and rudely asked: “what, are you on drugs?!” My response? “YEAH ASSHOLE I HAVE A PANIC DISORDER!” I didn’t know I was pregnant. Let me make that very clear. I had no idea I was pregnant. I thought I was simply going insane and losing [...]
I will never forget the time I sat in the closet my belly panging at me begging to be fed. I was so upset that I simply was unable to speak. My anxiety disorder completely ignored. I was shouting on the inside but of course, no one could hear that except me the hollow echoes [...]
Childhood I know I did not have anxiety or depression when I was a kid. Yes, I was anxious about getting friends because I was a shy and quiet person. I also knew I had a hard time making friends because of it. So, my mother enrolled me in an after-school program and dance classes. [...]
My daughter, Samantha, was seven-years-old when she was diagnosed with an “unspecified mood disorder.” This is what doctors usually say when they don’t want to tell you a hard truth – in our case it was early-onset bipolar disorder (as opposed to major depressive disorder or seasonal affective disorder) and we were in for years [...]
My sister wouldn’t talk to me for almost five years. The original story from my perspective was she was mad at me for not working while I was getting multiple panic attacks a day while pregnant with my first son. At one point she even told me “Fuck your therapist and fuck your doctor, you [...]
I was born into a humble family. I was the last child. I am what people call ' born by mistake'. My birth was unplanned and there was an age difference of about six to seven years between my immediate elder brother and I. My father was a driver, traveling all over the country. He [...]
People who struggle with mental illnesses are still plagued by stigma and discrimination. It is true that awareness of these diseases is starting to permeate society and seep into crevices once thought impenetrable. Yet we have much further to go; walls of ignorance to break down, deserts of misunderstanding to quench, and mountains of inequality [...]
