The only comprehensive study of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan was published in the New England Journal of Medicine by Dr. Charles Hoge in 2004. This study suggested that those who served in the Iraq War had an “estimated risk” for PTSD of 18%, and those who served in [...]
Getting Wet by Rory Bristol There’s nothing like being afraid of the element that consists of 71% of both your own body and the planet you live on. Water. It is evil. It is full of germs, and wetness. It is gross to the extreme. I am able to get in the hot tub. I [...]
Suicide is a serious topic, culturally taboo, that most people fail to recognize what it truly is. We are the generation that is open to differences, but when it comes to mental health and understanding suicide, we are all human. It’s a concept that is pushed aside and forgotten about, but suicide is relevant in [...]
How I Found My Roar, and Gained my Power Back Fear flooded my veins when I ran into an old friend of my mother’s in a clothing store at the age of 13. My trembling body stared into his eyes, and while my head screamed “RUN”, my feet were frozen to the floor. It was [...]
Trigger Warning: Talk of suicide and intrusive thoughts. If you are struggling, please reach out to 800-273-TALK (8255) or online chat at http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ It's been 4 years since I first posted publicly that I live with mental illness, 2 days after my dear friend died by suicide at Christmas. A force within me had to [...]
At dinner, my mom turns to my husband and says, as she has many times over the years, “I prayed against all the other boyfriends, you know. Every single one of them. Except you.” She pats his hand. He grins and gives her a fist bump. “Well,” I say, laughing, “I guess it’s not my [...]
My Name is Nicole. I am a mother to two beautiful little girls and I am a survivor, an advocate, and probably a lot like you. I also happen to have a mental illness called Bipolar Disorder. I think if I was a child growing up now rather than in the early eighties, I definitely [...]
Changing Our Tune Why We Need a Choir of Advocates to Fix Mental Health By Liza Long In the spring of 2003, I sank into a deep depression. I was near the end of my third pregnancy’s second trimester, expecting another boy to join my lively five and three year old sons. The psychiatrist who [...]
The Inheritance of Domestic Violence Sometimes, when it’s quiet and I’m alone, I can still hear my mother’s and stepfather’s raging, violent arguments echoing through my head. I see her face; bruised, swollen and bloodied. I feel once again like I’m cowering in the hallway, waiting for a chance to reach the telephone hanging on [...]
I’ve been promising for too long to submit my story to help stop the stigma against mental illness. The reason it has taken me to so long to finally do so is not because I lack passion for the cause. In fact, the opposite is true. Honestly, I have started writing my story for the [...]