Hiding my depression as a teenager, in some ways, was easy. I was an actress, so I became adept at acting "normal." I was great pretending not to be depressed. Holding my emotions inside became habitual. It was something that I believed was necessary so that people weren't worried about me or worse, judgmental of my stability. In the [...]
Many of us have an addict in our lives, whether that person's addiction is alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, compulsive spending or sex it's still an addiction. People associate getting sober as something we do from drugs and alcohol, but it can be a variety of things. Regardless of what the "drug" of choice is, it's difficult [...]
For years I thought I was not worthy of love. He told me all the things I was doing wrong and how I had failed my family. I believed him because he seemed like he knew everything and I wanted him to love me. It was difficult to accept that he did love me and this [...]
My first episode of depression happened over 10 years ago. I got very, very sick, and ended up in hospital following a suicide attempt. What was already a messy situation was even more complicated because at the time I was working as a nurse on an inpatient psychiatry unit at the major hospital in the [...]
As a child I was introverted. I lived in my own small world where I imagined different scenarios. I thought about safe imaginary places where my brain was calm instead of what was actually happening inside. There is much of being a small child that I can't actually remember. I recall bits and pieces of [...]
To our valued readers, contributors, and community members: Today I write to you on behalf of Stigma Fighters’ Board of Directors and our CEO, Sarah Fader, to express our most deeply felt apology for any offense that was caused by a recent article published to our blog, “MeToo? Probably Not.” Your feedback is valuable and [...]
When I first experienced bipolar symptoms in college it was as though sadness had gotten jacked up to an excruciating level. From the time of my early teens I had dealt with depression and the occasional suicidal thought. There was some irritability as well, but nothing that caught me off guard. My depression was familiar [...]
Broken Mirrors I’m standing in front of the full-length mirror in my bedroom, scrutinizing my reflection while I devour the rest of my Halloween candy. The walls are plastered with flashy posters of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, my current idols. I look at their identical, doe-eyed faces, then back at my own, scowling at my [...]
My past has passed don't let your past define you. My childhood was hard being bullied about my sexuality before I knew it myself. Gay puff queer big chin big ears every day for all my school years.Having such low self-esteem no confidence I became cheeky to mask the fact of how I felt inside [...]
We've heard people talk about others having "anger issues," but that could mean a lot of things. There are specific mental illnesses that have anger as the primary symptom. For example, Intermittent explosive disorder (IED) is an illness that is characterized primarily by the person being extremely angry. Someone with IED has severe impulse control. [...]
