When you're a teenager one of the last places you expect to end up is on the psychiatric unit of a hospital. Yet that's where I found myself one day when I was 15. My Mother and I had gotten to the emergency department at the city hospital pretty late at night from what I [...]
“How did I get here?” It’s a question I used to obsess over, feeling distraught over what I felt were the world’s standards for my age versus what I had actually accomplished at that point in time. I grieved how much I felt was stolen from me because of my mental illness and wondered if [...]
“The person who completes suicide, dies once. Those left behind die a thousand deaths, trying to relive those terrible moments and understand … Why?” – Clark (2001) I cry every time I speak in public about Jerry’s suicide. Jerry was my little brother. He was 35 and left behind his wife and two little boys. [...]
I was sitting in my favorite professor's class (abnormal psychology) ready to learn all about various mental illnesses. My professor spoke loudly when she said, "Now don't be surprised if you read a chapter and feel as if you have that mental illness the next day. The mind is a powerful thing." We chuckled and [...]
He needs a father figure! You're a bad mother! He needs more discipline! Are a few phrases that became a huge part of my life in 2009. At that time, I was recently divorced and a single mother with two handsome boys. My youngest was 3 years old and my oldest was 10; when our [...]
The Monster in My Head I have bipolar disorder. My moods shift from high energy and euphoria to low energy and deep feelings of despair. I began having symptoms when I was thirteen. I have had a problematic life, with its ups and downs, but God blessed me with good people and experiences. High school [...]
TURNING A FAMILY CURSE INTO A BLESSING My name is Tom and I was diagnosed on Good Friday 1993 with bipolar disorder. The diagnosis came too late to save my marriage and my career as a professor of broadcasting at a small Christian college in Arkansas. It could have saved my brother’s life, too, but [...]
I am no academic. I have no medical training other that how to put a triangle bandage on and do some sort of CPR at a push. However I have known for quite some time that I have a problem. Thirty odd years to give you an idea how long, I'm now 41 so the [...]
I have Bi polar. I have Borderline Personality Disorder. I have Depression. I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic disorder and disorder disorder disorder..... Bottom line, I am a person who lives with an Invisible Illness. One of many people like me who gives themselves a pat on the back for making it out of [...]
People With Depression Cannot 'Snap Out Of It' People with depression cannot “snap out of it.” My moods change frequently, and I am currently depressed. There is nothing more depressing than suffering from depression and still feeling sad. So, what's the point? Will it pass? No doubt. I forget what it's like to smile, and [...]
