*content warning - suicidal ideation* It was November and traffic was awful. A downpour had turned the freeway into one long hydroplane. Even if I hadn’t been sobbing, visibility was almost nil. My two children were strapped in their car seats behind me. Both were screaming, the three-year-old punctuating every shriek with a kick to [...]
I’ve read that 70-90% of people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia are totally unemployed or completely disabled. I received this diagnosis when I was 20. And today I decided to shut down the home based business I have been running for the last 10 months, mostly because of the toll it was taking on my [...]
Trigger warning- self-harm I have been diagnosed with depression for the last 26 years. I can barely remember a time when I didn't have it. Honestly, I probably was depressed since birth. It is just how my brain is wired. I have always been a chronic pessimist, seeing the glass fully empty. I was the [...]
by Lindsay Holmes Trigger Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of suicide and self-harm. In his song “Hurts So Good,” John Mellencamp had it almost right. Sure, love may sometimes hurt good, but not in the way I’m talking about. I’m referring to the sweet burning release from pressing and [...]
“It’s Not Me, It’s My Brain” -- Sarah Comerford Recently I wrote the introduction to the fourth Stigma Fighters anthology. It was a proud moment for me. I’ve been with this organization since its inception, and I am thrilled how far we’ve come. I mention this in the introduction, but I also mention how far [...]
Grief doesn’t have to just be about dying. It's common to grieve when a person dies. In fact when you think of the word "grief," most likely you associate it with death, but grief is about the loss of any kind. When you break up with someone, lose a friend, go a divorce or anything [...]
Mental illness is not easy. You cannot simply tell a depressed person to be positive and get over it. You cannot tell someone suffering from anxiety to just stay calm. You cannot reassure a person battling anorexia that if they just eat something it will go away. Mental illness is hard. It’s complicated, exhausting and [...]
Dear Depression, I need you to know that you are not me. Your incessant insults may make me briefly believe that I am all of the terrible things you tell me, but I now know that I am none of them. I am worthy of love. I am strong. I am handsome. I am enough. [...]
TINYLETTER.COM/CRYING Eve Peyser I began sending out a newsletter every time I cried because I thought it would be funny. A compulsive journaler obsessed with keeping track of my various mental health issues—depression, anxiety, severe suicidal ideation, ADHD—I never had much desire to keep any of my mental health issues a secret. Talking about what [...]
Growing up, I was told a lot that I am brave and strong. I was told that I handle my chronic pain bone disorder, Multiple Osteochondromas with grace. Those I loved were attempting to lift me up, but it actually had the opposite effect. It suffocated me. I was afraid that if I showed how [...]
