First of all, howdy y'all! My name is Carisa. I'm 38 years old. Before we get too deep into the sludge of shit I constantly weigh through daily, I'd like to tell you how and why I chose to submit this essay to Stigma Fighters. I was asked by a dear friend, whom is also [...]
In an instant I finally felt life being restored to my body. It felt like volts of electricity coursing through my veins. As the bright lights begin to come into focus, I hear faint voices becoming stronger. Did I make into the other dimension? I feel suffocated by the tube in my throat and taste [...]
Take My Hand I have decided to write about some of my own experience regarding depression. I've had it from about the age of 11, but not diagnosed officially until well into my 20's and had children of my own. I can't remember a time when depression wasn't there. People who have never had it [...]
Why I do what I do. It’s a Saturday morning, and I’m sitting on a train from London headed to nearly the top of Scotland. I’m giving a talk to pre-med and psychology students at the University of St Andrews regarding mental health stigma and sex/relationships for their weekend of lectures. I look over my [...]
Three Bites Bigger Perhaps you noticed that I didn’t include my name on this article. That’s because who I am has no bearing on the value I hope to offer with it. This article is for you. If you found your way to Stigma Fighters because you want help and support with depression, anxiety, eating [...]
For a long time I felt guilty. I felt guilty for having ADHD and needing medication to feel somewhat close to “normal”. I went through elementary school and high-school being labeled “lazy” and being accused of “not applying myself”. I even had a teacher sign my yearbook- where he said I was “a nice girl, [...]
My mother. My beautiful, sweet mother took her last breath on July 31, 2013. My mother, who had loved me more than anything in this world, absolutely unconditionally. She managed to love me when I wasn't always loveable-thru my surly and difficult teenage years. Thru my highs and lows. She was there for me throughout [...]
My name is Richard and my encounter with mental health is twofold. Firstly, I was the carer for my wife for over twelve years. She has bipolar disorder that only became apparent when we were on honeymoon. At first, it started as obsessive and strange behaviour and odd conversations that seemed destined to go to [...]
I grew up in a broken home with an abusive, drug addicted father, and a mother who only held on because she knew nothing else. When she finally found the courage to leave, we were gone for good. I never saw my father past age 6 until I was an adult. Soon after leaving I [...]
When I was 12, I thought a monster lived inside of me. That was the only logical explanation my child's brain could come up with to make sense of the crushing, debilitating pain that ripped through my chest on a constant basis. The pain never ended. It completely consumed me. My every waking moment was [...]
