My Journey Though I struggled with depression for much of my adolescence, my mental illness journey began not with me, but with my sister. She was battling bipolar disorder when the only things that I was concerned about were Pop Warner football and video games. In the span of two years during high school, she [...]
Often viewed as one of the most tell tale signs of a true "junkie", there is no doubt about the stigma that comes with track marks. It has been three great years since the last time a needle punctured my skin in a desperate search for a functioning vein. Some scars still remain, lightly tracing [...]
Empower Yourself and Recognize Stigmas Hold Zero Validity By Robert Parmer We live in a country still unfortunately filled with some social, physical health, and mental health stigmas. America doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to these types of shamming behaviors and that is, to put it lightly, disappointing. Taking the steps [...]
VA: VETERANS ABUSED Help wanted. Help needed. Help sought. None found. Child abuse, sexual abuse, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, military service, service-connected disabilities, high-stress jobs, debilitating injuries, chronic pain, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder…stuff. I’ve got issues. Who doesn’t? I earned mine the hard way, by that I mean as victim or observer or worse, but [...]
adhd: it is not child's play anymore I’m an adult with a disorder most people think children grow out of. I have ADHD. For those that aren’t “in the know” ADHD is an acronym for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Usually it’s tossed around as a joke. “Oh, I got distracted while I was in the [...]
Cynthia's Story Where does it really begin? That’s the million-dollar question. I’m pretty sure the doctors and therapists consider the beginning as the date of diagnosis – which was September 2005. But then some doctors reflect back to my teen years (when I had a rather manic episode) as the origin of the illness. But [...]
