My name is Hannah Stark. I’m from an Atlanta Georgia however I presently live in Boone North Carolina. My main purpose for existing is to help others. I realized from a young age that I had a huge purpose in this world. My current mission is to break the sigma of mental illness, explicitly bipolar disorder. To acquire an unmistakable comprehension of my life I need you to tune in to my story.

Growing up I was consistently an overachiever. From the external glancing in it looked as though I had the “perfect”life. Little did they know it was the perfect illusion.
I was in front of an audience consistently competing in pageants and competitive cheer. I won nearly all that I contended in, and I made straight A’s.
I needed to be amazing inside and out, so I figured I ought to endeavor to have the “perfect” body also. This lead me down a hazardous way that nearly cost me my life.
At just twelve years old I was diagnosed with anorexia. I laid in the emergency clinic bed feeling hopeless, however I realized my story should not end at only twelve years of age.
In the interim, while I was battling anorexia, I was in the mist of filming a TV show. A couple of months after I left the emergency clinic I shared my story on Lifetime TV.
That was a groundbreaking moment for me, because I witnessed the number of individuals I could help by simply sharing my story.
After that I buckled down on my recovery. It was difficult, however it was worth it. After three years I was completely recovered from anorexia, and I thought my fight was finished. Much to my dismay I realized that anorexia was just the icing on the cake to my true illness.
When I hit puberty my mind changed somewhat. I didn’t act or think like I used to. My brain wouldn’t quiet down. I began to go days without resting, and I realized something wasn’t right. My outrage was at an unequaled high, as was my fixation. I faced challenge and I was occupied with wild conduct. After I descended from "celebrating good times” I fell into a profound wretchedness.
I was suffocating in bitterness, yet then half a month later I would feel like I was on top of the world and in charge once more. This vicious cycle proceeded for quite a long time, and at age 19 I was at my limit. My mom made me search for help. At that point my psychiatrist diagnosed me with bipolar 1 disorder. This finding was difficult to hear, yet I really felt a good feeling. Everything appeared well and good. I began taking the medication I should and going to treatment. I felt incredible, and my life was beautiful again.
My message to everybody is it’s OK not to be OK. Likewise, it’s OK to be bipolar! I’m currently in school studying brain science and I intend to go to clinical school after. I realize that one day I can help other people hands on. Up to that point, I urge you to search for treatment and not fear your analysis. Numerous individuals are battling and they are depending on you to improve so you can be a voice for them. I turned my mess into my message and so can you!

I have overcame so much in my life, childhood trauma and abuse,foster care, drug addiction, homelessness, incarceration, and mental illness. In 2016 I sought treatment for bipolar disorder, I also decided to pursue my undergraduate degree in psychology on a pursuit to become an Licensed Professional Counselor, I want to provide affordable treatment to those that need it most in our society. I am now in graduate school studying mental health counseling. I could not have done this without my medications, they saved my life and changed me for the better. 

The idea of having a Bipolar Disorder stung me for a long time. When I’m feeling down, sometimes I feel the pressures of the stigma revolving around my mental illness. I always felt like there was a “normal” Valerie or a status quo that I had to

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I am a 30-year-old female with bipolar disorder and I am here to share my story of living with this mental health condition.

By the age of 16 years old, I had probably been diagnosed with every mental illness out there and taken every medication possible. It wasn’t until I was 24 years old and in early recovery from addiction, that I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It took me a long time to accept the fact that I had this diagnosis. No one understood what I was dealing with. I never knew if I would wake up happy or depressed. I did tons and tons of research on bipolar disorder and found that it is partially genetic, so I decided to do some digging and look into my family. I found out that my great grandmother had died by suicide at the age of 24. My father had told me he didn’t want me to know because he blamed himself for my mental illness.

I look back, and always ask, “why me?” I feel like I was hit with the stick that gave me a mental health condition and a substance abuse disorder. Being one of three girls, I always felt like the black sheep of my family. I was always messing up and getting into trouble, especially when I would become manic. To me, mania is an outer body experience and I loved the feeling. In a matter of two weeks I spent over $20,000 because of my mania.

I have learned that bipolar disorder is not my life—it’s just part of who I am. I am not shy about it and I do public speaking about my illness. Now at the age of 30, I am a licensed master social worker working with individuals with mental health conditions. Mental illness is not something we can help and education is the key factor in getting others to understand what we are dealing with. I am finally stable on my medication and am doing the best I have been in a long time.

Even though my life isn’t where I thought it would be, coming to terms with my bipolar disorder was a major accomplishment. Don’t get me wrong—I still have my ups and downs and I still have a lot of symptoms that are very difficult to manage. NAMI is such an amazing organization with everything they do and I want to thank NAMI for always providing services and educational material to better help understand and deal with bipolar disorder.

Remember, you are not your mental illness, it is just a part of you. Stay strong and don’t stop fighting.

            My name is Jennifer and I am a recovered mental illness survivor—

            I have endured severe mental illness for over half my life.  During that time, I suffered from clinical depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and borderline personality disorder.

            Due to the depression, my behaviors ranged from excessive crying to excessive sleeping to suicide attempts.  I felt feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and helplessness.  All I thought I wanted to do was die.   But in fact, what I really wanted was help with overcoming my severe sadness.

            During my manic states, I endured impulsive, spontaneous, and irresponsible behaviors.  I felt on top of world.  I felt excessive amounts of energy.  I had racing thoughts.  I had delusions of grandeur.  I’ll be honest.  It felt great to be so high, but it is also very dangerous.  Risky behaviors can lead to much endangerment of self and others.

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I first began to experience symptoms of bipolar disorder in my early teens. i was put on Lithium while in a hospital and right away the almost catatonic depression I was in began to ease. From there on in, it seemed medication would be the answer to everything that was wrong with me. For years i was on every depression medication available, tricyclics, MAO inhibitors–when one stopped working, I was simply put on something else. Then things got better and I needed no medication through my twenties. i still struggled with lows, but there were no suicide attempts, I was able to live and love, to work and, for the most part, even enjoy life. Then, at the age of 29 I had a manic episode and my medication nightmare began.

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This year has been the year I’ve really worked on my recovery and my overall mental health. From a very young age I was depressed, fascinated with death and constantly anxious. I developed major body image issues as a child that turned into an eating disorder. I grew up with a biological father who was an addict, alcoholic, abusive and mentally ill with Bipolar Disorder.

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I was diagnosed with type 2 bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder about six months ago. Honestly, the diagnosis was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. After years of extreme depressive episodes, cycling with feeling unstoppable, I was desperate for relief. It sucks to have a mental illness. It really, truly sucks. But it’s amazing to be on medication, getting the treatment I really need. I think that the moment I realized that my diagnosis was a relief was the moment I stopped being hopeless about it. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but being diagnosed with bipolar disorder was one of the most hopeful moments of my life.

My name is Bek. I am a 34-year-old mother who has PTSD and postpartum depression, as well as unspecified bipolar disorder. For the first time in my life I actually feel somewhat stumped when it comes to writing about my mental illness and the road of recovery. I started attending NAMI meetings as part of an outpatient program, which was proceeded by my first ever manic episode and my bipolar diagnosis. 

Depression has been a part of my life since puberty and high anxiety layered itself on top of that. Sharing my story with others has been part of my overall healing and I hope by writing this that someone out there feels less alone. The episodes are real, the panic is real, the mental strain and trauma is real. You get the picture. 

I feel like my emotions have always overwhelmed me, struggling to “get out of my own mind” and did not actively seek any mental help until my mid twenties.  I initially sought out cognitive behavioral therapy which was something very foreign to me. Change your habits, change your thoughts, feel better, right?  It allowed me to move through some of the issues that had grown deep roots in my psyche and medication was prescribed to work in combination with the therapy. I didn’t really care what I put in my body. I felt like I was in permanent survival mode but at least I was taking steps to “feel better.”  I survived. I also self-medicated with marijuana, which seemed to help keep mania at bay and in general made me feel like I could handle life better.

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