I am only three or four years old in my first memories of anxiety. I am also these ages when I start learning from my parents that this is not an acceptable way to act or to think. And so began my lifelong struggle with anxiety, hypochondria, OCD, social anxiety, eating disorders and general confusion about why I am the way I am.

Anxiety and depression are not strangers to my family, but from the beginning it was shameful to talk about. I suffered in relative silence for 18 years, only reaching out for help when things got so bad that I couldn’t keep them inside.

In college, I made the choice to see a therapist and have never looked back. In the intervening six years, a lot has changed. I have not been able to completely overcome my daily struggles, but things are getting better and I know they will continue to do so. I do not hide the fact that I am in counseling. I talk openly about my story and I encourage others to seek out the help they need.

It is not our fault that we deal with these mental struggles. We are simply a product of our circumstances. But, we hold the power to change our own lives and the lives of others by getting the help we need and working to change the image around mental health. We don’t have to be victims of our circumstances. We are stronger than that.

My parents have a history of mental illness on both sides including: bipolar, depression, anxiety, OCD and narcissism and borderline.  There is also a heavy history of alcoholism on both sides.  I feel that genetically given my biology I inherited genetics for my mental illnesses and was kinda screwed at the get go.  I also grew up in a CRAZY abusive household.  I was/am totally traumatized.  So hereditary and environment–the double whammy.

I went to a highly regarded anxiety and depression center and was evaluated extensively.  They told me the evaluation would take 5 hours. Mine took 11. ;-) I knew that was a sign.

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I struggled with mental health for most of my life, though it was especially bad in my teens. I suffered with anxiety and depression; the anxiety was so bad I became terrified of leaving my own room and had panic attacks over being around people at all. I was even too anxious to post to forums for people who struggled like I did. As the anxiety got worse, so did the depression. I self-harmed for 10 years, and attempted to take my life three times. I finally broke down and went to the ER, begging anyone who would listen to help me. I stayed silent for so many years, suffering alone, and couldn’t take it any more. The hospital stay greatly helped me, and I have been clean of self-harm for three years. I hold a part-time job, and even have a few friends. I never saw myself having a “normal” life, but it is possible. If you are struggling, PLEASE don’t struggle in silence. Get help. Whether it’s reaching out to a loved one, a therapist, going to a hospital, there are loads of resources to help you, and even more people who care about you, even though it may not seem like it. Don’t lose hope, don’t give up. Life will get better, you just have to give yourself the chance.

Anxiety and depression is real. I am one of them. Don’t be afraid to seek help. A lot of people go years without seeking professional help. I was one of them. At the age of 37 I was hospitalized for a week I was officially diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Losing my children in the midst isn’t making it easier. Please seek out a local psyc hospital or mental health professional. I hope me coming out publicly will encourage others to do the same.

Its kind of crazy how your past struggles make people see you completely different .i struggled with depression and anxiety when I was 13 I have gone a long long long way to be the person I am today ;a happy motivated I guess you can say ambitious too but I never really looked back to my anxiety and depression because I learned to get myself out of hard times but it’s kinda upsetting getting shut down for opportunities simply because of my scars why should my past define me .i done anything and everything to get myself where I am now and I continue to move up in my career but it’s suck having to work 20 times harder trying to prove that I’m mentally stable simply because of my scars people don’t want people that have that depress background and it sucks because i personally don’t think it’s fair .i seen a psychologist and he has indeed written im mentally good but the scars are there and there’s nothing more to do to prove otherwise to them atleast .armed forces and becoming a cop maybe never be an option for me which sucks because it’s something I really want to do but my scars are a big problem because it’s tied down to depression and depression is tied into sadness and to them it can’t even be outbeaten that you have a problem . There’s only so much I can do to prove myself and believe when I said I done as much as I can but to them it’s simply a no .my past shouldn’t define me as the person I am today it’s unfair .overcoming your mental illness makes you the strongest person atleast in my personal opinion that’s a battle itself. What motivates me is my ability to put a situation out there I won’t stop trying because i truly believe being judged by scars is wrong.

Things didn’t look up for quite sometime for me. I had just been in an accident, and lost my job. I was diagnosed bipolar 2 disorder, anxiety, ptsd, and depression. I knew I’d been battling with anxiety and depression, but never before bipolar. I’d take the time out of my day to read upon what’s been diagnosed. To familiarize myself on what’s it’s like for a person with bipolar. I thought I was okay. I put my barrier up, I pretended that I was okay. I WASNT!!! The sad hard question is why’d I let myself suffer? Why’d I choose not to speak up, and get help instead of hurting the ones closets to me? Here’s what I can tell you. I didn’t speak up, because I was afraid. What most don’t realize; Everyone in your life is battling something similar, So there’s no judgement.

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Thirteen years ago I was raped and had a baby boy. Because I had been raped several times before that, it caused me to fall deep into depression and anxiety. Today I am free of the anxiety but the depression has a strong hold on me. I never admit how bad it is to those around me, I just put my mask on and pretend everywhere I go. I do believe that the same way I was healed from anxiety, one day I will be healed from depression as well. I wasn’t born like this so I refuse to die like this, I want to live and I want you too live too!

Hello there. I’m an eighteen year old male, who has been fighting depression for years and only recently anxiety joined the battle on the side of depression. It’s very, very hard, to do the simplest of tasks. I find it hard to just get up out of bed sometimes. I can’t bring myself to try to get help, because deep down I feel it won’t help. 

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I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety six years ago, my freshman year of high school; I remember being told, “these are going to be the best four years of your life.” To this day, I have to disagree… High school was the worst four years of my life. I couldn’t give you a specific date or event that caused my depression to take a steep nosedive into what felt like hell — but it did, and the few years felt like a decade.

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My name is Caitlin and I’m 34 years old. I was first diagnosed with depression and anxiety when I was 19, but I’ve probably been struggling with anxiety for my whole life. I am writing this today after hearing others share their stories of recovery from mental illness and feeling inspired to do the same.

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