When I was 12 I was sexually assaulted twice and stalked. From these events I developed Anxiety, PTSD, Insomnia, Depression, and Trichotillomania. I began to self-harm at 13 and was hospitalized for suicide attempts at 14. It’s been a long hard journey, but there is hope! Keep moving forward, you got this!
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#mental illness #mental health #treatment #depression #anxiety #self-harm #submission #coping #recovery #posttraumatic stress disorder #panic attacksMy father was a drug addict, paranoid schizophrenic, dealer and hoarder.
Growing up was traumatic to say the least, I ended up moving out at age 15.
Currently I am 28, a father to be, high school teacher and martial arts instructor.
My whole life I have been dealing with depression, anxiety and other mental health concerns.
I found that the best therapy came from writing my story, first in the form of poetry then in a book. Even if you only write for your self, please do it. It will help!
I feel like an alien, I don’t belong, I don’t want to be here, I’m not made for this earth, nobody understands what it’s like because you just can’t put it into words and even when you can you feel like a burden or like you’re crazy or attention seeking.
You know everything and yet you know nothing, constantly questioning who you are because once you think you know that illness comes tapping at your door and you suddenly feel lost again.
From a troubled past of bullying and being made to feel so small and insignificant, guilt trips, abuse, neglect, abandonment, death, violence, a broken home and self harm..
Nothing has ever felt like home.
Always thinking about giving up, never being good enough, wanting to fit in and be loved but at the same time all you want it to be left alone and not hurt anyone.
Being completely fine one day then losing control the next.
Locking yourself away and shutting everyone out and then when you’re finally alone you get hit with depression and crave someone to pull you out.
Problems with your self image and having to grow up too quick.
Abusive or unstable relationships where they react in a way which triggers the things you try so hard to keep hidden away.
Begging and crying to friends, family, hospitals, councillors and doctors to please just fix me I can’t take any more of this.
I have been diagnosed with a long list of mental illnesses. I suffer from severe depression and anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Out of all of them, BPD affects my life the most. I have had BPD my whole life. From pre-school to elementary, I would cry the night before, the morning of, and during school because I wanted to be with my mother. One of the symptoms of BPD is fear of abandonment/paranoia of being abandoned. I did not want to be separated from my mother because I was afraid of being left behind.
Other symptoms of BPD are: feelings of extreme anger for no reason, a pattern of unstable relationships, disassociation, mood swings, depression, anxiety, impulsive dangerous behavior, feelings of emptiness, distorted and unstable self-image, and self-harm/suicidal ideations.
BPD also affects the way one thinks. They see things only as black or white - there is no gray area. In addition, people with BPD put someone they just met on a pedestal, then immediately drops them if the person says/does something they do not like/approve of. It can be the smallest thing and most times, the person has no idea that they did anything offensive. Having BPD distorts the mind, leaving the person unable to think clearly and logically.
I have burned so many bridges because of my fits of rage, my inability to handle stressful situations, and my attachment issues (fear of abandonment).
I have been in and out of the psychiatric ward at the hospital because of BPD. Every time I am released from the psychiatric ward I am hopeful and optimistic, praying that this will be the last time I will be in the psychiatric ward. Except, I always end up going back. I feel so frustrated because I am taking ten steps backwards from recovery.
I was diagnosed with a mental illness at the age of 19. I am now 62. Not only have I suffered from mental illness I have struggled with the stigma of having mental illness for 43 years now. I was diagnosed with acute depression, PTSD and bi-polar disorder and I became very much overwhelmed - alone, lost and hopeless. I was seriously contemplating suicide. Someone suggested that I investigate the services available at my local chapter of NAMI.
I understand that I can never be completely cured of mental illness but with the help of the advocates at NAMI my ‘situation’ was stabilized and there is now hope in my life. In addition to the regular psychiatric care I I receive I attend weekly sessions with a ‘Life Coach’ from NAMI as a client of a program they administer called 'Self-Directed Care’. In addition to the one-on-one counseling I am offered specific goal-oriented financial assistance that helps me pay for my treatment and psychiatric medications and in developing and implementing a plan of action who’s goal is to make me self-sufficient and no longer dependent on the welfare system.
Whether I eventually succeed or not is still in question and a lot depends on me, but the fact is that today I have a real chance to make a contribution to society instead of being a drain on it. Without NAMI I would be just another mental patient wandering without direction and chances are that I would continue to be in and out of inpatient psychiatric facilities - the perpetual 'revolving door’. Thanks to you and your support of NAMI and the great people there I now have a chance to live a healthier, happier, more productive life. More of a blessing than a burden. Thank you.
Everyone struggles with something in life. Some struggle for brief periods of time and some struggle every day. I belong to the some who struggle every day. Since I was 5 years old I have constantly struggled with mental illness. I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, ADD, ADHD, PTSD, and attention deficit Disorder. My dad, step mother, and Step Father physically abused me for most of my life because they didn’t understand what I was going through and my Mother was the only person in my life to try to help me through everything I was dealing with. Unfortunately I did not trust anyone around me due to how I was treated at home and because I was constantly bullied at school because I was different. Eventually the abuse I was facing at my step fathers house led to me going into a state of shock and I tried to hurt my mother because I was so out of it and thought she was my step father. I was 15 at this point and was detained.
My name is Abbey and mental illness is something that I’ve struggled with for years. I’ve been diagnosed with several mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder and Bipolar II. I’ve found peace and comfort from sharing my story through writing blogs and poetry, and sharing my story on social media sites. My goal in life is to inspore someone, anyone, and let them know that they are not alone in their struggles and that I want to support anyone in need of support and to be a mentor and someone others can look to for guidance. Even though I still struggle greatly, I find hope and comfort from sharing my story. I hope that I can be a light in someone else’s life and be there for someone in the same way others have been for me. Support from friends and family that I can relate to truly has saved my life and made me feel safe when talking about my struggles, and I would love to pass down my personal struggles to help guide others through their struggles as well.
Hello, I have always thought that sharing my story with the mental health community is important to bring hope to others that are just like me.
I’m a 37 year old divorced mother of two boys. I have been in therapy of some kind or another since I was 7 years old. Mental illness runs in my family as well as substance abuse addiction. I believe I was born with my many disorders that progressed and worsened as I got older, abused illegal drugs, prescribed medication and had my children. In my early childhood I showed all the many signs of OCD. I also grew up in an extremely chaotic family where my mother suffered terribly with her own mental illness that was never acknowledged or treated and an emotionally absent father. My two older siblings coped with this by using and abusing drugs and my older sister was put into rehab when I was seven. My older brother simply moved away and is still an addict today covering up his own mental health issues. My younger sister was extremely emotionally disturbed and would act out violently towards my parents but especially towards me. She would later become a drug addict for many years and thankfully entered recovery 4 ½ years ago.
Sometimes the trauma we experience is not definable in terms of scientific research or assessments. Sometimes depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues are never actually diagnosed but somehow those of us who experience these issues deal with them on a daily basis and find inspiration and hope in our communities and inside ourselves.
I, like many others, have experienced multiple traumas in my life including rape, abandonment, intimate partner violence, a diagnosis of a “terminal” disease, homelessness, and drug addiction. Yet, somehow, I have made it through these experiences and found help along the way. Not from the system of care (as many of us know, the system of care is not really designed to “care”), I found help in the support and love from others who have also experienced similar things. It is their courage and compassion that gave me the strength to keep moving forward. It is their determination and insight that helped me work through the pain and fear.
I am forever grateful for those who guided me along the way. Your support will never be forgotten. Your support helped me to not only find a new way to live but to follow my passion and help others. Even though I have been dragged through the mud, I know my worth and value has not changed. Today, I am working on a PhD. and hope that the work I do, the community bridges from research and academia to the real world I build, can help inspire others. May you find love and peace in your hearts
TO ANYONE WITH ANY MENTAL ILLNESS OF ANY AGE:
(you don’t have to be in middle school)
Middle School’s known to be some of the hardest years of our lives, between hormones and homework it’s tough enough to make it through without mental health and the stigma it so often carries. As it’s impossible to make it through a class without someone making a joke about a mental illness either a friend of mine or I have, I’ve come to a certain conclusion. Teenagers will be teenagers, it shouldn’t be that way, it shouldn’t be an excuse to kidding about things that people truly struggle with on a daily basis, but it is. Sometimes things in life are just stupid, but we can’t let that get to us.
I’m a 13 (almost 14) year old in the ignorant year of 8th grade, towards the end of last year a few things in life went really, really wrong, and it resulted in a series of unfortunate events (no pun intended). Basically, by the time 8th grade started, I had not only experienced my fair share of panic attacks, gone to a therapist several times, but I had also been diagnosed with depression and an anxiety disorder. I had basically hidden from my entire grade during the summer, so as school started up again and I was struck by a mass of indirect insults towards my mental illnesses, let’s just say there was a lot of tears at the beginning of the year.
I am one of the many faces of mental illnesses. I have been diagnosed with depression, generalized anxiety disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. I’ve struggled with this from an early age and only recently have I started coping with my mental health. When I was on one kind of antidepressant it made me extremely suicidal and aggressive, I finally had it changed to something more suited for me. I wasn’t able to do this on my own though. It took someone stepping in and addressing that I had a substance abuse problem and telling me to get help. I have been clean for 4 months now and I’m working towards staying healthy, both for myself and for my family. I take medication daily and I see a counselor weekly. If there is hope for me then I know there is hope for you or your family member that is struggling with a mental illness. Please, don’t he ashamed to ask for help. There is always someone out there who will understand!