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’m MERLIN.I have been dealing with mental health issues for many years, more than 25+ .I have taken all different kinds of of meds and have tried to stop taking meds more than 8 times and have ended up in the hospital.a mental health hospital can be a scary place but the people are trained and are there to assist you with your recovery.Since dealing with mental health issues over 25+ years I have decided to turn the tables on MENTAL HEALTH and train to be a PEER SUPPORT ADVOCATE.i want to help other people dealing with mental health issues and let them know that there is light at the end of the road and what they are going through is only temporary.i want to share my faith and help educate,inpire,coach and be an example to others.medication and counseling 

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Is it ok to not be ok?

I have to tell myself at times that it is ok to not be ok. When the depression comes at times, instead of fighting it, I stop. Cry it out. When I get anxious, I do what I need to do to calm down. I have coping skills and my support system to help me managed my mental health. Although times are good, but the times that are not so good comes to surface. I get angry with not only others, but myself as well some times. No one understands me, but those that goes through the same thing. Only us that has been diagnosed with a mental health disorder understand each other. Opening up is not always easy as people think. Telling others that I am not ok can bring a lot of questions that we are not wanting to anxiety. Afraid to call in to work again because your anxiety is high. They’re aware of your mental anxiety, you tell them that you have been anxious because of the crowded room they put you in. Plus they add more people, and still expect you to tough it out. Is it really to be ok when its not ok? I understand shutting down, go into that comfortable place alone, and not talking about what is wrong. I promise I know that place all so well. Whether ok or not ok. It is ok! You are not alone at all. We may never meet, but we all are fighting together. We all have a voice for each other! When one can’t speak, I promise you we speak for each other! 😇😀

i was born to an alcoholic father and druggie mother. she left when i was 3 months old my dad was in and out of my life. i grew up between him my aunt and cps. i never knew a stable home. i have battled to keep a relationship and all my friends and family have turned there back all i have is my kids and husband. we are going on 5 years. i have battled self harm suicide bulimia. i hope others can learn to love there self even through there horror of mental health .

Taking one day at a time as I see my son recover from from being diagnose as having schizoaffective disorder. Everyday is struggle, however he is still trying to recover and make the best of what is normal for him in his mindset. Even though things took a turn when he was in college at the prime of his life, he made it back home safe in my arms. I welcome him with open arms as I try to come to terms of what happened to my baby, my first born. In this life he will always have a label holding him back from being all he can be because of what society shows. As I stand to help him recover, I open his eyes to not being a mental health client who is pushed to the side. I hold his hand as he walk this valley we call life and to live happy and know that he is truly loved. There is no love like a mother love for her child, so I say love your child even in the darkest time that they don’t understand.

In August of 2019, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes and my doctor recommended exercise to treat it.  This all started in 2005, when I was diagnosed with a postpartum mental illness and treated with medications that have known metabolic side effects.   My diagnosis was later changed to Schizoaffective Disorder.  Every time I’ve been taken off medication, I’ve gotten sick again, so I need the mental health medication, even though it has side effects.

My work provides the benefit of points towards a gym membership. So, I joined the gym after I learned about my diagnosis. As part of joining my gym, I had a free consultation visit with a personal trainer. At the end of the visit, we sat down, and he took out his notepad.

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Hi I’m Dave and I have struggled with Schizoaffective Disorder (a lovely combination of Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia) for over 40 years.  As a child I suffered with extreme depression and manic episodes.  When I was eleven I began hearing voices.  I am now 52 and it’s been a long, difficult, and strange road. Over the years I have learned a few tricks that have allowed me to experience a degree of peace and serenity, sometimes. Let me tell you a little bit about this disease, the consequences it’s had on my life, and how I’ve learned to cope with it.

From what I understand hallucinations and delusions can be a little different for different people. For me, hearing voices is just like it sounds, it’s like being in a room with people around you talking. It comes and it goes in varying degrees of intensity, and it can drive you mad.

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My name is Jonathan and I am 28 years old with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. I was born in South Korea to a mother who was labeled “mentally unstable”. I was adopted by my family as a baby and grew up in Virginia and Louisiana. As a child, I was markedly different and as I grew older things got more and more complicated.

            I didn’t start the process of seeing doctors and therapists until I was 15 years old and it took an entire decade for me to be properly diagnosed and placed on the right medications. Over the years I had a variety of diagnosis’ to include: ADHD, Asperger’s, Oppositional-Defiance Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar disorder, then finally schizoaffective. I had been placed on almost every different anti-depressant and anti-psychotic available and they were all accompanied by mixed ranges of undesirable side effects.

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