I am 32, a United States Marine Corps veteran, an auditor and I am living with bipolar disorder II, which causes symptoms of anxiety and depression episodes.

I never truly understood what it meant to have a mental illness until I realized that I was constantly worrying and feeling down. My depression episodes manifested as days of extreme lows where I struggled to get out of bed and perform day-to-day tasks and activities. I spoke to some friends who were dealing with similar symptoms, and they encouraged me to seek professional help. My bipolar diagnosis was identified when I was in a serious car accident while experiencing a manic episode.

Discovering a mental illness while recovering from a major accident was not easy. Here is what helped me accept my diagnosis and recover from my physical and mental injuries:

• My family and friends stepped up tremendously ready to assist and encourage me. I was an emotional and mental mess, and they helped put me back together.
• I had to position myself to receive advice from my family and friends who are familiar with mental illness and are actively managing their own mental illnesses. I also had to remain open to receiving information regarding coping strategies, being mindful of my mood and warning signs of a potential manic episode or manic depression.
• Setting small goals helped me find my way back to myself. I am not the same person I was before the accident, and trying to get back to that person is not realistic. I had to accept the now me in order to move forward.   

Today, I am different because I am living with my diagnosis and my diagnosis is not controlling me. I see my therapist and psychologist on a regular basis. I am mindful of my mood on a daily basis and aware of the warning signs of manic and depressive episodes. I ultimately have taken charge of my life and my health.

There is a need for mental illness to be recognized as a real and serious condition in community specifically the African American community. People need to be educated on the various mental illness diagnoses and symptoms and see a therapist at least 2-4 times a year to maintain their mental health. Education and therapy ensure they are not putting themselves or others in danger. Many people are unaware of their mental illness and choose to suffer in silence. We need to end this process of thinking and encourage people to seek support.

Mental illness screenings should be done 2-4 times a year for preventative reasons, just like an annual physical examinations and biannual dental cleanings. Mental illness screenings should be no different.

My hope is that people who live with mental illness and the people who love them will eventually see all health as equally important.

In 2004 my life changed. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I was twenty years old at the time, and I was a good student. I began feeling depressed and having memory issues. My grades began to slip. I knew something was wrong. I did a little research, and I concluded that I must have bipolar disorder. Mental illness runs in my family so I wasn’t scared to go to the mental health facility to seek help. Sure enough, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It has been a difficult twelve years. I have had many jobs. I have acted erratic and gone years without working due to depression. I’m thirty-two now, and I am on a cocktail of medication that is beginning to work. Hopefully, I’ll be working soon. Remember to never give up hope.

The Gift of Mental Illness - And Why You Should Never Give Up on Life

By: Melanie Berman

1 in 4 American adults struggles with mental health issues.  That means someone you know - a friend, a family member, an acquaintance or you.  These struggles are not easy.  They can range from depression or anxiety, to OCD and Bipolar Disorder, to Borderline Personality Disorder and Schizophrenia.  There are all types of levels of severity.  As a 22 year old living in Northern California with a Bipolar Spectrum Mood Disorder and OCD, my life has been far from easy.  But I would not trade in the mood disorder for a perfectly chemically balanced brain.  Yeah, you read that right.  I wouldn’t trade the sleepless nights filled with panic or the depressive episodes or even the unexplainable periods of severe irritability.    I wouldn’t trade in the broken relationships, the devastation experienced by both myself and my family with every episodic mood swing, the medical leaves of absence from college, having to quit most jobs I start, or even the lack of independence that the mental health challenges have given me.  Why, you may ask?! Why not trade it in for an easy, dare I say “normal” life??

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Hello, I’m Debra Orozco from Arlee, MT.  I’m a board member of NAMI Missoula, part of America’s largest grassroots mental health organization, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

In 1999, almost 18 years ago, the man I had been married to for 8 ½ years discontinued his treatment for bipolar disorder.  Within weeks, during a manic episode, and despite all our efforts to get him help, he drove his car into the wilderness and simply vanished.  He remains a missing person to this day.

Our daughter was seven years old at that time, and she was severely traumatized by the event.  She was treated for PTSD and then for major depression.  While she was in college, she received the diagnosis we had been dreading—bipolar disorder.  But thanks to good, early, effective treatment, she is not just surviving, but thriving.  She graduated from university in 2014 with two bachelor’s degrees and high honors.  Now she’s back in college completing premed courses and planning to enter medical school in 2018.  Her stepfather and I are so proud of her!

As a veteran, I receive healthcare via Tricare and the VA, so I was able to obtain excellent coverage for her during the first years of her illness.  The ACA, however, did not provide the extension of coverage to 26-year-old dependents for those with military insurance, so she was on her own at 21.  She initially got coverage through the health insurance exchange, and then through Medicaid when Montana enacted Medicaid expansion. 

Without her current access to healthcare, I worry that her bright future will turn much darker.  Please help in this fight to maintain access to affordable healthcare for my daughter, and for so many of our citizens in similar circumstances.

            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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Before being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder II – I honestly knew little about it or mental illness in general for that fact. I was drowning in confusion while losing an uphill battle of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. It’s difficult to take care of yourself when it feels like your brain has betrayed you. For those of you who suffer, who are afraid to seek help, or are currently in the threshold of the mental health system, I give you my ABC’s of mental health. Everyone deals and reacts to mental illness differently. This is not a standard guide, but my personal experience with dealing with a new diagnoses, going through the process of finding the right medication, while trying to live life to the fullest despite the struggles and stigmas faced every day.

Anger – at yourself, at life, at everyone around you. Anger toward the medication you have to take, the doctors telling you things you don’t want to hear, therapists making you dig deep to the point of mental breakdowns. Anger that this is your new life. In the words of Tame Impala, “Let it happen.” Then let it go.

Bravery – I know it may not seem like it at times, but it takes a lot of courage and strength to get out of bed and face the world when all you want to do is curl up in a ball and hide from everything. It’s even braver to say things out loud and accept your disorder as part of you -not all of you. I came out to my family and friends in the form of an article that was published. Although I didn’t feel the bravery that they told me I had, it was a necessary step in accepting my illness and reducing the stigma attached to it. To those who struggle every day and find the courage to keep going, you my friend, are a brave one.

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My doctor described my diagnosis to me in this way: I’m a 78 RPM person trying to function in a 33 1/3 world. For you baby boomers, you’ll know what I mean. If you’re younger than a baby boomer and don’t understand the analogy, ask your parents to explain it to you.

When I’m manic, I’m like the energizer bunny. Always going. Creating something. Wanting something. 

Right after I got diagnosed, I jumped into crafts and started making these little wooden window seats.

I didn’t create one or two, or a few. I created dozens. And dozens. And boxes full. I obsessed over getting every single wooden window seat in the Tampa area so I could make something out of it. Then I wanted a puppy. (Thank goodness my husband saw fit to tell me no at that time) Then I jumped into soap making. I made pounds and pounds of soap. (All of this is in less than a week.)

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I have been affected by mental illness since the age of 15. You see, that is when I was first diagnosed with Severe Clinical Depression. I am now going on 43. Through the years I have been diagnosed with anxiety, PTSD, and Bipolar Disorder. It has been a long road. It hasn’t been easy. There are days that I want to give up. But my message for you is this:

YOU CAN DO IT!

YOU can live a life with a mental illness. YOU CAN have a family. YOU CAN have friends. YOU CAN have children if you choose. YOU CAN have a successful career. YOU CAN have a successful LIFE!

It won’t come easy. Even people who don’t have a mental illness have it rough at times. But it is possible. It might take a little more work, but if you are determined, you can make things happen!

Bipolar disorder has made my life interesting for sure. And I am not ashamed that I am still trying to find my way in the world. But I am doing it. I am living life, one day at a time. I am dealing with my moods and managing my illness with medication. Not many people understand, but if you talk about it [your illness], and explain it in a way people will understand, we can break the stigma that surrounds Mental Illness.  

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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