I was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder over 3 years ago. I was suicidal, anxious, and, I think, depressed. I was hospitalized in January 2011, and late February/early March, my problem was discovered. I was hesitant to talk about my problems, then I opened up a little and my doctor wanted a second opinion. So he called in his colleague, who is my present doctor. And the second one was able to figure it out pretty much after one sit-down with me. 

I am now on the right medication, see my doctor every few months, and am a part of some online support groups for Christians with OCD. It’s a day-by-day thing, pretty much. 

If my mom had not called the Mental Health Crisis Hotline when she did, I would not be where I am today. I thank God that He got me the help I needed desperately. I am still here.

Peace <3

I started showing symptoms of depression and anxiety at the age of 17. I began isolating myself. My mind would start running about the things that were going on around me causing me to make things a bigger problem than what they were. I started to feel like the world was against me, and like everything was falling apart. At the age of 18 my parents went through a divorce. I felt alone. They both became so distant that they didn’t notice what was going on within me. I began cutting, drinking alone and socially. Fights with my mom became something common. I completely cut myself off from my family. One day I woke up feeling completely alone, lost, and hurt. I felt like my life had no more meaning. I wasn’t doing anything for anyone to be proud of. I had a panic attack. That is when I attempted suicide. I overdosed.

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Growing up, I always knew something was “off” about me. My mom also was aware of this. I started counseling at age 5; after my parents divorce. Fast forward to my first year of high school I was bullied a lot. I was constantly sad and lonely. I was constantly on edge and one of my biggest fears was being judged. My anxiety would lie to me, and tell me people that were close to me, disliked me. Obviously, this was a terrible feeling. Fast forward to the beginning of sophomore year, I was in the process of moving and I just had changed schools. I was so depressed at this time. I had been on medication, and it therapy. But nothing seemed to help. One night in November of 2017, I just felt so alone and worthless and I self harmed myself. I then informed my mom and was then put in a psychiatric hospital for a week. It was horrible. I then got out and things didn’t improve. I was then sent back to the psychiatric hospital for a second time in January but this time for a suicide attempt. Then when I got out, I tried so hard to get better. Months passed, and nothing improved. On June 16th, I overdosed in attempt of suicide. I was in the ICU at Boston’s children’s hospital for a week. I was then sent to franciscans where I started to improve. After this, I went to East House at Mclen Hospital. I can confidently say this hospital saved my life. I met so many great people like me, and this made me realize I was not alone. I came home after two weeks with lots of knowledge on how to help myself. Today, I am doing better than ever. I just applied to college. In two months, I will be 18. I remember being 16 and thinking to myself “I will not make it to 18.” But I will, thanks to all the love and support I have. You are not alone. Things do not last forever. Over the past 2 years, I have learned this to be true, and I am so thankful.

Depression Made me feel Dead a little every day. It’s like a virus inside your head that takes over. The worst thing is to know that my family and friends were around yet I still felt so lonely. I was literally my own worst enemy. I would come home and feel so exhausted from all of the voices in my head that I would just sleep to block it all out. I didn’t want to see daylight because I was living in a nightmare.
I knew I needed help but asking for it just made me feel like a burden. I felt as if I had lost myself and wouldn’t ever be the same again. I had no motivation to do anything because I couldn’t see a future for myself. Anxiety caused me to believe I was a failure and that I have basically Failed myself. ‘Be Positive’ was the worst thing anyone said to me. I wanted to speak to someone, but ‘I’m Busy’ was the only response I ever got.

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I am extremely reluctant to do something like this, but my psychiatrist can only see me 1 hours every 2 months now.
I am a loner and live in a very rural area. I enjoy this setting and I don’t feel lonely. I was officially diagnosed with Bipolar 1, depression, and anxiety in 1979 when I was 29. I don’t want pity nor do I want to be in a depressed environment. I have horses and dogs as my support group.
Is NAMI a place for me?

Unfortunately, I am alone at this point in my life. I am coming out of a divorce after 26 years of marriage. I have a daughter now 26 years old and a son now 28 years old. I thought life was going great for me until one day out of the blue my wife said that she wanted a divorce. This was in October 2015. The kicker was that she wanted a divorce because I suffer from severe depression.

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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.

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!

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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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.