I want to start off by saying.. If i cry, don’t feel sad. I don’t want any sympathy. No one owes me any compassion. I’m good now.  My hope is to inspire others to come out and share their stories without fear and to inspire others to educate themselves and try to understand mental illness. This is NOT my way of playing victim, this is the most realist explanation of my story about suffering from mental illness and all its ugly, painful effects. This subject is very important that needs to be discussed openly and publicly in order to save lives and end stigma.

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Hello everyone taking the time out of their day to read this.

My name is Ashley. I am 29 years old and will be 30 this year. My resolution was to help more and inspire more and let others know they are not alone.

At a very young age I learned who I could rely on and what it was like to have to fend for yourself. My biological mother was one who probably never should have had children and I do not state that to sound petty, or to sound mean. I have personally come to a healing point about what has happened. She was not mentally stable nor was she in a position that was in the capacity of raising a child. 

My mother was never a mom. While she wasn’t around either working or at the bar trying to bring guys home…she was very verbally abusive and physically abusive. At points in our lives we lived without water, heat, electricity. Was moved around constantly for no reason…it usually came down to her not paying the rent or bills and I have literally know idea where all the money went off to.

At 10 I started to retaliate and got bored in school due to the lessons seemed easy… she thought I had a problem and tried to convey to a primary that I was acting out and would display signs of mental illness traits. When the primary found nothing she found a therapist who was young, in the beginning of her career is what I’ll assume to also in turn assume to believe she is not a complete and utter monster.

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I’m not sure my story will inspire anyone but I hope it will at least inspire my city’s officials to reach out to the the children with mental illness and their families.

I am a single mother with four boys, three of whom have mental illness and/or other disabilities, and my family and especially my children have been nothing but neglected, abused, ignored, accused, shunned, and treated as is invisible in my city.

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As an RN in the mental health arena for over 15yrs, I see the toll mental health issues take on individuals and families everyday.  I have held back from discussing my own mental health issues because of the work I do (and stigma), which I feel has silenced my voice and isolated me.  I want to share my story with the hope that it will inspire others.  This year is the year that I will find my voice and become honest about my own struggles with anxiety and depression.  I think this will help me live fully and with an open heart.   2 times in my life, I truly thought life was over…and now I live in the dynamic state of recovery. I just wanted to send this out to the universe….  I am working on figuring out the logistics of my journey, but I thought just writing it here would be a great start in speaking my truth:)

Hey ?
I am that “imaginary friend” that can give you lectures and lectures about life but does everything wrong
There , I found myself comforting people with words I believe in and try as hard as I can to inspire everyone with …
I am Nada Nayer . Cairo , Egypt
I am high school senior student , 18 years old , writer (diaries writing /story telling )
.Also, I am living with Bipolat Disorder (depressive phase )
I have seen some dark times with this illness
I have been bullied , suffering from eating disorders , OCD ….
But I still believe that one day I will be a living proof that Someone can live , love and be well with a mental illness through my recovery trip That starts with getting your illness diagnosed in a oriental country ( they call it “ craziness “ , mis believe in God’s faith ) , such an accomplishment that I believe in
And ends with being A living proof ( Vocal to myself and my community)
“Mental illness isn’t a choice but recovery is”

I decided early in my life that I could defy any obstacle, turn pain into triumph and adversity into opportunity, and inspire others through my own rich life experiences. I have experienced failure and adversity on a multitude of levels throughout my life. I have lived in my car, dug through trash cans, faced physical and mental abuse, insensible violence, mental ailment, losing everything, made millions and lost millions. But I am still here, I believe my story is of great value to others. My story – a story of persistence, grit, faith, humility, and gratitude. My description of my life will strike a chord in many. I’ve endured and prevailed over my hardships with courage, tenacious work ethic, prayer, passion, faith, and unyielding persistence to realize an otherwise incredible potential. Enlisted in the military, graduated from an esteemed university, and built several successful businesses.

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 I hope my story will inspire and give hope to others. It begins when I was 14 and being sexually abused by my stepfather. I am 40 now; I have severe PTSD from the years of trauma. Everyone knew and no one cared or seemed to. It went on for years, as I got older drugs were mixed into the chaos to keep me numb and unaware. I met and married my husband, bless his heart, he had a rough and similar upbringing. He is schizophrenic and has severe PTSD. We are still together and have been for 19 years now. I became very addicted to drugs and sex. I did whatever was necessary to get my drugs, including cheating and lying to my husband. I lied so much I actually believed my lies. My husband tried so hard to help me but I was so destructive. We are 7 years clean from drugs. I am still working on the lies that led me to all the mess. I want to let others know that the secrets will eat you alive, Talk to someone, anyone. I am living proof that it can be OK, and hopefully not take as many years as it took me. 

I hope to connect and inspire others by telling my journey of growing up with a mother with mental illness.

I remember the moment, the exact moment I immediately took over and became the parent.  My mother was in the hospital psych ward, my dad working double shifts and me and my siblings were all placed in foster homes by our local church. I was six years old at the time and my mind was racing with wonder about what this foster family was going to be like since the one the previous year was not so kind to me.  I was also worried about my brother and sister as well.  Walking to school that morning from the foster home to first grade, I clearly remember the scene. The neighbor’s house I was about to walk by, the porch with the glass screen door and my little one-year old brother standing in the doorway in his diaper crying out my name when he saw me.  I immediately ran up to the door and told him not to cry, I was going to watch out for him, it was going to be okay!  At the tender age of six I made a choice and became the parent.  The road growing up with a mentally ill mother was not an easy one, however it has made me who I am today.   I have so much to share….. Let’s start with Mom!  She was diagnosed in the late 60’s with schizophrenia.  Her psychiatrist at the time brutally ordered over 250 (ECT) shock treatments during her stays in the psych ward.  There were several times where she lost her memory. One of those times she forgot who I was. They also kept her drugged up most of the time.  She told everyone she saw the devil and he talked to her.  Of course, I told a friend this and they told someone. Well you know what happened then! All the other parents heard this and told their kids to stay away from our family. 

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I do have a story to tell about my life dealing with depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicide attempts. I am working on it at the present time and it will be a long process to get it composed. I want to help others with my story and hope it will inspire others to not give up and know that it will get better.

                                                                                                                  Sincerely,

                                                                                                                   Shonna