The following is a slightly edited article I wrote for the newspaper, The Indian Express. I was published as part of a series on mental illness. This article first ran on September 3, 2014. I continue to fight. Visit The Indian Express at indianexpress.com.Read More →
Trying to give an opinion about whether or not people, especially teenagers, should be given medication to cope with certain forms of mental illness always seems to end up in stalemate. I know what I think about it, but it’s probably not what you think. And so, what I’m going to describe is what I went through and what I believe. I’m not advocating a course of action for anyone else. When I was first given anti-depressants as a teenager, I thought I was finally going to be a happy person. I was told I had a chemical imbalance and I would have to takeRead More →
By Andy “Electroboy” Behrman http://www.electroboy.com/ 2008 For years, I suffered with a mental disability. I still do — no one has found a cure for manic depression (bipolar disorder) yet. During those crisis years, though, nobody knew anything was really wrong with me. I was experiencing a wild rollercoaster ride of frightening highs and lows that put my life in jeopardy, but my disability was completely invisible.Read More →
“I am Jonathan” Having retired from professional filmmaking, this had been where I left off–a study of psychosis and schizoaffective disorder as I saw it through the schizophrenic lens in 2009 and 2010. “I am Jonathan” is intended to be educational; target audience being grad students in psychology and counseling. It’s just time for me to let it go, at this point in my life. I do hope it might prove helpful, offer hope and understanding of what schizoaffective is like for me on a daily basis.Read More →
Written by: Wendy Sparrow http://wendysparrow.com/ I’m medicated for OCD. I have to be. And it’s not 100% symptom control…more like anywhere from 30-60%. But my OCD is severe enough that I don’t expect total symptom control. There’s this thing about going the medication route. You’re not working through your problems and coping despite them like you do with therapy. You’re not feeling them every moment like when you’re suffering with them or practicing avoidance. They’re a background noise…one that you’re ignoring, and the medication makes it easier to ignore them.Read More →
Written by: Caroline CriadoPerez Journalist & Feminist Activist https://weekwoman.wordpress.com This is a blog I’ve been meaning to write for a while. I’ve held back mainly out of fear. I know that by writing this for public consumption, I’m giving more ammunition to those who seek to discredit me and dismiss everything I say as the irrational ramblings of an unbalanced hysteric. I also know that when they use this post to undermine my words, it will hurt me. But I feel like it’s my duty to write this, because there might be other people out there who have been struggling like I have, and don’tRead More →
Written by: Neely http://deardarlingsanity.com/ As a 24 year old female who has endured, suffered and been at the mercy of ill mental health I am inspired by campaigns by charities such as, Mind, Re-Think, and B-eat to talk. Having experienced discrimination, ignorance and stigma throughout my own struggles I truly believe that it is time to talk in order to reduce these negativities surrounding not only the topic of mental health, but also for those experiencing it. Through diagnosis after diagnosis I remain in recovery for a disorder best described as somewhere between Borderline Personality Disorder and a Dissociative Disorder. In my time I haveRead More →
By AIMEE LEE BALL http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/ To the casual observer, Danielle Hark was living an enviable life, with a devoted husband, a new baby and work she enjoyed as a freelance photo editor. But she was so immobilized by depression that she could barely get out of bed. Her emotional state could not be explained in postpartum terms — she had suffered from debilitating depression for most of her life, and ultimately received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder when her daughter was a year old. “I thought about killing myself for the first time in seventh grade,” said Ms. Hark, now 33. “I went from therapistRead More →
Written by: http://www.allinyourhead.co.uk/ When days become your night time and night becomes your day time, unless you are working a permanent night shift, there is a problem. The anxiety/panic had become so bad, I could only sleep when I was surrounded by familiar faces and voices. In my mind, there was theory. I’m a happy person generally, always game for a laugh and a joke , love a giggle and have to see people smile. However, I was having attacks so frequently that my mind was set on the next one being ‘the one’ to finish me. So my thinking was, ‘if it is goingRead More →
Written by: http://www.allinyourhead.co.uk/ Most attacks I can deal with these days,the thoughts the slight physical symptoms , they are ok…well not ok, but I’ve learned how to cope over time if you know what I mean. The problem I get is when that huge sensation comes on and I don’t feel comfortable enough to tell anyone what is going on. Because of the dependency I built up with those closest, work is not the kind of place where you want to be crying and clinging onto someone your not at all comfortable with ! How do you tell them???Read More →