by Andrew Wiese My first episode of psychosis happened when I was 24 years old. I had just finished college and was making my way to New York to begin my new engineering job. Slowly my paranoia and fear that people were out to get me overtook me and in a panic, I drove to…
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by Jean Mellano Today, for the first time since Steve died by his own hand in 2015, someone said directly to me: “Suicide is a selfish act.” I was not angry or insulted, but rather very sad that people still believe this to be true. If anything, in the mind of the one who takes…
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by Caroll Montague Price When I was 26 years old, my symptoms of mental illness caused many problems for me. I started to have emotional problems for the first time and was hospitalized in Texas. One of my darkest moments was when I was having a lot of fear and feeling angry about life. In…
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by Courtney Maupin I strongly believe that everyone can receive help from the use of positive coping skills. My diagnosis requires that the majority of my treatment is the use of coping skills; some are incorporated into my daily routine and some are only used on those really bad days. I created a personal daily…
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The voices in my head were real and kept getting louder. They were the sounds of many aliens all talking at once. Though I could not understand the words, I understood the harsh ridiculing tone in which these outer space beings spoke. The voices continued to taunt louder. Fear began to take control. Instinctively, I…
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by Robert Spencer In the light of recent events, there has been a lot of focus on mental illness and it hasn’t been positive. Studies have shown that people living with mental illness are far more likely to be the victims of violent crimes than the perpetrators, but that doesn’t stop some in society…
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The voices in my head were real and kept getting louder. They were the sounds of many aliens all talking at once. Though I could not understand the words, I understood the harsh ridiculing tone in which these outer space beings spoke. The voices continued to taunt louder. Fear began to take control. Instinctively, I…
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My depression initially began when my grandmother and uncle died within months of each other. At the time, I was working as an RN, and was proud to say I had saved every patient under my watch. But it devastated me that I could not save my uncle from cancer and I could not save…
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For so many years of my life, my greatest wish was to not exist. I felt like all of the imperfections that I carry only burdened those around me, making their lives worse. I believed that my feelings of hopelessness, shame, and guilt were all of my own doing. It was all my fault. Somewhere…
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by Melody Nolan, M.S. I can still hear my 4-year-old brother, John, singing, “Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more!” I can also still hear the phone nearly 25 years later. I was in the depths of depression, so I didn’t answer. It kept ringing. I finally answered. “Melody? I’ve…
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