by Cheryl in Virginia

As a Child, I was sexually abused and had an alcoholic parent. I was an anxious child and as I grew up I had many depressed and manic episodes throughout my life.

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by Yolanda in South Carolina

"Mental illness" is not a welcoming word, and I never labeled myself as mentally ill. However, a lot of what I was dealing with did, in fact, affect my professional life, spiritual-self, and my relationship with my spouse. My schoolwork on the PhD level actually provided an open door for me to research, and get the therapy, counseling, EMDR therapy, and support group counseling services I needed.

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by Stephanie in Maine

I suffer from a variety of things. The first is being brought up in a household totally unaware of 'Mental Illness' and being 'disciplined' as my father was disciplined. My grandmother on my dad's side was the first person I believed to have a problem. My father has always had a very 'hard' way of living and was always the very first to tell us, 'stop crying' if we were being punished.

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by Neecee in Alabama

My mother was a very attractive woman at one time-- she almost resembled a model. Something was wrong with her thinking; it drove her and whoever came in contact with her away. I can remember when I was eleven years old and my mother accused me of going with her boyfriend and calling me names. When I was thirteen, my mother would tell us lies all the time. She would make up these bizarre stories about these children to keep us in line. It took me years to shake the majority of this thinking.

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by Serena in Pennsylvania

I was 14. My home life was privileged but chaotic and negative. After a sexual assault I could tell no one about, I suffered over a year of severe depression. After I began to appear functional, I still struggled against the anxiety and depression.

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by Jeanne in North Carolina

I lived, or should I say, existed with depression (dysthymia) for over 30 years. I know that my depression started as a child, though no one ever considered this possible back then. We moved a lot when I was a child, so starting new schools didn't help. My mother was very angry back then and often took it out on me. This, plus no friends led to a lonely childhood.

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by Deborah in California

From childhood, I vividly remember sitting on top of my shoes inside of the closet, as I hid away and cried. I would cry for hours, if no one caught me and yelled at me to stop. Sadness was my existence; I did not have the words to articulate my experience. Almost every day, I went through an inexplicable pain; not only did I suffer with depression, but also I was being sexually abused, and I did not have the words to voice my experience. Living in a small, rural town during the 70's meant that family secrets prevailed. A book about molestation did not exist in the town library.

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by Kimberly in Florida

I was 8 years old when I had my first panic attack. I was so scared and thought that I was going to die. My mom reassured me that everyone had them. None of my friends were having panic attics nor were they being mentally and physically abused by their dads. As I got older, I became more overwhelmed. I think the only reason I kept it together was because I was so afraid of my dad.

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by Michelle in Virginia

Mental illness has affected my life in that it has changed it forever. The things I aspired to do before I got ill have been hard to achieve. I always have a tougher obstacle to climb than others. Sometimes life seems so impossible and other times it seems too easy, until I crash.

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by Edna in Tennessee

My name is Edna. I am a 47-year old single mother. My two children are grown, but have lived a life of confusion with my illnesses. I was a happy child, with a good life. However, in my teen years I started having bouts of sadness, depression, anxiety, and loneliness...even though I had a large family and many friends.

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