by Jamie in Tennessee

I'm not sure when it all started, but I think I've always dealt with depression. I just didn't always understand it. The first memory I have of it was when I was six and my grandfather died. I remember trying to hide my feelings because I thought I felt different than everyone else. I wouldn't even cry. Everyone thought I was too young for it to bother me, so I didn't let them know it did. I was always socially withdrawn because we moved around a lot, so I didn't have any friends except my sisters and brother. When I was seven, my oldest sister (who is 10 years older than me) started to molest me.

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by Amy in Kentucky

I was diagnosed with severe depression at the age of 17. I can remember the day I was admitted into the hospital as if it were yesterday. It was 1992 and in hindsight it had been a downward spiral for me for a very long time! My mother at the time was married to my stepfather who had emotionally, and at times, physically abused me. My mother was mostly absent at home as she was pursuing her master's degree at night and worked full time during the day.

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by Florence in Arizona

I was shy all through school until high school when I started drinking and partying with friends. That was the only way I would come out of my shell. I ran away from home at 16 because my dad was very strict and would not let me go anywhere, which left me home to take care of my other three siblings a lot. I ended up pregnant at 17 and all alone because the baby's father went to prison.

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by Rayelle in Minnesota

My mental illness has affected my life since I was around five years old. I grew up in a very violent and abusive home in Minnesota, as have a lot of my mentally ill friends. I have five siblings who grew up there with me and we all suffered the wrath of alcoholic parents who used us as punching bags. I was beaten regularly and even have memories of a sibling that was murdered in our kitchen, but no one ever talks about it or acknowledges it even happened. That caused a lot of anger and rage towards most of my direct family members, and I have cut most of them completely out of my life. That, I believe, was the healthiest thing I have ever done.

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by Kathleen in Florida

I was molested sexually by my father, who murdered my mother when I was four and my brother was five. Yes, we witnessed it, but I just remembered all the details in the past two years. The molestation continued all my life. I was forced to choose between my father or a physically abusive boy friend at the age of 13.

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by Hope in Arizona

I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder when I was 28 years old and was found ripping a Bible in a church. I had never expressed anger before, having grown up in a dysfunctional household. My parents abused drugs, and I was subject to activities that one might read about in newspapers but never admit to. I had experienced so many traumas in my life that I was good at blocking memories from my mind entirely.

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by Lisa in Maryland

I was nine years old when PTSD began to affect my life. I always thought the way I reacted to situations was just my personality or a character flaw. I was 40 years old when a therapist put a name to what I was feeling. I had seen two other therapists in my life but never really opened up until the third one. I look back at the failed relationships, disappointment, never feeling like I've connected with anyone, and never trusting anyone. It is obvious now after 30 years, PTSD was ruling me.

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by Kerri in Wisconsin

I was emotionally, physically and sexually abused by my ex-husband, who I had two children by. The abuse dragged on for seven years, ending in 1995 when he was finally charged with sexual assault, false imprisonment, domestic violence, and battery. I've been struggling with PTSD. I have a low self-esteem, bipolar and depression.

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by Tamoa in Virgnia

I am just turning 35 years old and have lived with mental illness all my life. I remember asking my mother when I was little, "was I retarded like my uncle'" who is now 60 and has the mentality of a ten-year-old. I was crying all the time and could not sleep at night because I was afraid of things coming out from the bed or closets that I was actually seeing. My parents didn't think anything of it at the time. As I got older it became progressively worse.

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by Shannon in New York

I have been struggling with mental illness since I was a child. At the age of seven, my mother and father separated. I started pulling chunks of hair out of my head. I would wake up with a pillow filled with hair or the way I saw it, shame. Shame has been my biggest M/O for relapse or suicidal thoughts.

My mother and father took me to a dermatologist where they diagnosed me with alopecia arietta. I lied and said the hair fell out. I held on to that secret until years later.

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