by Susie in Wyoming
I was born and raised in Southern Illinois, right outside of St. Louis. I really can't tell you when I first noticed my depression/Bi-polar illness. But from high school, which was 1972 and on, I have abused alcohol and drugs and overdosed several times which required hospitalization.
by April in Georgia
My Bipolar disorder has been the dictator and ruler of my entire life up until about three years ago. As a child, it destroyed my self-esteem, isolated me, confused me and eventually, consumed me. As a teenager, the black cloud seemed to get thicker; however, the common misconception was she's a teenager.
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.
by Cierra in Colorado
I have been fearful, sad, and anxious as far back into my life as I can remember. It created social problems, family problems, and isolation/loneliness. The first time I started thinking about suicide, I was 10 years old. I didn't know anyone in the whole world that felt that way.
by Louise in Nevada
I was in high school when I first remember thinking that killing myself would solve my problems. Back then, I had never heard of depression or even knew mental illness was anything other than what was shown in the movies.
by Brandi in Ohio
I can't remember a time when I wasn't depressed. As a child I always felt like I wasn't normal and that something was wrong with me but didn't know what. My parents didn't believe in mental illness or psychiatrists/therapy, so the feelings I was having just kept getting worse. When I was 16 I tried to commit suicide.
by Patrick in Oregon
My mental illness has probably affected me most or all of my life. I was a loner. My siblings both younger and older (yes I'm the middle child) were so much more advanced than I was that I was labeled to be slightly retarded. I didn't understand or much less care about anything or try to do anything because I would never follow through. That's what I was told.
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.
by Jo Anne in Arizona
I can remember being a toddler and thinking that the rest of the people in the world were somehow very different from me. I did not understand why I felt so sad to be here and everyone else seemed to know what to do and enjoyed their lives. I could excel in school and be the best at various sports or activities, but even so, I was not happy. I wanted more and did more than most.
by Angela in Alaska
My depression started while I was young. I was a child born from an alcoholic, so I had missing endorphins (I found this out after doing research on depression. When I was 13 years old, I was medicated for severe depression after my father, who had abandoned my family when I was four, died.
