by Renee in Pennsylvania
My search for the meaning of life began at the age of 14 when drugs and alcohol became a way of life for me to cope with the years of abuse and the nightmarish memories of my past. I became a high school drop-out and ran away from home, looking for love in all the wrong places. I had been consumed body, soul and spirit by overexposure to alcohol, drugs and sexual abuse by the time I was 17.
by Jennifer in Florida
At the age of 12, I began to have trouble with depression. This became a chronic problem for me, which eventually resulted in a suicide attempt at age 15. At the same time, I was developing anorexia nervosa, which I struggled with for many years. I was hospitalized for my eating disorder at age 17. I had also developed an addiction to self-injury as a teenager, something that I was able to completely stop doing when I was in my twenties.
by J in California
I have been admitted, mistreated, and dumped by both UCLA and Cedar Sinai Medical Center for not having any insurance or way of paying for my treatment. I am now writing to you from a coffee shop as I am very sick, have nowhere to go to get shelter, and I am writing to ask for your help and immediate assistance with this matter. I am educated as a medical doctor and was a physician in training until 1999, when an invisible illness -- that I was unaware I had -- changed my life forever. I am currently severely disabled, homeless, and indigent with a mental illness. Ironically, it was my choice of profession and my work as a surgical resident as Stanford University that triggered my disease to a point where I was too unstable to finish my training as a surgeon.
by Harry in Indiana
Hello everyone! I am Harry. I am 24. I have an awful headache. I have been suffering from mental illness since 10 and didn't seek treatment until 15. It began in the fall of 1993. I had a weekend that I describe as being sad. The world turned flat. I became obsessed with beings coming for me in the night.
by Jeanine in Michigan
Homeless and battling depression in August of 2003, I was told that I had a mild case of depression. I was put on two different antidepressants. The treatment was all right but it didn't change the outward things that I was going through. The problem got worse before it got better. Today I have learned how to battle the depression by keeping focused and knowing what my goals are. Know that nothing is impossible to achieve if your just work hard at it.
by Anthony in Texas
I have had a hard time getting treatment for my mental illness. I found out the hard way that the only way I was able to get treatment in the rural town I live in was to lie about how I felt and what I was thinking. The person I spoke to at my local mental health center didn't know what to do for me so she ran to a judge and had me committed.
