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 Sonya in Texas
As an adult, I know now what was wrong with me as a teenager, which is wonderful in a way because I thought I was loosing my mind. Was I a weirdo and no one else was like me in the world? No, I found out that I have severe panic and anxiety attacks, along with depression.
by Patricia in California
My name is Patricia and I am 16-years-old. On November 28, 2007, when I was at my greatest downfall due to depression, I was admitted into a mental hospital for suicidal behavior. I had been diagnosed with depression and started treatment two months earlier. My depression symptoms started two years earlier. I noticed something was wrong with me. On the outside, I was a regular, popular teenager with a lot of ambitions but inside, I was hurting.
by Linda in Pennsylvania
Due to my mental disorders (plural) I've been unemployed since 2001, except for a brief period last year when I attempted but was unable to work full-time. Right now I'm looking for volunteer work so that I can build up my stamina for working so that eventually I will be employable again.
by Jan in Michigan
I have been to counselors; I have talked and talked.... It works for a while. The fact that I am working with children makes me nervous about telling anyone. I feel that I have to maintain and be the strong one, as I have always expected that of me. I am fortunate enough to have insurance to cover any need for help, but I am to the point where I feel it is not doing a great deal of good. My fear of being on medication and becoming dependent on something is always with me.
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.
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 Anna in Virginia
What strikes me most about mental illness is that so much of it begins at a young age. I first had symptoms of panic disorder and depression in sixth grade. I didn't ask for help until 11th grade, and I regret spending those five years in fear. My psychiatrist diagnosed me and I began taking an anti-anxiety medication. The only side effects I experienced were tremors.
