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.

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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.

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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.

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by Skittlz in Maryland

I was 16 years old was when my depression really started to kick in. My grandfather had passed away four days after Christmas in 2004, and it really hit me hard. I locked myself in my room and did not want to come out. I was terrified that all of my friends in school were after me because it seemed like they just did nothing but talk about me behind my back. Two weeks after my grandfather's death, I slit my wrists trying to kill myself. I didn't tell anybody because I figured everyone would be happier without me being around. I tried slitting my throat so I would die faster, I tried popping a whole bunch of pills to die faster, but nothing seemed to work.

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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 Joshua in Arkansas

Yesterday I was discharged from a health care center, where 4 ½ days earlier I was voluntarily admitted because of an emotional and overall mental break down – one of many I have experienced over the course of the past year. My discharge diagnosis was bipolar, manic depressive, attention deficit disordered and bulimia. I continue to battle these things everyday of my life.

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by Lily in California

At the age of 35 I had a full-blown manic-depressive breakdown that brought me to a complete non-functioning state. I was then a mother of two. Much earlier, the first signs of bipolar disorder began to appear; my first experiences with it set the tone for what was to come.

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by Bren in Louisianna

I have had a mental illness since I was 10 years old. No one in my family wants to talk about it. They stay away from me because I bring them down. I hit my rock bottom after the death of my mother nine years ago. I am under the care of a therapist and physician. I don't remember ever being free of my illness. Some days are not as bad as others, but it feels like I am reaching out for help and no one cares.

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by Annette in Wisconsin

I no longer want to die, but LIVE. A new psychiatrist, after 11 years of misdiagnosis, has finally given me hope that wellness within mental illness IS truly possible. I have bipolar II, rapid cycling: This is moderate, and typically does not include swings as high or swings so low resulting in a suicide attempt. Rapid cycling means swings are not months long, weeks long, but can swing from hour to hour or minute to minute. It is more difficult to treat than longer-cycling bipolar conditions.

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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.

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