http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm This is the Real Lives Blog from Mental Health America en-us Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:36:57 -0500 Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:29:00 -0500 BlogCFC http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss webmaster@mentalhealthameica.net webmaster@mentalhealthameica.net webmaster@mentalhealthameica.net http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm no http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/9/4/A-father-struggles-with-hard-times-and-unemployment by Tony in California My name is Anthony, and I was injured while serving in the Gulf of Oman. I served with VFA-97, on board the USS Kitty Hawk CV-63. The reason for this message is very complex, but I will try to summarize. You see, I was discharged from the Navy back in 1995 with a very small severance pay of $5000. Before deployment I met a young lady close to my base. We fell madly in love and couldn't get enough of each other. That was back in 1993. We got married and started our family. [More] Hospitalization Substance Abuse Uninsured Depression PTSD Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Panic Disorder Unemployment Suicidal Ideation Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:29:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/9/4/A-father-struggles-with-hard-times-and-unemployment http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/24/Dont-do-it-alone--use-the-resources-you-have-around-you by Stephanie in Maine I suffer from a variety of things. The first is being brought up in a household totally unaware of 'Mental Illness' and being 'disciplined' as my father was disciplined. My grandmother on my dad's side was the first person I believed to have a problem. My father has always had a very 'hard' way of living and was always the very first to tell us, 'stop crying' if we were being punished. [More] Abuse PTSD Depression Hospitalization Family History Post partum depression Suicidal Ideation Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:18:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/24/Dont-do-it-alone--use-the-resources-you-have-around-you http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/24/Creating-art-helps-bring-joy-and-relaxation by KM in Florida I guess I have been prone to PTSD since I was a child. My father had epilepsy and when his seizures became uncontrolled by medication, he was unable to drive (and subsequently our family suffered financial devastation). My mother decided to divorce him, saying she was only going to date a man with a Mercedes. I stayed with my father and my younger brother went with my mother. I was only 13. [More] PTSD Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:27:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/24/Creating-art-helps-bring-joy-and-relaxation http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/24/Overcoming-depression-and-accepting-things-one-can-not-change by Karen in Wisconsin I am 30 years old, married, with one son. We are a happy family, but I still struggle from time to time with mental illness. It's something that runs in my family - my grandmother was one of the most severe cases, and had multiple suicide attempts; my grandfather committed suicide when he was 82. [More] PTSD Depression Hospitalization Recovery Family History Eating Disorder Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:20:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/24/Overcoming-depression-and-accepting-things-one-can-not-change http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/10/Know-that-there-is-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel by Jeanne in North Carolina I lived, or should I say, existed with depression (dysthymia) for over 30 years. I know that my depression started as a child, though no one ever considered this possible back then. We moved a lot when I was a child, so starting new schools didn't help. My mother was very angry back then and often took it out on me. This, plus no friends led to a lonely childhood. [More] Abuse PTSD Depression Trauma Recovery Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:50:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/10/Know-that-there-is-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/10/Writing--the-best-therapy-and-its-free by Deborah in California From childhood, I vividly remember sitting on top of my shoes inside of the closet, as I hid away and cried. I would cry for hours, if no one caught me and yelled at me to stop. Sadness was my existence; I did not have the words to articulate my experience. Almost every day, I went through an inexplicable pain; not only did I suffer with depression, but also I was being sexually abused, and I did not have the words to voice my experience. Living in a small, rural town during the 70's meant that family secrets prevailed. A book about molestation did not exist in the town library. [More] Hospitalization Trauma Borderline Personality Disorder Recovery Abuse PTSD Self-Injury Depression Anxiety Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:45:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/10/Writing--the-best-therapy-and-its-free http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/10/Support-needed--do-not-want-to-feel-vulnerable-and-helpless-anymore by Kimberly in Florida I was 8 years old when I had my first panic attack. I was so scared and thought that I was going to die. My mom reassured me that everyone had them. None of my friends were having panic attics nor were they being mentally and physically abused by their dads. As I got older, I became more overwhelmed. I think the only reason I kept it together was because I was so afraid of my dad. [More] Abuse ADHD PTSD Depression Panic Disorder Uninsured Family History Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:32:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/10/Support-needed--do-not-want-to-feel-vulnerable-and-helpless-anymore http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/10/A-bereaved-parent-learns-to-cope-and-reaches-out-to-others-who-have-lost-a-child by Charlotte in Kentucky Even though I had only a high school education, I was very fortunate to find a career that I loved. I got a divorce when my son was six-months-old and for 20 years held down two jobs simultaneously as a court reporter and legal assistant. I also did some fashion modeling and TV commercials. [More] PTSD Depression Recovery Suicidal Ideation Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:14:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/10/A-bereaved-parent-learns-to-cope-and-reaches-out-to-others-who-have-lost-a-child http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/10/Fed-up-with-mistreatment-neglect-misdiagnosis-and-lack-of-employment by Jerie in Georgia Hello my name is Jerie. I am presently residing in Georgia undergoing the stigma, labeling, and misdiagnosing of Mental Illness as a result of one call over twenty years ago. I have been in and out of ER, hospitals, mental health facilities. I am out of work, involved in criminal abuse, and medical abuse. I am improperly medicated, and kept from providing for my family, church, and normal life for over half of my life thus far. [More] PTSD Trauma ADHD Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:09:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/10/Fed-up-with-mistreatment-neglect-misdiagnosis-and-lack-of-employment http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/2/10/Carrying-a-Torch-of-Hope by Michelle in Virginia Mental illness has affected my life in that it has changed it forever. The things I aspired to do before I got ill have been hard to achieve. I always have a tougher obstacle to climb than others. Sometimes life seems so impossible and other times it seems too easy, until I crash. [More] Abuse PTSD Schizoaffective Disorder Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:09:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/2/10/Carrying-a-Torch-of-Hope http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/1/10/I-live-in-a-world-where-time-doesnt-exist 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. [More] PTSD Social Anxiety Divorce Depression Suicidal Ideation Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:28:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/1/10/I-live-in-a-world-where-time-doesnt-exist http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/1/10/I-never-realized-how-wonderful-healing-could-be by Jodi in Ohio My name is Jodi. I live in Ohio and I have been married to my husband, Matt for 13 years, and I have two wonderful children, Alex, age 9 and Meghan age 7. Here is my story: It was Thursday, September 23rd, 1999. I had very high expectations of the birth of my son. I dreamt of a perfect natural birth with no medication, and no complications. I went to childbirth education classes and I knew what was supposed to happen. I had no idea what was in store for me. Several hours after my water broke, there was still no progress. So the resident doctor gave me Pitocin to speed things up. An hour later I was in a lot of pain. [More] PTSD Post partum depression Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:22:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/1/10/I-never-realized-how-wonderful-healing-could-be http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/1/9/Changes-made-in-life-for-sons-sake 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. [More] Abuse PTSD Depression Family History Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:53:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/1/9/Changes-made-in-life-for-sons-sake http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/15/Mental-illness-is-not-a-personal-illness-it-affects-everyone-close-to-that-person 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. [More] PTSD Depression Hospitalization Divorce Anxiety Self-Injury Suicidal Ideation Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:24:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/15/Mental-illness-is-not-a-personal-illness-it-affects-everyone-close-to-that-person http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/15/Working-through-loss-trauma-and-abuse 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. [More] Abuse PTSD Trauma Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:56:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/15/Working-through-loss-trauma-and-abuse