http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm This is the Real Lives Blog from Mental Health America en-us Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:37:14 -0500 Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:17:00 -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/2009/1/10/God-spared-my-life-for-a-reason 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. [More] Hospitalization Substance Abuse Recovery Uninsured Depression Alcoholism Bipolar Disorder Self-Injury Homeless Unemployment Suicidal Ideation Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:17:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/1/10/God-spared-my-life-for-a-reason http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/1/10/Dedicated-to-making-the-world-a-better-place-for-people-with-mental-illnesses 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. [More] Hospitalization Substance Abuse Suicidal Ideation Eating Disorder Uninsured Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Homeless Unemployment Schizoaffective Disorder Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:53:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/1/10/Dedicated-to-making-the-world-a-better-place-for-people-with-mental-illnesses http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/9/A-survivor-of-a-broken-healthcare-system 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. [More] Homeless Bipolar Disorder Seasonal Affective Disorder Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:58:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/9/A-survivor-of-a-broken-healthcare-system http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/9/Make-recovery-more-than-a-drug-fill-it-with-positive-people-and-activities 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. [More] Social Anxiety Hospitalization Homeless Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Family History Panic Disorder Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:20:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/9/Make-recovery-more-than-a-drug-fill-it-with-positive-people-and-activities http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/9/I-dont-let-being-homeless-drown-me-in-a-sink-hole 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. [More] Depression Homeless Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:11:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/9/I-dont-let-being-homeless-drown-me-in-a-sink-hole http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/4/Making-it-thorugh-mental-health-and-substance-abuse-recovery 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. [More] Recovery Depression Hospitalization Homeless Substance Abuse Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:01:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/4/Making-it-thorugh-mental-health-and-substance-abuse-recovery