http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm This is the Real Lives Blog from Mental Health America en-us Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:37:46 -0500 Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:54:00 -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/Learning-to-trust-others-and-forgive-himself by Forgotten Dad in Washington First and foremost, I am a survivor. How has this disease affected my life? I have had difficult times with relationships. I keep everyone at a distance. Even those who I know I can trust. Trust is a big issue. I can count the number of people I trust on one hand. And even with those people there are doubts of trust. [More] Self-Injury Depression Hospitalization Anxiety Suicidal Ideation Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:54:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/9/4/Learning-to-trust-others-and-forgive-himself 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/Learning-how-to-face-her-eating-disorder-wiht-courage by Lauren in Colorado July 7, 2007 was the best and the worst day of my entire life. After spending a week and a half in a medically-induced coma, I awoke to learn that I had walked away from everything and everyone I had ever loved or cared for. With absolutely no memory of the nearly fatal suicide attempt that took me through complete kidney and liver failure, I came to learn that the lies of my eating disorder had convinced me I was not worth the air I needed to breathe. [More] Recovery Hospitalization Eating Disorder Suicidal Ideation Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:31:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/24/Learning-how-to-face-her-eating-disorder-wiht-courage 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/Tired-of-the-mental-illness-label-detracting-from-the-person by Susie in Wyoming I was born and raised in Southern Illinois, right outside of St. Louis. I really can't tell you when I first noticed my depression/Bi-polar illness. But from high school, which was 1972 and on, I have abused alcohol and drugs and overdosed several times which required hospitalization. [More] Alcoholism Hospitalization Divorce Bipolar Disorder Substance Abuse Suicidal Ideation Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:10:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/24/Tired-of-the-mental-illness-label-detracting-from-the-person http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/24/A-second-chance by April in Georgia My Bipolar disorder has been the dictator and ruler of my entire life up until about three years ago. As a child, it destroyed my self-esteem, isolated me, confused me and eventually, consumed me. As a teenager, the black cloud seemed to get thicker; however, the common misconception was she's a teenager. [More] Recovery Hospitalization Divorce Bipolar Disorder Substance Abuse Suicidal Ideation Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:36:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/24/A-second-chance 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/When-someone-talks-they-are-giving-a-window-to-their-heart-and-their-mind by Karen in Missouri This month marks the one year anniversary of my nervous breakdown. While the journey is certainly not over, I thought this would be a good time to send a message about it. There are several reasons for the message - one is to make one more attempt to convince the jerks that don't believe in mental diseases that IT IS REAL. Another is for awareness. Perhaps I will find the words to describe things that other sufferers like me have been trying to find all along. Perhaps, even if just for a moment, I will help someone else feel like they are not alone. At any rate, a year ago at this time I had hit rock bottom. [More] Recovery Social Anxiety Post partum depression Panic Disorder Depression Anxiety Suicidal Ideation Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:48:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/10/When-someone-talks-they-are-giving-a-window-to-their-heart-and-their-mind 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/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/2008/12/15/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/Mental-illness-as-affected-me-most-of-my-life 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. [More] Social Anxiety Divorce Anxiety Bipolar Disorder Substance Abuse Suicidal Ideation Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:06:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/15/Mental-illness-as-affected-me-most-of-my-life http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/15/A-lot-of-people-crying-out-for-help-stop-and-really-listen-to-them 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. [More] Self-Injury Hospitalization Bipolar Disorder Suicidal Ideation Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:51:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/15/A-lot-of-people-crying-out-for-help-stop-and-really-listen-to-them http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/15/Prayers-and-keep-a-mothers-hope-strong 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. [More] Hospitalization Divorce ADHD Abuse Bipolar Disorder PTSD Schizophrenia Family History Suicidal Ideation Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:30:00 -0500 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/15/Prayers-and-keep-a-mothers-hope-strong