http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm This is the Real Lives Blog from Mental Health America en-us Sun, 19 May 2013 11:08:23 -0400 Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:29:00 -0400 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 -0400 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/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 -0400 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/Design-ur-Life-Makeovers by Life Ministries in Wisconsin My whole life I have been on some sort of medication. At the age of 14, I was told I was a manic depressive. The medicine my parents and doctor put me on turned my life upside down. I started drinking, having sex and then running away. I was 13 and just moved from Great Lakes, Il to Camp Lejeune, NC. My dad was in the Navy. [More] Alcoholism Depression Anxiety Bipolar Disorder Substance Abuse Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:59:00 -0400 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/24/Design-ur-Life-Makeovers 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 -0400 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/4/24/A-second-chance 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 -0400 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/Its-a-battle-we-have-to-fight-EVERDAY by Jamie in Tennessee I'm not sure when it all started, but I think I've always dealt with depression. I just didn't always understand it. The first memory I have of it was when I was six and my grandfather died. I remember trying to hide my feelings because I thought I felt different than everyone else. I wouldn't even cry. Everyone thought I was too young for it to bother me, so I didn't let them know it did. I was always socially withdrawn because we moved around a lot, so I didn't have any friends except my sisters and brother. When I was seven, my oldest sister (who is 10 years older than me) started to molest me. [More] Hospitalization Substance Abuse Anxiety Family History Uninsured Abuse Alcoholism Depression Self-Injury Unemployment Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:08:00 -0400 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/1/10/Its-a-battle-we-have-to-fight-EVERDAY 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 -0400 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/2009/1/10/Without-hope-or-any-positive-goals-depression-sets-in-and-will-grow-into-monstrous-proportions by Michael in Michigan I think I was just a boy when I started suffering from depression. There was a sense of hopelessness and I asked God to save me and my family from my Dad, but all I ever got was voice mails. When you're so young and don't have a clue where to get any help, you just learn to cope or accept what is going on around you. After a while depression hits very hard and actions and consequences blend and really don't mean much, so you start to use drugs to plug holes and gaps in your life followed by negative police associations which becomes normal. [More] Depression Substance Abuse Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:31:00 -0400 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2009/1/10/Without-hope-or-any-positive-goals-depression-sets-in-and-will-grow-into-monstrous-proportions 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 -0400 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/2008/12/9/Finding-strength-from-support-groups by Jan in Florida In high school, drawing the window shades and listening to Rachmaninoff's "Isle of the Dead" on occasion could have been the beginning of depression, or just teen angst. In my 30s, I was a daily drinker as were most of my friends, and I was trying various self-help programs to feel better. Apparently my use of alcohol was an attempt to self-medicate the mood swings, as many psychiatrists informed me, though I didn't drink while depressed only when manic. Then alcohol lost its ability to stop me from being out of control. It's my personal opinion that underneath every alcoholic there is a mental illness. [More] Alcoholism Depression Bipolar Disorder Substance Abuse Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:24:00 -0400 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/9/Finding-strength-from-support-groups http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/9/One-Day-at-a-Time by Shannon in New York I have been struggling with mental illness since I was a child. At the age of seven, my mother and father separated. I started pulling chunks of hair out of my head. I would wake up with a pillow filled with hair or the way I saw it, shame. Shame has been my biggest M/O for relapse or suicidal thoughts. My mother and father took me to a dermatologist where they diagnosed me with alopecia arietta. I lied and said the hair fell out. I held on to that secret until years later. [More] Abuse Alcoholism Self-Injury Borderline Personality Disorder Substance Abuse Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:10:00 -0400 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/9/One-Day-at-a-Time http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/6/Grndmothers-shares-her-experiences-of-living-with-mental-illness by Joan in Wisconsin Early in my childhood, I was sexually abused and threatened to stay quiet. I have often wondered if those events had not occurred would I have had a normal life, even though mental illness is prevalent in my maternal gene pool. As my young life progressed, secrets came out and people were hurt. [More] Hospitalization Anxiety Divorce Family History Abuse Alcoholism Depression PTSD Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Substance Abuse Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:27:00 -0400 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/6/Grndmothers-shares-her-experiences-of-living-with-mental-illness http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/6/Funny-girl-finds-support-in-faith-and-family by Jenn in Pennsylvania I was voted the funniest girl out of my graduating class in 2006, but what my class did not know, what no one knew, was that I was not okay. Throughout my life I continuously put on a mask of indifference; I never felt anything and I never would think about who I was or who I was becoming. Instead of understanding such essentials, I made jokes and pointed fun at those who did. I laughed on the outside about people who had drive or who had a purpose. I just wanted to party and forget about life. [More] Alcoholism Recovery Depression Anxiety ADHD Substance Abuse Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:10:00 -0400 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/6/Funny-girl-finds-support-in-faith-and-family 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 -0400 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/4/Making-it-thorugh-mental-health-and-substance-abuse-recovery http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/4/worst-misunderstanding-about-mental-illness-is-being-told-to-snap-out-of-it by Addie in Florida My depression was most likely learned behavior from a mother who drank everyday and a father who seemed depressed and despondent. I remember arguments and fighting as a young child. Then my parents divorced. This started my fears and insecurities. I remember being center stage, then on the back burner. [More] Alcoholism Recovery Depression Divorce Family History Substance Abuse Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:49:00 -0400 http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives/index.cfm/2008/12/4/worst-misunderstanding-about-mental-illness-is-being-told-to-snap-out-of-it