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Trauma doesn’t look good on anyone no matter the type. I have a strong history of trauma that started at age 9 and continued until I was 19. I knew I was different from an early age. I knew that I had dirty little secrets that no one knew about. Because of that, I had hate, rage, and pain…lots of it. At 19, I had people in my life who helped me seek therapy. That lasted all of 3 months when we moved out of state.

I didn’t receive any services after that until 2004 after my daughter was born. Postpartum Depression hit hard and the trauma I experienced was never really addressed. But I kept moving forward millimeter by millimeter. I began therapy again still hiding much of my trauma and not fully understanding what was happening to me. I continued therapy until 2008 when my family and I moved to another state. Shortly after is when it hit the fan. Everything came to a head in 2012 when I was sent to the psychiatric hospital for the first time. Each time after that I got a little stronger and more resilient.

My journey of recovery, I feel, did not exactly begin when I left home. It began when I finally opened up about my trauma and took a good hard look at my battle wounds. As I began to open up to my therapist and really examine what was happening to me when I’d recall those memories, I realized that maybe I wasn’t so different. Though my brain functioned differently because of my mental illnesses, I fought on. I saw my therapist regularly and did the homework she gave me. I began to piece my life together for once. I’ve assisted in mending my marriage, raising my children, and molding myself into who I want to become. In 2018 I went back to school to become a phlebotomist and graduated toward the top of my class with honors. I immediately got work and when the hospital I worked at didn’t work out, I applied for the CPRS program through the state. Just before classes started, I applied for a CPRS position. I later received a phone call after the process of getting hired began working as a Peer Support Coordinator.

For my next adventure, I am hopeful to start college in the Spring with a major in psychology. I am strong, resilient, motivated, intelligent, and a better person for everything I’ve been through. My hope is to reach you at your worst to help you realize that the best is yet to come. The light at the end of the tunnel isn’t always a train. Sometimes the light just is that…light. Reach for stars and go get your world.

This story is a part of the Life Unlimited series.

I’m 54 years old and I now realize that I’ve have been experiencing depression and anxiety since I was in elementary school. I have been working since I was a teenager and I have learned that my depression seems to hit me the hardest when I am under a lot of stress at work. I will be fine for a while, start to feel overwhelmed and then it feels like I fall off a cliff and hit rock bottom really fast.

I tried going back to graduate school while raising 2 young children, which ended up being too much to handle. I had a major depressive episode that landed me in the hospital. I needed to be in the hospital to recover as well as to get my medication straightened out. It was helpful at the time and I have not been back since. I continued to have episodes that led to suicidal thoughts. Fortunately, I never attempted suicide, but just having the thoughts was scary enough. With the help of my therapist, psychiatrist, family and friends, I was able to pull myself out from that very dark place and carry on with my life.

After each episode, I have been able to go back to work, enjoy my family and friends, and have a positive outlook on life. My experience with depression has taught me that I can reach out for help when I need it and to surround myself with supportive people. I have had a great therapist and psychiatrist for the past 20 years, and both have guided me through the rocky road of depression through counseling and medication management. I try to take one day at a time. I find that listening to my favorite music, exercising, eating healthy, and laughing really helps stabilize my mental health.

This story is a part of the Life Unlimited series.

At 20 years old, I was hospitalized for one month and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I’ve had several other hospitalizations since then. I started noticing that I was having difficulties when I wasn’t sleeping or eating. Things that were normal to me became strange. This was a new experience for me, and I didn’t know where my life would go from there. At times I felt alone and there were times I didn’t think I would make it. My faith kept me alive and that is why I am here today.

I started my own business “Still Standing Enterprise” to bring awareness to mental illness—it has helped others smile and have joy in the midst of adversity. I have also shared my story on the news, in newspapers, and spoken at conferences. This work made me realize that though I battled this, it didn’t have to stop me. I love to help and inspire others through my story.

Having a mental illness has definitely been a journey. I maintain wellness by staying on track with school and by surrounding myself with my family and positive people who support and love me. I have also found support through care centers. When my family was there for me it made me feel loved and I felt as if I could get through this obstacle. I began to see a brighter day. I have learned that I am somebody, I am intelligent, and I can do anything I set my mind to. Wellness is an everyday step. It can be hard at times but in fact I am more than a conqueror. Having a mental illness doesn’t separate me from the world in fact it makes me stand out to change the world!

This story is a part of the Life Unlimited series.

I was very depressed during my junior year in high school but chalked it up to moving to a new house away from my friends. I struggled with depression during my undergraduate college years, as my grades started slipping, no matter how hard I studied. The indication that I was bipolar, came after experiencing a full blown hyper manic attack bordering on psychotic when I was 23. The full menu of that type of mania was present: hypersexuality, delusions, risky behavior, and difficult interpersonal relations.

I was legally committed to a psychiatric hospital at the peak of my mania. I was placed in a padded room for 48 hours, when they still had them. As I took lithium for some months, I completely crashed into an extremely deep and dark depression. A suicide by overdose attempt landed me back in the hospital. While there, as I sunk deeper, I attempted suicide again. I was placed in a confined area with one-on-one supervision. After 25 ECT treatments, I was well enough to go home.

The main thing I dealt with a lot was the inability to form meaningful romantic relations because of the rejection from many men because I had a mental illness. Also, I had always thought of being a mother, but after having conversations with my psychiatrist, decided the risk of having to be off lithium prior to becoming pregnant, due to the teratogenic effects to the fetus and having to be off lithium during the pregnancy, would more than likely lead to a hyper manic episode. I did not want to risk that but have found this a difficult loss to handle.

In brief: years, tears, family, friends, and therapy have helped me move forward. Six years ago, I took advantage of a facility that offered many different types of therapies including DBT, CBT, group, art, and individual therapies. Various experiences have shaped me. I went to graduate school six months after my ECT treatments and received a graduate degree in communications. I worked briefly in that field and then worked in finance and banking. I went to nursing school when I was 43 and have worked in various behavioral health fields since then. This has been very rewarding.

I realized that I had survived so much that I gained newfound confidence and realized I was very strong. I currently have a supportive husband who knows what the symptoms are of mania and depression and if he senses something amiss, we talk about it. I also see the psychiatrist I have seen for the past 30 years, regularly.

This story is a part of the Life Unlimited series.

Around age 9, I noticed that I didn’t process thoughts and ideas the same way that my peers did. I was labeled as “overly-emotional”. I knew that mental illness was a “thing” even at that young age. However, the level of ignorance and unawareness, especially in the black community, made things markedly more difficult throughout my formative years. My worst was two years ago. I was in the wrong place and surrounded by the wrong people. I was literally dying and wasting away, but thankfully, members of my family and loved ones were able to help me in recovery.

I knew I had to clean up my mental and emotional diet. Gone were the days of watching the news and morbid shows and associating with the wrong crowd. I now find out about the world by venturing out into it. I also, relocated from Memphis to Dallas, which is arguably the greatest thing I’ve ever done for myself. I’ve had to overcome self-doubt, disloyalty, being obsessed with my condition, and the fear of making that one huge step toward healing and recovery. I am continuing to pursue my goals and establish positive, beneficial relationships with those from my past.

I’ve learned that I’m not perfect and that I do have my “unpleasant moments”, but I have learned to be humble and listen. I’m continuing to learn to adapt to the ebbs and flows of my family and friends in order to live a productive, loving, and happy life. I stay on the path to wellness, participating in therapy and remaining medicinally compliant. I volunteer with the homeless and mentally ill (www.mettaassociation.org). I am active in church. Mainly, I have long term plans for my family and myself, but just go one day at a time, moment by moment.

This story is a part of the Life Unlimited series.

One cannot talk about the light without mentioning the dark, one cannot talk about who they are without mentioning their past. I want to talk about my darkest moment, where I got to a place I never thought I would get, because it is important. It is important to share our positive and negative experiences with the world.

My darkest moment came not long ago actually. I was experiencing a mixed episode, something I had not experienced for years. I was cycling from very low, unable to get out of bed to manic and excessively self-destructive. I reached a place I had never reached before; during this time, I self-harmed for the first time. It is not something I am proud of, but it happened. I reached out to my work to request time off, concerned that I would again be hospitalized. My work was wonderful they gave me the time off and started the paperwork for Short Term Disability. I had to find a way to come back from the darkness, but I was lost. I have been passively suicidal since I was 8. I experience passive suicidal thoughts nearly every day, but this was an area I had never ventured into before; these were active concerns. I started to stay away from home where there were risks for me, I avoided trains, bridges, and major highways. I knew that I needed assistance but I struggled to find it, I could not afford PHP and hospitals did not want to admit me. I struggled and I struggled HARD.

However, this is not a sad story it is a recovery story. Recovery happened thanks to my team. My team of professionals, yes, my therapist and psychiatrist were instrumental, however, the real unsung hero here are my friends who came together to make sure I did not spend a night alone. My friends who continue to check on me, who reach out to me during the night and continue to reach out in the light. They brought me food when I could not get out of the bed, they sat with me while I started into oblivion and did not make a fuss over it, they listened when I could not stop talking, they redirected my energy from destruction tasks to safe tasks, and they never stopped. My mother who I would call crying about wanting to be “normal” and who reassured that all would be okay that I had a mental illness no different from a physical illness. I recovered, I am back at work, I am back walking home every night and I am back to being me.

I recovered, thanks to my team. My team is diverse and spread across the country and across multi-roles in my life. My life is a rollercoaster and I have learned to accept the dips and the climbs as part of the ride, and I am glad that I am on this ride with my team.

This story is a part of the Life Unlimited series.

I’ve had many years dealing with depression and mania. My symptoms started in my late teens. I would sit in despair and cry or lay in a stupor as though in a cocoon. Other times I would engage in tremendous parties, soar with spiritual ecstasy, or plan political take-overs. I suppose that since I was never suicidal early on, I didn’t receive help. I wasn’t all that familiar with bipolar disorder; I just thought this was life.

It wasn’t until I hit graduate school that things got out of control. I became so depressed and felt suicidal. A friend advised me to go to the student counselor. I remember sitting on a fire escape with my backpack in my lap, contemplating whether or not to go. I did. I spoke to the counselor for one hour before she politely excused herself and returned to say that my case was too serious for me to be seen there in the student center, but that I would need to see their psychiatrist. She led me down the hall to my first experiences with medications. My world was thus forever changed.

The next bipolar milestone had to do with mania. I began losing sleep due to creative thinking into the wee hours of the night. I wrote a thesis in three days and choreographed a ballet in a single night. I then began to make large political signs to place along the freeway. This is when the police arrived at the bidding of my boss and I was carted away to a psychiatric hospital. This was the first in a long line of hospitalizations, medications and electroconvulsive therapy treatments. I visited three community hospitals, each with lengthy stays while the doctors tried to stabilize me.

After these experiences, I decided to go back to school and received a Fulbright to go to Germany and do research. I attempted to do this without medication. It proved to be a year from hell with constant mood swings. I spoke at an international conference and returned to the States one month early to stabilize once again. Lesson: Don’t go off your medication. I taught in the university system for four years before deciding to work on my doctorate. There was a mix of support and negativity when people found out I was doing this. The major sentiment was one of displeasure and worry. But with an amazing therapist, doctor, certain members of my family and supportive friends, I accomplished my final goal with just three hospitalizations and one round of electroconvulsive therapy. I have been stable for years now. I work as a coordinator of an inpatient psychiatric unit and I am happy, finally ok, just fine.

This story is a part of the Life Unlimited series.

I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 24 years old. At that time, I was working as a pharmaceutical sales representative, was engaged and planning my dream wedding, and remodeling a fixer home. I lost sleep; waking up at 3 a.m. to call relatives. My mind raced and I had an exorbitant amount of energy. Along with grandiosity came a large purchase—a timeshare, which was later returned with the help of a lawyer. I experienced delusions that the FBI and CIA were after me. It was then that my parents took me to a psychiatrist. While the delusions went away, feelings of shame/stigma stayed, and my engagement fell apart. I went back to work feeling very awkward and out of place. I felt alone and different.

One year later, I questioned my diagnosis. I did little to educate myself on bipolar and began to tinker with my medications. Soon, the anxiety, paranoia, and delusions returned, with much greater intensity. That is when I got a glimpse inside the walls of a psychiatric facility. (No balloons and flowers here.) This stay only lasted 7 days, but recovery lasted months.

Upon discharge, a nurse recommended the DBSA Berkeley, CA support group. This group impacted me greatly—listening to others tell their stories, their struggles, I began to hear my own. Racing thoughts, spending sprees, direct contact with God…their experiences were mine too. I was in disbelief, but relieved. This was real. I wasn’t making it up. I was very healthy and stable for many years.

In 2009, stress from work affected my sleep and I didn’t have a plan to manage my symptoms. I was doing my best to stay above water, but over the course of two months, the symptoms were too intense, and I found myself in in-patient treatment again—this time for 72 days. By the grace of God, I recovered enough over the subsequent 15 months to return to a new, less stressful career. Since then I’ve also gotten married and started a family. I feel grateful that I could work closely with my ob/gyn and psychiatrist to have a safe pregnancy with medications.

I continue to stay well with the love and support of my husband, a daily yoga practice, and a collaborative relationship with my psychiatrist. I’m also helping to start a DBSA support group in my area. Some days are better than others, but I am grateful for recovery.

This story is a part of the Life Unlimited series.

I wasn’t diagnosed with bipolar disorder until my first depressive episode, which was triggered by my dad’s suicide. My dad had bipolar disorder too. Because of his illness, he was emotionally distant. Growing up, I was outgoing, productive and passionate. Sure, I engaged in some risky behaviors in college—like sexual promiscuity—but I just chalked that up to college. Then my first depressive episode knocked me down. It felt like I’d been dropped into a vat of cold molasses, and I was coated with a slimy film that covered my body and mind. I cried non-stop and I lost my appetite. I was unable to drive. All the things I knew how to do—even simple things like brushing my teeth—became foreign and difficult. I stayed with my mom (a psychotherapist) during my episode, and she took care of me—then aged twenty-eight—like I was her little girl again.

When I was given a diagnosis of Bipolar II, it seemed like a death sentence. I had the same illness that killed my dad. I started seeing a therapist and a psychiatrist. I tried antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and anticonvulsants. I struggled with side effects. Weight gain, check. Weight loss, check. Sleeping too much, check. Feeling worse, check. Luckily, I found a cocktail of meds that works for me.

After a nasty argument with my husband, I took a bunch of pills and washed them down with red wine. Even though I knew how it felt to lose someone to suicide, there I was attempting to end my own life. I ended up in the emergency room, then to an inpatient mental hospital. Once I recovered, I promised myself I’d never go back.

It’s ironic that it took my dad’s death for me to understand this illness. By accepting my bipolar diagnosis, I’m able to make sense of my dad’s distance. He didn’t isolate himself from me and my mom because he didn’t love us, it was because he was mentally ill. And I see now that sleeping with dozens of strangers and attempting suicide were symptoms of my mental illness. My diagnosis taught me to forgive both my dad, and myself.

Someone once asked me whether I would get rid of my bipolar disorder if I could. My answer was (and still is) no. In spite of my illness, I’ve built a successful 13-year career in the film industry. I’ve also published articles about my struggle in several media outlets, and I have a blog in which I share my stories about living with bipolar disorder. I’m currently writing a book about my experiences called Daddy Issues: A Memoir. I have a strong support network of health care professionals, friends and family who support me in everything I do. I’ve made it through several major manic and depressive episodes, and I do my best to set healthy limits and avoid triggers. I’m living proof that a bipolar diagnosis is not a death sentence.

This story is a part of the Life Unlimited series.

At DBSA, we share powerful stories from individuals whose lives have been shaped—but not defined—by mood disorders. These stories serve as reminders that even in our darkest moments, hope is possible, healing is real, and no one has to face this journey alone.

Naomi N.

“I don’t want to die, but I don’t want to live in pain,” my internal thoughts said to me during my suicide attempt at the age of fourteen. I didn’t realize until after trying to kill myself that I wanted to be alive.

Vail Smith

I could not have pictured my life turning out like this before, but now I like how my fellow DBSA Peer Support Specialists apprentices and I are not letting our mental health issues control us!

Lynn G.

After becoming open about my struggles with suicidality and bipolar disorder, the world became a brighter place, and I created genuine relationships with people, almost for the first time.

Love B.

As a person living with mental health conditions, participating in the groups gives me a sense of community and something to look forward to. When I’m having a bad day, I know someone will be there to listen.

Rhonda Greder

My involvement with DBSA gave me back my sense of purpose and meaning. Almost immediately, I realized what a privilege it is to walk alongside others as they seek wellness.

Bonnie Rosenthal

I deal with depression every single day. I question why I was put here on this earth. I say to myself: you were put here on this earth to make a difference in other people's lives. I do that when someone comes to DBSA.

Olivia Eiler

I felt like no one could understand what I was going through. DBSA support groups taught me I was wrong.

Jean Duncan

I have learned so much in meetings about how to remain well and handle life’s big and small challenges.

Vanessa Harris

For me, the support groups are a place where we can let our hair down. We can talk about the things people say to us that make us feel bad. A lot of us have experienced the same types of discrimination and can say “Yeah, I’ve heard that too. I understand.”

Nicolette Rivera

Summer of 2021 will mark 20 years of my living with Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety and Panic Disorder. I was diagnosed at 19 years old, right before starting my second year of college.

Kristin McNally

I have a strong history of trauma that started at age 9 and continued until I was 19. I knew I was different from an early age. At 19, I had people in my life who helped me seek therapy.

Denise Kashdan

My experience with depression has taught me that I can reach out for help when I need it and to surround myself with supportive people.

Nikyra McCann

At 20 years old, I was hospitalized for one month and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Lisa Griffin

I was very depressed during my junior year in high school but chalked it up to moving to a new house away from my friends.

George Brooks

Around age 9, I noticed that I didn’t process thoughts and ideas the same way that my peers did.

Cassie Griffith

It is important to share our positive and negative experiences with the world.

Catherine Herman

I’ve had many years dealing with depression and mania. My symptoms started in my late teens.

Krista Samimi

I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 24 years old.

Carrie Cantwell

I wasn’t diagnosed with bipolar disorder until my first depressive episode, which was triggered by my dad’s suicide.

Katie Terry

Last April, I found myself in the office of a new therapist for the third time due to a homophobic comment made by my previous therapist.

Amy Taylor

Despite my childhood years where I was diagnosed with ADHD, my struggle with mental illness began many years ago in high school during my sophomore year.

Terri Rimmer

Born into a dysfunctional family as the youngest of four girls, I experienced a childhood that shaped my future.

John Budin

I am a psychiatrist with a practice in New York City and I have bipolar disorder. My story is about the voices in my head.

Carrie Hawes

Since I was 5 years old, my life has felt like a constant roller coaster of chaos, although at an early age I gained some coping skills...

Dr. Eleora Han

The best way I can describe my experience with bipolar is that it is like the movie A Beautiful Mind—minus the paranoid schizophrenia.

Mark Sanford

I had a great childhood, playing sports and spending time with family. We lived near the beach in the South Coast of Massachusetts and I had access to all ocean activities growing up.

Aurita Apodaca

Even as a young child, I lacked impulse control and fear of consequences. If I wasn’t engaged and feeling like I was learning something new, I’d get bored very easily...

Nathaniel Hall

I believe I was born with a predisposition for mental health conditions and that substance use disorder triggered its onset.

Elvira Gladys Crespo Castillo

My mother, widowed at an early age, was a teacher and I was her youngest daughter. She had to face life with three children in an underdeveloped country.

Bryan Rich

Adapt. Improvise. Overcome.... This saying was powerful while I was serving in the United States Army, and it still is.

David Neuer

Is there a tipping point in a person’s life where the drive to be better, to never quit, and to throw off doubt...

Sue Atkinson

Bipolar disorder did not become a part of my life until I was 34. While I had experienced several bouts of depression earlier in my life...

Jeena Jodikinos

At an early age, I started to feel like I was much different than people around me. I’ve always felt that I have never truly fit in with the crowd.

Kristin Finn

Let the journey begin. I relied on two diaries from ages 10-20 to help recall details. Partying with friends to help slow my racing mind...

Sara S. Mushegian

I’m 61. And, I have really only discovered in the past nine years what it means to live Life Unlimited by mental pain.

Alex Hanna

Mental health challenges are no joke. They suck. Suffering with anxiety, severe depression, and ADHD has made "adult life" challenging.

Rachel Reed

Ever since I was a child, I felt different, too emotional for my own good. When I was fourteen, the feelings became too much, and my doctor prescribed an antidepressant.

Mergery Wachira

After living with bipolar disorder for ten years, I can see that God uses the struggles of a few to save the lives of many.

Sarah Bauer Hernandez

Having bipolar disorder has not made for an easy life. But within my pain and struggles there have been transformative gifts...

Rebecca Lombardo

At 19, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. From that point, life was a struggle. My moods were all over the place.

Sheri Medford

Over the years, medications changed, counselors changed, locations changed, but the condition was always there—relentless.

Bryan Barks

One of the most emotional moments of my life was when I decided I was staying—when I took suicide off the table.

Karen Trudel

I’ve always excelled in everything I’ve tried. In grade school, I swam on the YMCA swim team.

James Benton

To put it mildly, my upbringing was pretty tempestuous. As a result, I developed woefully low self-esteem—I was inherently not good enough, no matter the situation...

Mark Wenzel

One day, a little more than three years ago, I was lying in my mother's bed curled up in the fetal position.

Chuck Fink

I define my life by one never-ending belief: I believe in me. That belief has guided me from hell into a fulfilling life...

Adrian Cunanan

I have always loved technology. I even go as far as saying, “My mind (aka my CPU) is my favorite and most powerful muscle.”

Adam Tewell

It happened very quickly. I had just finished my sophomore year at college and was working at a summer camp.

Dee Maopolski

“You’re not good enough!” “Things will never get better!” “It’s hopeless!” These are just a few of the voices of bipolar disorder that have been living in my head since I was a teenager.

Ben Vickers

I developed major depressive disorder when I was eighteen, caused by severe social anxiety. Treatments failed, perhaps not unexpectedly...

Bridget Miller

As with many of us I knew from an early age I was different from the children and adults that were in my life.

Ivy N. McQuain

It never crossed my mind that I might be suffering from a mental illness, despite staying awake for days at a time...

Tina Mason

I’m a 47 year old single mother that used to maintain a wonderful career in the healthcare industry and had a very productive life until the end of 2008.

Regina M.

On a fragrant, spring evening in 2006, my mood and behavior were marred by somber darkness and crippling psychosis. It was my first break in several years.

Sonja E. Mattison

In the dark year of 1999, I was challenged with a dilemma that I thought could not be solved. But luckily, with treatment and time, I recovered gracefully.

Colleen King

When I was eight years old I announced that when I grew up I was going to be a famous artist and live in Paris.

Robert Graves

Some of my earliest memories go back to when I was in kindergarten. These are not happy memories of friends, coloring, chocolate milk, and cookies.

Trevor McCauley

My journey with bipolar certainly has framed my adult life, but it hasn’t defined it. Just getting a correct diagnosis was certainly half the battle...

Kitt O’Malley

As a college freshman, I fell into a suicidal depression, believing that my family and the world would be better off without me.

Dyane Leshin-Harwood

I was raised in Los Angeles, the daughter of a world-class violinist who played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Jennifer Marshall

My mental illness emerged at the very end of 2005 in December—two years into my marriage, but before kids came along.

Ashley H. Johnson

I was born to a substance-addicted mother in a rough section of North Philadelphia, and was raised by my grandmother and step-grandfather.

AJ French, CRSS

When I found out I had been named the recipient of DBSA’s 2014 Life Unlimited Award, I was stunned.

Ellen Forney

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder shortly before my 30th birthday.

Graeme Cowan

Beginning in 2000, I lived with a 5 year episode of depression which my psychiatrist described as the worst he had ever treated.

Marya Hornbacher

If you walk about half a block down my street, you’ll see it—the locked treatment center for kids where I lived in the late 1980s.

Randi Kranz

I always knew something wasn’t right. Throughout childhood, I swung back and forth between states of high energy and low self esteem.

Molly Jenkins

If I had to pinpoint a time when I first felt the symptoms of depression—the feelings of sadness, aloneness, and worthlessness...

Gayathri Ramprasad, MBA, CPS

“I wish my son had cancer instead of depression” the mother of an Indian teenager I recently met said to me.

Victoria Cain

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” Pr. 13:12. This scripture beautifully describes the journey I have traveled...

Steve Brannon

After a distinguished career in the Navy, I was proud to join the public sector utilizing the immeasurable discipline and knowledge...

Lucy Ingram

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder during my sophomore year of college. I distinctly remember how alone and scared I felt...

Melody Moezzi

If you met me five years ago, it may well have been on a locked psychiatric ward. I may have told you I was a prophet...

Everett Page

I was born in the middle of the great depression in 1933. Hoover was president and my family was trying to make ends meet.

Noeline Piris-Maldonado

What I have learned about living with and overcoming bipolar disorder can be summed up in three words: faith, hope, and knowledge.

Michelle Katz

A diagnosis of bipolar disorder can change your life in an instant. Learning to not be defined by that diagnosis takes faith, support, and sheer will.

Hakeem Rahim

“Never Give Up.” Three bold words written across my favorite SGI International t-shirt. The simple phrase resonates with a lesson that I learned...

David Granirer

My first depression hit when I was 16. After an increasing downward spiral of drinking and abusing prescription drugs, I attempted suicide...

Joanne Shortell

In 2002, I was on the way to marriage with the love of my life. I was a workaholic technologist with a comfortable income.

Ellen Frudakis

I was twenty when I found myself in a mental institution being handed a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

Genevieve Green

I walk into class, my shield a thick blue binder filled with my countless ideas and thoughts—my nature in disorganized paper form.

Kristen Famiano

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2003 at the age 29 after friends and coworkers intervened, confronted my mood instability...

Linea Johnson

I was first officially diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of nineteen after falling into a suicidal depression.

Walter Hudson

The elite United States Army Airborne Rangers' motto "Rangers Lead The Way!" originated when the US Army Rangers were tasked...

Celeste Trotz

Acceptance. The acceptance of having the bipolar disorder was not something I knew very well.

Chris Jasikoff

My name is Chris Jasikoff and I am being treated for major depression and social anxiety. My story begins way back in my childhood...

Dana Parker-Mathis

For over twenty years, I have struggled with symptoms of mental illness. When I was only twelve, my father passed away...

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