Personal Stories

The “dragon” (my mental illness) is ever-present and could be planning an attack at any time. If my castle is strong and I have enough warriors on my side, I may just come out of this thing unscathed.

Definitely, with a positive attitude, you can discover the hidden treasures in life, and others can discover the beauty inside of you.

I choose life even though there has not been a single day as far back as I can remember that I haven’t considered suicide at least once. 

I will continue to advocate for families affected by suicide by providing them with a voice, along with my support and the will to live. I am, I will and I can make a difference one step at a time.

I'm not a case worker, housing specialist, psychologist or psychiatrist. I'm just a mom advocating for my son with as much passion as I can muster.

To me, good mental health means actually wanting to get out of bed in the morning and tackling the challenges I normally find overwhelming. To achieve this, I put a lot of effort in maintaining my mental health.

Since I am diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, antipsychotics are a big part of my treatment. I am also, however, one of the 500,000 people who got tardive dyskinesia (TD) from antipsychotics.

So, I had a bad year and fell off the beaten path. I came back a fighter and now speak openly for others in any way I can. I’m still doing well. There is always hope.

I’ve never publicly told my story. In college I feared my peers would view me as a freak. As a professional I worry disclosure can cost me opportunities. This is why I’m speaking out. I want to be part of the solution that ends the stigma.

Stigma is a huge barrier on why many people don’t seek help. We don’t want to be judged for seeking treatment. We don’t want to be defined as weak or incompetent, or even worse, seen as unable to take care of ourselves.