Thus began my journey to explore GAD more deeply... Along the way, I found the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. I read shared stories, explored resources, and joined a forum full of people like me; a safe space. This community became a beacon of light and a much-needed outlet ..read more

I encountered my first obsessive thought when I was about 10 years old, centered around God and religion. As a shy kid, I kept these feelings to myself... But in my suffering with OCD, I found my passion and community. I made it my life goal to help others with OCD ..read more

I was diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder at the age of 23. I went on to work for many years, marry, divorce, and have three children. And in my 30s I added anxiety and schizoaffective disorder to my mental health repertoire ..read more

My dream was always to be a mother. The day my first child was born, I felt something in me change completely. I didn’t know what it was... But when I saw my daughter, I felt happy, yet alongside that happiness came fear and an unknown feeling ..read more

My OCD tells me that I am a bad mom. Sometimes the self-doubt actually paralyzes me. Or, the self-doubt has me scrambling to do too much. But the self-doubt noise has largely died down, and I have learned to ignore the intrusive thoughts that I am harming my children ..read more

I’m one of those people that if you knew me six or seven years ago you would never have thought I was suffering - or could ever suffer - from depression. I played football in college. I was a successful lawyer in the big city (Chicago) and a family man. A real guys’ guy. I didn’t sit in the corner of a dark room and cry. Instead I was angry. I was irritable. I had severe bouts of rage. I lashed out and couldn’t understand why ..read more

Do not be discouraged when confronted with the impossible. I’m living proof that anything can be done. At 25, with a young family, I was struck with the onset of schizophrenia and anxiety and everything in my world had come to a screeching halt. But I knew I had to push past my fear ..read more

Despite outward success, I had been abusing drugs and alcohol since middle school, a habit I developed to escape emotions I didn’t know how to handle. I knew I had to change or continue suffering indefinitely. Slowly, meditation became a habit, helping me manage my emotions better ..read more

I knew that the answers I was looking for were out there and all I had to do was make an effort to find them. Over time, I became very knowledgeable on how to deal with fear and anxiety which helped me in the long run ..read more

I was irritable with everyone. I lost the ability to smile. It would take years for all of my issues to manifest fully and come to the surface. But being able to go through PTSD behavioral classes with a one-on-one counselor helped me a lot, and I found it also uplifting and relieving at the same time to find "like minded" people to share my mental health issues with ..read more