Their stories

A completely dark room, a bed torn apart with sheets, trash and tissues strewn about. A sole person, shriveled alone in his bed. This is what depression looks like. No, that is not what depression looks like. A brightly lit room filled with inviting friends and vibrant colors, mimicking the actions and laughter amongst his friends. Not in the dark, not alone, not crying; instead, he is surround...

March, 1999. Stacey Dennigmann woke up thinking it would be a normal day. The sun rose. Cars drove by. Everything seemed normal. However, she would soon discover that it would be one of the worst days of her life. After hearing a knock, Dennigmann was greeted by State Patrol on her doorstep. The news they delivered changed her life forever: her father had committed suicide. “They went to my mom...

The pale walls surrounding Brianna English reflected how she was feeling: colorless. Numb. Empty. The room, however, was familiar; this was not her first stay in a psychiatric hospital. Her stepmother sat next to her on her bed — nothing more than a wood cot — at DePaul Hospital, where English had been staying, holding back tears as she spoke to the girl she loved as her own daughter, the girl ...

Growing up, people all around me have struggled. I personally have struggled. But, my problems are very different from others. Many high schoolers, middle schoolers, and maybe even elementary schoolers have mental health illnesses. Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, there are many different kinds. And I’ve met lots of people with different kinds of illnesses, and it’s been a different experie...

You don’t see it on the surface; in the recesses of your mind, it lurks. It wears you down slowly, distances you from the world. It preys on your pain, loneliness and fear. It may even make you regret the breaths you take and the life you have. No, I’m not describing the boogeyman. I’m describing mental illness. According to teenmentalhealth.org, ⅕ of the kids you sit next to in class or walk...

My thoughts spiral. It's like I'm drowning but the air is still in my lungs. Shaking, sweating, hyperventilating, nauseous - “You're overreacting,” I tell myself. “It's not even that bad. Everyone does this.” I start shaking, bouncing my leg as quickly as my thoughts as they move faster and further inward, consuming me, overtaking me. “This probably isn't even real,” my brai...

Walk faster. Burn more. Eat less. Weigh less. These thoughts flew through my head faster than I could understand. I didn’t understand what I was dealing with. I could only understand one thing; I only had one goal: lose weight. It consumed me; I would lay in bed for hours thinking of nothing but how I could lose more weight. Looking back, I was by no means overweight. I had a very normal body; nothing ...

According to nami.org, 1 out of 5 teens have experienced or still have a mental illness and 1 in 2 of those teens cut themselves. Many people struggle with depression, self harm, or any mental illness. Victims of these struggles are ridiculed or ostracized nearly every day. This should not be the case. A few weeks ago, I wore shorts to school for the first time in almost 2 years because of the scars that...

I wake up. Not in tears over the excruciating school day that lies ahead, not chipper and making my green smoothie ready to #TackleThisTuesday, not happy to see my friends; I just wake up. I wake up most mornings in a numb, catatonic state. I don't feel happy, I don't feel sad, I'm not angry, and while I am exhausted, it's not what I'm thinking about; the thing is, I am not thinking about anything....

My eyes are open, but I can’t see anything. My hands are laying flat on something, I can’t place the feeling. I can’t place any feeling. I can’t move. Water hits my feet. It’s rushing over me. Faster, it’s bringing me under. My legs have gone under, my body, my head sinks under. I try to hold onto my breath as long as I can. The water is dragging me down into its black depths. Why can�...