Mental Health Aloud — Editor in Chief Gabriel Nathan reads our latest mental health recovery essay.
Gabe’s welcoming voice brings each essay to life, making MHA your perfect commuting companion. Pop in your earbuds and subscribe to MHA wherever you listen to podcasts!
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How I Learned I had Bipolar Disorder, or, “The Unpleasantness”
Sheila O’Shea triumphantly shouted, “I called it!” when she was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder II; a mental health diagnosis she always kind of knew she had.
Overcoming My Teenage Traumas Allowed Me to Find Freedom in My Twenties
Julia Tannenbaum’s adolescence was taken from her by a series of teenage traumas and mental health challenges; but she is only looking forward as she thrives in her twenties.
We’ll Leave The Gaslight on For You
This mental health recovery story focuses on Lindsey’s journey through abuse and childhood trauma, gaslighting, and hospitalizations, where Lindsey learned to trust her intuition and find practices around caring for herself. Read more in this mental health essay!
From Manic Insights to a Holistic Truth; Moving Towards Healing with Bipolar Disorder
Alexis Zinkerman writes about the intersectionality between bipolar disorder, spirituality, and creativity.
Anxiety’s Magical Little Pill
Taking Xanax to help Maria Palmer cope with her sometimes debilitating anxiety had serious limitations and, eventually, Maria realized she needed more help.
PTSD: The Unlikely Disease that Brought my Father and I Together
Carissa Chesanek’s father experienced undiagnosed PTSD from his experience in Vietnam. His daughter never went to war, but was diagnosed with the same illness.
Life Has Become Wonderful: My Life with Schizoaffective Disorder (PART 2 OF 2)
This mental health recovery story focuses on Leif’s journey through hospitals, homelessness, and diagnosis. Leif learned to advocate for himself and now finds ways to do so for others. Read more in this two-part essay!
Life Has Become Wonderful: My Life with Schizoaffective Disorder (PART 1 OF 2)
This mental health recovery story focuses on Leif’s journey through hospitals, homelessness, and diagnosis. Leif learned to advocate for himself and now finds ways to do so for others. Read more in this two-part essay!
Lies Mania has Told Me
Bipolar mania told Erika Nichols-Frazer that sex was love, that Stephen Colbert and John Oliver would want to interview her, and that gibberish was genius; these are the lies mania told her.
Decades-long Relationship with Therapist Truly a Gift
Brian Marshall has seen the same therapist for decades, and his relationship with her has been a key element to his recovery from depression.
All The Colors Of Me Only Some Will See: Relearning to Love Your Body After a Trauma
Anne Marie Malloy had trouble loving who she saw in the mirror after facing childhood trauma, so she’s reclaimed control over self-identity with piercings, Doc Martens, and a rebellious attitude to match.
Learning to Prioritize Mental Health and Self-Care through a Traumatic Experience
This mental health recovery story focuses on Andrea’s journey after an incident of unwanted touch in a public place. Andrea felt anger, confused, uncertain how to go on. Through mental health care and re-prioritizing her needs, read how Andrea learned to heal from her trauma.
Long-Distance Running and Long-Running Depression: An Enduring Partnership
Eleni Stephanides has learned how to run with depression, instead of running from it.
A New Psychiatric RN Faces Her Career, and her own Mental Health
As someone who lives with panic disorder, OCD and anxiety, Caitlin Irish is uniquely positioned to help people as a psychiatric nurse, and uniquely challenged.
Walking through Life with Grief
Losing people is always hard; for Amanda Wolf, the grief and loss following the deaths of a close friend and her grandfather threatened to overcome her.
Magical Thinking as Trauma Response: How I Created Safety through Imagination
Faced with traumas before unimagined, Laura turned to the tool of magical thinking to create safety after ongoing experiences of trauma.
Anxiety & Trauma Poems
Faced with trauma and grief, writer Laura Farrell turned to poetry to process her experiences.
Done Running: a Budding Pharmacist Confronts Her Eating Disorder & Sexuality
Jules Aukerman, a budding pharmacist, confronts her sexuality and her eating disorder in this genuine, compassionate essay.
Misunderstood, Misdiagnosed, Misled: My Story of Illness and Addiction
Christina faced issues with addiction and the law, due to underlying mental issues, eventually with the proper help and diagnosis she learned to tackle these issues.
Knock, Knock. Who’s There? OCD.
Megan Fisher tried in vain to conceal her OCD behaviors from those closest to her, and therapy wasn’t the magic cure-all, until she found hope and help, compassion and change.
Mind Games: Depression & Anxiety Gripped My Father; COVID Nearly Took Him Away
Khadija grew up with two hard-working, loving parents, it was later in life that she experienced the impact of her father’s depression.
When Running From The Voices In Your Head Takes You Someplace New
Avis Yarbrough considers herself “shy” and “timid,” someone who stays at home. But when she first started hearing voices in her late twenties, she was catapulted on a trip she would have never taken otherwise.
Depression and Mental Illness: Disease or Condition?
A man wrestles with whether his depression and suicidality are diseases or conditions in this introspective and far-reaching essay.
Forgiving the Hurt: What Does it Mean to Forgive Our Abusers?
Alicia McClendon has been parsing out the word “forgiveness” for some time now. Can you forgive your own mother for causing you childhood trauma? And what does it mean to forgive while still holding on to your truth?
Melancholy & Cinnamon; A Journey through Mental Hell, and How Poetry Saved my Life
Gabrielle Guillon has come a long way from growing up with depression and abuse as her constant companions; poetry has helped her heal.
How Living With Depression Influences My Personal Growth
Onome felt a lack of support in her childhood, which quickly spiraled into depression, although it was hard to find treatment in Nigeria and Ghan, she eventually got the help she needed.
Deciding to Get Better: The Choice to Fight Schizoaffective Disorder
Cheyenne Ruiz spent much of her adolescence fighting panic attacks, working through depression, and pretending hallucinations weren’t happening. One hallucination pushed her to take recovery into her own hands.
A Goodbye Call in a Summer Afternoon: Noticing Suicide Warning Signs May Be the Difference Between Life and Death
When her uncle called trying to give a cryptic goodbye, Thaís Freita noticed suicide warning signs and saved a life.
Labeling Abuse in a Borderline Relationship
Two people with borderline personality disorder begin a romantic relationship that quickly becomes toxic, out-of-control, desperate, and dangerous.
Is This What Normal Feels Like? Finding the Right Treatment for Bipolar Disorder
Aneta Dabrowska felt the ups and downs of bipolar type II as a teenager, but no one around her knew how to react. When she entered adulthood, Aneta set on a journey to understand her illness on her own terms.