Making Peace with Persistent Depressive Disorder
Persistent depressive disorder (formerly known as dysthymic disorder or dysthymia) is just what it sounds like: depression that persists.
Tag: personal essay
My Social (Anxiety) Life Online
by Sarah Hughes
Social anxiety still exists online. You’re still putting yourself out there and you feel vulnerable opening up, not knowing what response you’ll get.
How I Recovered from a Disorder I Had Never Heard of – Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures
In my research, I found several articles about Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures. Doctors do not use the term pseudo-seizures anymore because it falsifies them and invalidates them. Pseudo is a prefix meaning “false” or “fake,” and the seizures I was having, while not epileptic, were anything but fake.
The Danger of Getting Stuck in the Identity and Drama of Childhood Trauma
Experiencing childhood trauma, I knew that something was wrong or different about me, but for a long time I dismissed that notion.
From Depressed and Suicidal to a New Outlook
I went from unhappy to miserable to struggling to overwhelmed to depressed and suicidal. First I was diagnosed with post-natal depression, followed by treatment-resistant clinical depression. Then came the biggest clanger of all, diagnosis number three: borderline personality disorder.
The Performance of Life: A Son with Bipolar Remembers his Father
by Erez Shek
My father’s compassion when I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder was unreal and unexpected. Importantly, he was engaged in his own efforts to better understand what life is like for a son with bipolar disorder by seeking out support groups.
How Bipolar Support Groups Helped Change My Life
It took months of internal debate before I worked up the courage and the desire to at least give the depression and bipolar support groups a shot.
Painting My Roses Red – Navigating Recovery
Groggy. Always groggy. Part bored, part feeling down. Seems I always have habits I either need to break or start—when I can get around to it. Maybe tomorrow, after my 8:30am nap.
Get Used to Life Without Me: A Dispassionate Road to Suicide with Depression
I crossed seamlessly from ambivalence and malaise into an area I’d never been before: actively planning suicide.
After I Destroyed Myself: Fast and Furious with Bipolar Disorder and Addiction
I’m not an expert on mental health, addiction, or suicide. I’m a survivor.
Faith and Academia Unmask a Psychotic, Bipolar Depression
by Tova Feinman
Depression tricks you into thinking that you are completely alone when, in fact, you are the opposite. No one is truly alone.
From Mental Health Institutionalization to Advocacy
A journey from dark days of mental health institutionalization and repeated electroconvulsive therapy treatments, to a successful advocacy career.
Finding My Faith Despite Losing My Mind
by Katie Dale
On losing my mind with bipolar disorder, the bottom line is this: I need to take my medication, no matter how much faith I possess.
Depression Does Not Discriminate: A Mental Health Essay from Ireland
by Emma Norris
Depression tricks you into thinking that you are completely alone when, in fact, you are the opposite. No one is truly alone.
A Soldier Comes Home, and a Battle with Mental Illness Begins
by Jason Jepson
The doctors recommended that I receive an Honorable Discharge from the Army with a 100% Disability Rating: not what I had planned for my life.
The Big Scare: My Anxiety Disorder Story
A therapist writes with humor and passion about her struggles with panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, and an eating disorder.
Dating with Schizophrenia
by Mike Hedrick
Despite getting progressively better at social interaction, dating with schizophrenia is just too much and, every time I try, I crash and burn.
The Push and Pull of Depression
Still, I resisted. For several years, I didn’t want to accept that the push and pull of depression was a permanent part of me.
The Media’s Obsession with the Mental Illness Scapegoat
by Mike Hedrick
The media is so quick to pick up the mental illness scapegoat because it knows that people need to blame the tragedy on something.
Bipolar Disorder: Never Giving Up
by Carin Meyer
There is only one thing that gets me through the bipolar cycles and that is time. It is a cliché but, during my cycles, the only way is through.
