Despite the many decades that have passed since “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, many negative myths still persist about ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) for persistent, suicidal depression; Brian Marshall’s essay aims to bust those myths.
Like so many people who try to take their own lives, Sandra Stevens came from trauma; wishing she had never been born. She took many steps to achieve the desire to stay in this world; this is her story.
Javier Ortega-Araiza was feeling suicidal, and it wasn’t the first time that happened. His essay talks about his mental health recovery.
by John Callas
A man wrestles with whether his depression and suicidality are diseases or conditions in this introspective and far-reaching essay.
by Chris Brown
After a suicide attempt, Chris Brown, a young man living in England, realized that having a father who could hear him and be with him in that moment, made all the difference.
Chris Russell, an actor living with bipolar disorder, writes about medication, realizations, acceptance, and managing his mental health.
When Danielle Hark was experiencing postpartum depression, she turned to photography to aid in her mental health recovery.
by Max Noir
Max Noir lives with anxiety, depression, and chronic lyme disease, but she has not let these conditions diminish her capabilities, limit her travel, or her love of life.
Bharti Bansal reaches out a gentle, compassionate hand from India to a friend she has never met, another human being considering suicide, just like she did.
As a police officer, trauma, PTSD, and thoughts of suicide threatened to end Constable James Jefferson’s career, and his life, but he wouldn’t allow it.
When bipolar actor Chris Russell was experiencing suicidal ideation, he called the Lifeline; this is what he learned.
Dear Mom, I Want to Kill Myself is a heartbreaking and, ultimately, hopeful essay about overcoming suicidal thoughts and helping family members heal and grow.
by Hira Raza
Hira Raza shares how culture and parental pressure can impact a child’s mental health, leading to an eating disorder and depression in Pakistan.
I’m writing now as a happy and fulfilled young adult. But ten years ago, I thought my life was worth ending.
I felt like a complete failure. I had always been able to handle everything without an issue. But at first, navigating depression was another story.
I endured this routine for so long: try a new medication to alleviate my treatment resistant depression and either feel horrible or feel absolutely nothing.
Before I had a name for my mental illness — bipolar disorder and ptsd — this is what it felt like: playing diagnosis dress-up, trying on labels, seeing how they fit, and feeling lost — like there was nothing left in my closet to wear.
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.