As the prevalence of mental health issues increases and affects an ever larger number of our friends and family, it becomes essential that we create spaces for folks to talk about how they overcame or persisted despite mental health challenges. Here, we’ve tried to create a safe space for people to come together and discuss their stories, experiences, triumphs and failures with managing their mental health issues.
Kaye Lejaye
I have suffered with mental health issues for years now. It was hard then and still is now, but finding ways to overcome mental helps a lot. I am still overcoming mine, but to get to the point I am now, I have to first pray…..PRAY! YOU HERE ME. I believe in God so I worship him, but even for others who have their own beliefs in their own higher power, pray for strength, pray for abundance, pray for sanity. I also look at my family, particularly, my kids. Read more>>
Lauren Bonham
This is a question that most people would shy away from answering because it is so vulnerable, but this is also a question that needs to be talked about more, especially this day in age with all the social media, prescription drugs, smart phones etc. mental health issues are higher than ever. Read more>>
Melinda Mages
I had one of the hardest years of my life two years ago in 2022. I started the year off with my first time getting Covid 19. While I was still at home recovering my grandmother’s health started failing and she got put on hospice care. Because I still had symptoms I was not able to go visit her in person and I had to say my final goodbye to her via FaceTime. Read more>>
Anngee Marlar
I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder at the age of 30. I was married and had two beautiful daughters that I was blessed to stay home with. I was afraid and nervous all the time. I kept asking myself what I was so afraid of but couldn’t get to the bottom of it. I was constantly overthinking everything and always on edge. I went to my Doctor because I knew I needed help. My Doctor wrote me a prescription for Anti-Anxiety meds. The medication helped but the anxiety would still rear its ugly head from time to time. Read more>>
Ellianna Doorn
When I was diagnosed with alopecia, it was initially a significant challenge for me. My hair was my identity, it’s what made me, me. Losing my hair and having no control over it affected my self-esteem and confidence. However, this experience also became a turning point in my life. I realized that while I couldn’t control what was happening to my body, I could control how I responded to it. Read more>>
Ben Arrington
I was a pretty good athlete growing up. I played varsity golf all four years in high school and earned a scholarship to play golf at New Mexico State University. In my mid 20’s I became addicted to heroin and crack. I almost lost my life a few times because of my use. When I was accepted into a treatment center at the age of 28 I was 104lbs. I’m 5’9” and 170 right now. While detoxing I had acute kidney failure and pneumonia and because of these complications I spent six days in the ICU. Read more>>
Stells Di Rossi Hurst
Living with PTSD as a public figure and performer feels like constantly walking a tightrope, where every step is fraught with the possibility of falling into an abyss that the world doesn’t see or understand. Despite the outward appearance of success, strength, and confidence, there’s an unseen battle raging within—a constant struggle to keep the demons at bay. While the world may admire your talent and charisma, they often overlook the silent, internal war you fight every day, assuming that everything is fine because you seem fine on the surface. Read more>>
Jacob Boyle
I’ve likely struggled with my mental health longer than I can remember, but the first instance I can pinpoint noticing “something was wrong” was at my 8th grade dance. In the middle of all of my friends and peers having an absolute blast all around me – gleefully singing the uncensored original lyrics to CeeLo Green’s “Forget You” in front of teachers powerless to stop them – I felt at an absolute low; lonely when I wasn’t alone, empty on a night I was supposed to be full of life. And that feeling would continue the next day, and the next day, and the next day… Read more>>
Crissa-jean Chappell
When I was little, numbers dominated my life. I used to call it “the counting game,” but it wasn’t fun at all. I’d count to ten while I was brushing my teeth. Or when I climbed the steps to the front porch. If I landed on an even number, I passed the test. For the longest time, I believed that everybody else’s brains worked the same way. I was constantly panicking about doing something wrong. And it wasn’t just about numbers. But the secret rules, as I imagined them, were always changing and I could never keep up. Touch the wall ten times. Read more>>
Chris Gilmore
After over a decade as a successful trader in Chicago’s bustling financial community, I moved home to help my father deal with the challenges brought on by a 19-year battle with stage 4 throat and neck cancer. While initially believing we would have only a month or two together in the final stages of his life, it ended up being three years of 24/7 care. During that time, I gained 100 pounds and was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Depression, and PTSD. While I focused every day on my dad’s challenges, I put my career, fitness, and general well-being on hold, as many caregivers do. Read more>>
Anna Peck
Oh gosh, I feel like my journey with mental health started has a kid and I didn’t even fully comprehend that until adulthood. Being born with a genetic disorder and having multiple surgeries since birth and still having surgeries now in my thirties while trying to balance life and motherhood and diving head first into the world of small business, not having a clue about what I’m doing. Read more>>
Julie & Jon Hamm
Jon, my husband, and I started breeding French Bulldogs in December of 2021. This was probably the hardest time of my life to embark on something new. Earlier in 2021 both of my brothers passed away. The loss of the two of them hit me like a ton of bricks. I have always struggled with depression and anxiety and these events only exacerbated these struggles. Even though it was not the best time to be starting a new business I am incredibly thankful we did. Breeding French Bulldogs has helped me so much in the way of being happy. Read more>>
Dori Iris Zabari
Four years into my PhD program, I started getting panic attacks. It was a time when a lot was happening on a personal and professional level in my life, and it became the perfect storm that led to a major depressive episode, or as I like to call it, my breakdown (as Brené Brown has termed it). Read more>>
Greg Howard Jr
Medication definitely helps haha But there are still days when that little voice in the back of my head makes me question why I still do all the things I do or that nobody is going to consume the content that I put out. On those days, I have to tell myself that even if nobody reads my books or magazines or listens to the podcasts I enjoy doing it and that’s enough. Read more>>
Laura Walton
On both sides of my family, we don’t have much cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or any other physical illnesses. But we do have mental health challenges, and lots of them. I have multiple family members on both sides who have committed suicide, and many others who have struggled with mental health. Read more>>
Liz Derr
I’ve struggled with mental health issues for most of my life and they are ongoing. Within the last year and a half I’ve had three surgeries, one of them being a partial hysterectomy. I’ve been in and out of the hospital due to complications and my inability to continue to heal. Paired with an auto-immune disorder I was recently diagnosed with, I’ve had a lot going on to say the least. Read more>>
