Defying Definition
If I were to make a list of all the words I, or others, might use to describe me, it might include: “weird,” “inconsiderate,” “quiet,” “lonely,” “goofy,” “kind,” “awkward,” “focused,” and “depressed.”
Topic: stigma
There Is No One Way To “Get It Right”
There is tremendous pressure to be a “good” crazy. To match the criteria, to see yourself in the depictions from books or television. To follow the straight line of recovery, as if it’s that easy. As if it’s a straight line at all.
Tomorrow Needs Us to Continue the Work
Tomorrow and the tomorrows that follow will need you. We will need you here, joining us in this ongoing fight.
The Reality of Addiction and How You Can Help
Getting sober is incredibly hard. Staying sober feels impossible most days. Trying to get sober again after a relapse is like trying to punch a volcano into submission.
The Ugly Side of Self-Care
It took me a long time to embrace the ugly side of self-care. I’m a perfectionist at heart, so whenever I’m not at my best, I consider it a failure.
Demi Lovato Is Only Human: Recovery, Relapse, and Response
Demi Lovato is only human. It feels important to start with that. It’s a simple fact, indisputable, but it’s one that can be easily overlooked.
Breaking Barriers at Electric Forest
These walls can, should, and will come down. We will build tomorrow together.
What I Learned While Managing My Mental Health Abroad
It wasn’t my job to educate the locals about mental health or de-stigmatize an entire country. And if it ever got to be too much, I could always go home. Simple enough. Easy.
Discussing Depression Over Dinner
While I was at dinner with two friends, the topic of mental illness and treatment arose. All three of us had openly struggled with both depression and anxiety, but our thoughts on treatment, particularly in regards to antidepressants, were vastly different.
Working It: The Mighty’s Mental Health Editor Sarah Schuster Talks About Managing Her Depression and Anxiety
In college, I would put on gym clothes, tell my roommates I was going to workout, and sneak to counseling. As soon as I started being more open about my mental health struggles, my life got exponentially better.
Stop Saying “Crazy”
You are not crazy. You are not alone. You deserve to be called by your name, not by your diagnosis or your pain.
Being Christian and Living With a Mental Illness
I’m writing about this because the stigma surrounding mental illness, especially in Christian communities, keeps people locked in prisons of shame, refusing to admit that they need help.
