147 Case Studies: Real Stories Of People Overcoming Struggles of Mental Health

At Tracking Happiness, we’re dedicated to helping others around the world overcome struggles of mental health.

In 2022, we published a survey of 5,521 respondents and found:

  • 88% of our respondents experienced mental health issues in the past year.
  • 25% of people don’t feel comfortable sharing their struggles with anyone, not even their closest friends.

In order to break the stigma that surrounds mental health struggles, we’re looking to share your stories.

Overcoming struggles

They say that everyone you meet is engaged in a great struggle. No matter how well someone manages to hide it, there’s always something to overcome, a struggle to deal with, an obstacle to climb.

And when someone is engaged in a struggle, that person is looking for others to join him. Because we, as human beings, don’t thrive when we feel alone in facing a struggle.

Let’s throw rocks together

Overcoming your struggles is like defeating an angry giant. You try to throw rocks at it, but how much damage is one little rock gonna do?

Tracking Happiness can become your partner in facing this giant. We are on a mission to share all your stories of overcoming mental health struggles. By doing so, we want to help inspire you to overcome the things that you’re struggling with, while also breaking the stigma of mental health.

Which explains the phrase: “Let’s throw rocks together”.

Let’s throw rocks together, and become better at overcoming our struggles collectively. If you’re interested in becoming a part of this and sharing your story, click this link!

Zane Landin Featured Image

How I’m Seeking Moments of Happiness Despite Struggling With Depression

“The diagnosis I longed for finally arrived, but it didn’t bring the expected empowerment. While it sheds light on my struggles, it also serves as a reminder that this is a part of me that won’t simply vanish. Though mental health can be managed, I know it will always leave its mark. The most challenging part is not always pinpointing why I feel the way I do.”

Simone Featured Image

How I Found My Self-Worth After Battling Chronic Pain, Anxiety and Panic Attacks

“I remember being floored with a horrible throat infection, and I was just crying. I was done suffering, I couldn’t do it anymore, I was really broken down. That was about 2 years ago now, and it shifted something in my brain. Instead of going down the drain – and keeping that negativity going – it suddenly hit me that I’m the only one responsible for how I feel.”

Nicole Miller Featured Image

How a Mindset Change Helped Me Break Free From Childhood Trauma and Toxicity

“My mother said she wanted to end it in bloodshed and she waited for him to come home from his late-night meeting. She thought better of it when he was late arriving home. She was overwhelmed with thoughts of her in prison and me in foster care. To say that she made the right decision in achieving the goal of a good life is an answer I struggled to answer for many years.”

Kristin Addis Featured Image

Healing From Postpartum Depression With Therapy, Friends & Exercise

“I wasn’t sure how to feel better for a while. People talk about ‘getting help’ but that’s a blanket term and unfortunately it’s not a band-aid you can just put on and suddenly be yourself again. It takes time to find the right therapist, medication if that’s what you decide to do, to find a new rhythm with family, and in my case, I really needed friends locally.”

Aaron Burros Featured Image

Surviving a Workplace Shooting and Navigating PTSD, Insomnia With Marathons and Prayers

“My symptoms began immediately following a workplace shooting on Saturday, November 28, 2015, and were exasperated due to the activity of the company, the criminals, and the cops. The company treated me as if I were a criminal, the criminals attempted to kill me three additional times, and the cops (Houston Police Department Organized Crime Unit) treated me as if I was a thorn in their flesh.”

Stacey Powells Featured Image

How The Support of Others Helped Me Heal After a Mental Breakdown

“I do not recommend having a breakdown when trying to raise boys. I would cry, eat all the time, and feel like my brain was full of fuzz. I could barely function. There was that day when I got home from taking the kids to school, and thought to myself that if there was a gun in the house, someone else would have had to pick them up from school that day.”

Maggie Winzeler Featured Image

Journaling and Therapy Helped Me After Surviving a Car Accident and a Late Pregnancy Loss

“I vividly remember one day a few months after getting hit by the car when I wondered if my life would ever feel peaceful, pain-free, or joyful again. I was simply getting in and out of the passenger seat of a vehicle, my whole body gripped with pain and stiffness when I experienced a flash of fear that my health would never improve.”