We have interviewed 45 people who have overcome mental health struggles with the help of self-care. These stories show that self-care is one of the most powerful ways to overcome struggles of mental health.
👉 Help thousands of people around the world by sharing your own story. We would love to publish your interview and have a positive impact on the world together. Learn more here.
I’ve interviewed 45 people who have been helped by self-care, and here are the top 5 struggles that these people have overcome:
In our many years of publishing helpful mental health content, we always received questions from our readers about specific situations. While we have a lot of helpful tips to share on how to be happier, we simply can’t offer advice for every situation.
That’s why I’ve set out to interview folks with every type of mental health struggle. My job as an interviewer is to categorize these interviews and present them in a way that is most helpful to our readers.
“I used my journal a lot at this time. Being in gratitude would truly help me cope with the anxiety. At the time, everyone was reaching out to us. But it was really something I had to process myself and in my own way. I was also trying to hold it together for my son. I never wanted him to feel how stressed I was or that there was anything wrong.”
Helped by:
Journaling
Mindfulness
Self-Care
“After a very emotionally taxing month for me and my fiance, I had an actual mental breakdown. Unable to stop crying, I voluntarily admitted myself to my local psych ward and stayed for a couple of days, ultimately being released after assessment. I realized that I didn’t want to die, I just didn’t want to feel the way I was feeling.”
“Considering the duration of my struggle, anxiety, and depression have been constants in my life. Over the years, I had tried numerous medications and visited countless therapists, but nothing seemed to offer lasting relief. It wasn’t until I discovered these resources, particularly the “DARE” book, that I finally started to see a glimmer of hope and progress toward overcoming my challenges.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Childhood
Depression
Panic attacks
Helped by:
Self-Care
Self-improvement
Therapy
“It’s hard to feel happy when it’s your own head calling you a failure. Since then I’ve been researching ways to help me feel better, and improve in all aspects of life. I know my journey is not complete, but when you’ve been dealing with all of this stuff since you were five, you tend to pick things up.”
“The best thing my divorced parents ever did for ~9-year-old me was send me to weekly therapy sessions which I’ve kept up most of my life (minus ~2 years in high school). Thanks to growing up with a profound mental health awareness, I promised myself that I was going to commit to a healthier lifestyle by focusing on my emotional well-being first and foremost. Deep inside me, I knew that was how I’d improve everything else.”
“I found myself pounding on the wall of my shower, crying my heart out, convinced that my wife and kids would be better off if I killed myself. I had put them through enough stress over the years with my risky business ventures. My life insurance policy would take care of them better than I could.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Depression
Grief
Suicidal
Helped by:
Self-Care
“During the darkest moments of my struggle, I felt invisible and worthless, as though there was no reason to even get out of bed. The sense of defeat weighed heavily on me, making each day an uphill battle. The severity of my mental health struggles had a profound impact on my happiness, overshadowing what should have been an exciting period of personal and professional growth.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Depression
Helped by:
Medication
Self-Care
Therapy
“I isolated myself even when I was present. I became really good at hiding what was going on in my head. I pretended to be happy, mostly because I didn’t want anyone to know I wasn’t. And I knew it wasn’t anything that anyone else was doing, I just felt so unfulfilled.”
“I was referred to a psychiatrist and he told me that I was experiencing clinical depression and advised me to do a lot of walking to avoid medicines. But my condition did not improve, and therefore I was put on fluoxetine during my 7th month of pregnancy and admitted to the hospital for a month.”
Struggled with:
Depression
Loneliness
Helped by:
Self-Care
Self-improvement
Spirituality
“The depression has drained a part of my life that I will never get back. I can’t seem to not see the dark side of things even when I’m fully happy – I feel like it won’t last. I hid it – until the depression manifested itself into an eating disorder. I got very thin, then people started to worry. My parents pushed me into doing therapy as they were very worried about my health.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Depression
Eating disorder
Postpartum depression
Helped by:
Meditation
Self-Care
Therapy