“For the longest time, I tried to keep it to myself. I felt this need to stay strong, to keep up the front, especially because people around me relied on me. I worried that showing what I was going through would let others down or make them see me differently. So, I put on a brave face, thinking I could power through on my own.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Depression
Suicidal
Helped by:
Self-acceptance
Volunteering
“I sat on the summer-hot pavement, and no one stopped or asked me if I was okay. No one called the police. People walked around me as quickly as possible. When I was all cried out, I walked home to my empty house. I bought a set of knives, ostensibly for cooking, but that was not the reason. I had thought about pills, and every day I researched how many of each prescription drug I was on would I need to take to die. Using a sharp knife seemed so much easier.”
Struggled with:
Depression
Suicidal
Traumatic Brain Injury
Helped by:
Medication
Pets
Volunteering
“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.”
Struggled with:
Depression
Insomnia
PTSD
Stress
Helped by:
Exercise
Religion
Treatment
Volunteering
“I discovered that grieving, healing, and living aren’t linear processes, but intertwined strands of our existence. Healing isn’t about forgetting; it’s about learning to live with loss, about embracing love and pain simultaneously.”
Struggled with:
Grief
Helped by:
Music
Volunteering
“I worked so much that my mental health and drinking spiraled out of control. I had no other coping mechanisms for stress. I have never developed healthy habits and didn’t think I had time to start because the business was experiencing explosive growth. I just wasn’t willing to stop and deal with it. Big mistake.”
Struggled with:
Addiction
Helped by:
Self-Care
Self-improvement
Volunteering
“As a result of my struggle with loneliness, I began to self-isolate. I felt hopeless and felt like interactions were a chore. Everything was an endless loop of routine and I could not wait for each day to end.”
Struggled with:
Depression
Loneliness
Helped by:
Volunteering