“I am starting to have the strength to figure out who I am.”

Share your stigma experience.    

My family and friends thought my depression and possible bipolar episodes were all in my head. They didn’t understand why I had trouble getting out of bed or why I cried so much. I was just “oversensitive.” Everything built up over time and I had a breakdown, where I admitted I had a dream telling me exactly how to kill myself. I voluntarily went into the hospital for a week. My mother and husband finally began to get it when they saw me in my hospital gown in my room in the psychiatric hospital.

How did you overcome this experience?

I found a good psychiatrist who put together the right mix of meds for me. I struggle still, but my love for my daughter gets me through. I am starting to have the strength to figure out who I am.

Help others by sharing a brief, positive message.

Surround yourself with kind, supportive, and understanding people–not those who stigmatize you–and recovery will be a lot easier.