The battle within – Alan’s story

On a cold day in December in 1984 my life would change forever. I was 11 and had a verbal altercation with my mom. She wouldn’t let me watch a show I really enjoyed, that wasn’t what I needed actually. I just needed her to acknowledge my needs as her oldest child. She didn’t, I […]

Visiting the psych ward

Several years ago in one of my deepest depressions, I considered checking myself into somewhere. The only thing was I had no idea where to go. So I pushed on with the aide of my antidepressant and eventually, saw the light again. Even though I considered it for myself, I never imagined someone closest to […]

I am me – Kay’s Journey

An eight-year-old standing in the living room staring into the kitchen watching her parents fight (details left out to avoid triggers for others). A frightened child who got nauseous every time she went to the doctors and the dentist. A child misdiagnosed with asthma because she was having breathing attacks. A happy adventurous child who […]

Don’t Stop Me Now – Dawn Recollects

Rape.. it’s an ugly word. It’s a fucking ugly word. I don’t know anything that will ever change that. June 26th. And it began. Tears, doubt, anger, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, fear, fury… the descriptive words are endless and continue to spew. The wave of emotions, the better days. The suicidal days. You wonder if […]

Sarah’s Happy Place

Your Happy Place is a Safe Space for those Struggling with Mental Health I launched Your Happy Place in March 2019, after a year of planning and preparations. It symbolized something powerful full me; that I was fighting the mental health battle….and I was winning. Let me explain. Since I was a teenager, my life […]

S.O.S. Save Our Sistahs

“What the hell do you have to be depressed about?” “After all our people have been through! You don’t know depressed!!” “You don’t need no therapy. Telling white folks all our business ain’t gonna help nothing!” “Go to church. Talk to the pastor.” “Black folks don’t get them fancy mental problems.” “Suck it up and […]

Mental Health First Aid

Over the weekend, I was fortunate to attend my first training in mental health first aid. This class was aimed specifically at the mental health of adults. They have various classes that will fit what you are looking for. This course was eight hours and covered everything from anxiety, depression, psychosis and substance abuse. The […]

March to the beat of my own drum.

Hello friends, Happy belated new year. I’m disappointed its taken me this long to contribute anything but I have felt so uninspired, but it helps to have a new computer and I need to still get used to it. There is a lot coming up in the next few months so there was no better […]

The side-effect curse.

I just enjoyed four relaxing days off and I woke up, or could hardly wake up for that matter this morning with an almost overwhelming sense of emptiness. A familiar emptiness called depression. I did not feel this depression once during the holiday. I even saw my family two out of the four days, but […]

Born This Way–Cynthia’s Mission

Those close to me know how much I love Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga is the co-founder of the Born This Way Foundation, something she also started with her mom, Cynthia Germanotta in 2012. So when I found out I was the winner of the foundation’s #Someone2Turn2 contest which resulted in a call with her mom, […]