October is Mental Health awareness month, something I try to highlight every year. This year, you will hear stories from people who live with mental illness.

1. Living with Schizophrenia

If you live with schizophrenia or care for someone who does, the Hope for Schizophrenia website is full of resources and stories. This story is the one of a psychiatric nurse practitioner who lives with schizophrenia, and looks at the gifts of this mental health disorder as well as the drawbacks, especially in this person’s chosen profession. Schizophrenia is considered neurodivergence and its symptoms include smelling, seeing or hearing things no one else can, illogical or not-true beliefs, and many have difficulty thinking or speaking.

2. Living with Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar is a disorder that includes episodes of high energy and little sleep (mania), deep depressive episodes and sometimes a person will present with psychotic symptoms. This is the story of an anonymous person who experienced his first manic and psychotic episode at 23 after drinking with his friend. After being admitted to a psychiatric hospital, he was put on medication. He also struggled with being given an accurate diagnosis. He describes being off medication with the results being severe. He ends his story saying that he’s ready to reclaim his life.

3. Living with Depression

This is a story of witnessing depression and the indelible mark it made on a young woman that led to self-empowerment. She grew up in the shadow of having family members with mental illness, and her own depression was triggered by seeing a young adolescent being fat-shamed at school. As both were heartbroken and mentally unwell, they formed a group called Radiant Vibe. This group seeks to combat negativity with empowering messages in the form of t-shirts and other items, seeking to open a conversation about mental illness. They also support the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Depression symptoms include having little to no pleasure in activities, insomnia and suicidal thinking, among other symptoms.

4. Living with PTSD

This story is about a man who experienced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after the passing of his father.  In order to find healthy coping mechanisms, he took up running, which was something his father enjoyed. He says that he’s found it important for men to surround themselves with people with whom they can be open about their feelings.

5. NAMI

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is a large grassroots organization that has been indispensable for those living with mental health issues and others who care. This organization has podcasts, webinars, “what to do” documents, a crisis telephone hotline as well as text and education and advocacy suggestions. You can find the website here.