Read Personal Stories
About the author: As an anxious mom in search of calm, Melissa Lewis-Duarte, Ph.D. writes about living with anxiety and mindfulness-based behavioral change in real life. Prior to founding Working On Calm, she enjoyed working as a business consultant, college instructor, and corporate trainer. Melissa earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Claremont Graduate University. Currently, she lives with her husband in Scottsdale, AZ, managing their chaotic life, three young boys, and a barking dog.
Share Your Story and Your Voice.
Help #breakthestigma Around Mental Health.
Read Stories From People Just Like You.
We invite you to explore personal stories submitted from ADAA's community to learn how people living with an anxiety disorder, OCD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, depression or a co-occurring disorder have struggled, coped, and triumphed.
Do you have a story about your mental health journey? Your voice and your story can help transform the lives of many, help decrease stigma, and make one feel less alone.
We welcome written stories and short 2-3 minute videos, or a 1-2 minute recording, that we will share on the ADAA website, through our Triumph e-newsletter, and across our social media platforms.
In a story of 500 -750 words (or a 2-3 minute video), please describe your mental health journey and how it has affected your life. Please provide a brief title and focus on the therapy or other treatments that have helped you manage or overcome your illness. Please include how ADAA's website or resources have helped you. In order to publish you story on our website and to share it on our social media platforms, we require that you use your real name and include a photo.
Please note that we do not accept advertorials (these stories should not include any call-outs for personal websites or publications or sell any products). We reserve the right to reject any story that we do not feel is appropriate to share.