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It seems as though anxiety picks the worst times to torment us. But it’s important to recognize…
Read Personal Stories
by Hara Howard
03.04.2021
I remember it like it was yesterday. My first panic attack. I was 8 years old, and I felt like I was dying. The worries in my mind had taken over my body and it was as if I had no control over what was happening to me. Growing up, anxiety was not talked about often or understood by most people. The stigma, embarrassment, and shame led me to keep this part of me hidden.
by Jordan Friend
02.22.2021
Many of us involved in the arts maintain a complicated tango with our mental health. For someone like me, a theatre director, actor and songwriter with lifelong OCD and anxiety, an overactive imagination has been a source of both severe difficulties and some of my most creative work. The same impulse that makes me need to touch everything three times is the one that, when I’m staging a show, makes me meticulous about finding the perfect image.
by Kate Kalinowski
01.12.2021
Mama K Breaking Bath is a small bath and body company based out of Durham, North Carolina. Kate Kalinowski, owner and artisan behind all Mama K products, firmly believes in self care that takes place both mentally and physically.
by Mighty Miniatures
01.04.2021
I am Jaime Garcia, creator of Mighty Miniatures. Struggling with anxiety and PTSD, the difficulties of 2020 left me feeling trapped, alone, and in desperate need of an escape. In an attempt to get out of my own head and keep my hands busy, I decided to begin a felting craft that would unknowingly become a passion project that would pull me out of the depths of my own despair.
by David Miller
12.20.2020
I thought to myself “there is more to life than this!” On a whim, I gave Louis a blank baseball cap to design with his freestyle artistry. After he completed the hat, I wore it in a shopping mall, and many shoppers asked to purchase the hat!
by Rebecca Rose
12.10.2020
At 31 years old, when my therapist told me that I had OCD, I thought, Ah, I get it now. This is what it feels like to have a breakthrough in therapy.
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.
NOTE: ADAA reserves the right to edit for clarity, length, and editorial style. We do not guarantee that every submission will be published. If your story is accepted, you will be notified. If you have not heard from ADAA within one week of submission that means that your story has not been accepted. Once your story is posted on this website, it is the property of ADAA.
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