I’m jealous of those with smooth skin, not on their faces but everywhere else. Clean flesh, delicate, never maimed. My ...
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The weather is so bipolar. My sister-in-law is bipolar. My son is divorced. Well, his mother-in-law is bipolar. What can ...
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" For how can I bear to see the evil which is happening to (me and) my people, and I ...
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Dedicated in memory of the author's sister, Susan Sarah Baron It has been a long time since I wrote anything ...
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[Hello My Name Is...] Swirling snow;serpents at our heels.My body buzzes;muscles shivering. Tension crawls -beneath my skin,and my mask -begins ...
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Message from the author: Dear fellow sisters and brothers, I wrote the following poem to validate my shame and pain ...
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I was the one in the shadows, blending in with the wallpaper hoping no one would notice me. The silhouette ...
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A caterpillar so small and slowNo one thinks he can blossom or growHe doesn't knowWhy he was created without shine ...
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Dearest Precious Body, This is a long overdue letter, and I thank you for patiently waiting. I have so much ...
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Author's Note: Do you struggle with taking your meds? I did too: I hope this will help you come to ...
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Editor's Note: Before reading this piece, it is recommended that you read Max's first piece, "Living with OCD", for important ...
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My Story In the middle of a very chilly winter, I took a big step in my frum (religious) journey ...
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I am a Pediatrician, a mother of four, and I have Bipolar 2. I was hospitalized this year for something ...
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“Sorry, I’m a little OCD and like to keep my room clean.” “Woah, why are you being so OCD; who ...
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In the prison called my mind, grey clouds of mush rush up against one another, thundering loudly above my eyes ...
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I’ve had my share of both physical and mental anguish. Well, I’ve never had a physical, diagnosed illness, but I’ve ...
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I always tell my story like this: I was born with generalized anxiety disorder: a genetic, textbook case. Because of ...
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I tried reaching out to you, my sister. Calling to see how you were feeling. Just a simple call that ...
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I wish you knew how hard some days are for me. I wish you knew how frustrated I feel when ...
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Where Therapy Is Sometimes I hate therapy and what it brings up for me. I hate facing my failures, challenges, ...
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For as long as I can remember, I’ve tried to stay out of trouble. I was always a good boy ...
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Do you know why I'm this sad? So angry, and tired with life? Why I'm abusive towards myself in ways ...
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The Orange  I flip a page, and then another.  My eyes scan the words, desperately looking for a spark of ...
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When I mourn the Beis HaMikdash (The Temple), I find myself mourning my own losses. I know that our world is one ...
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Poetry has, for a while, been one of my healthier coping mechanisms. Many an anxious spiral or panic attack have ...
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Today is the 17th of Tammuz, and I feel guilty for not being able to fast. Most days we, as ...
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I recently had a doctor’s appointment with a new doctor who seemed to be in a rush and did not ...
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As I walk into minyan, I put down my still-steaming coffee, roll up my sleeve, and start wrapping my tefillin.*Whack* ...
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For several years after my daughter was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, she regularly told me she wanted to die ...
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If you want to understand my pain Look at your children and imagine them being overwhelmed by an illness that ...
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One of the most meaningful wedding gifts that my husband and I received was a mezuzah case that contained some ...
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They say it is a holiday of freedom  Celebrate Remember Rejoice in redemption But I do not need to taste ...
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I don’t want to feel like a fish with no water. I want to feel the water’s pulse as I ...
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I have battled depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, and ADHD for much of my life. My first diagnoses came in the ...
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I sit here like everyone else, eating our Friday night Shabbos meal which Ima (my mother) prepared for us. I ...
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A friend of mine recently posted a meme on social media about how her home sometimes feels like an insane ...
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Author's Note: I write this piece from an awareness of how necessary it is to admit my struggle with mental ...
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I never thought I’d be here. I’ve always had a ‘Type A’ personality. As a student, I was an over ...
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When meeting someone new, it’s normal to ask them where they went to high school. Usually, it’s a pretty easy ...
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I don't know anybody who is as happy as I am tonight, as I sit down to google and try ...
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Depression is crying all day, filling a daily bucket that must be emptied. Depression is checking for messages, waiting for ...
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Gripping thoughts,     Haunt my mind.Causing me,To act in kind.Why are they so intrusive,Bossing me around.Forcing me to be immoral,Why ...
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They say normal is a setting on the washing machine. My normal is a constant swing from feeling irritable, and ...
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When Depression Overwhelms Me I was hearing loud noises and seeing bright lights swirling in different colors. I felt like ...
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Today’s been, long. A 16-year-old in my community ended her life yesterday. It makes me sad for her. Sad for ...
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Happy on The Outside, Struggling on The Inside I had a wonderful, happy childhood: I loved school and camp, and ...
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Over the past several months, words and terms which were hardly ever used by the common person have all of ...
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Loosely definedDeeply disturbingIn my mindPerpetually hurting Furthermore, Psychoanalysis dissectsPicks at the psycheEntitles intellectConforming clinically But I, Vitally dissolveTerminology abusePositively dis-involveDiagnostic ...
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My first eating-disordered thought that led to my relapse happened on Rosh Hashana last year. This spiraled into a full-blown ...
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I'll always remember the first panic attack that I experienced in reaction to my child's mental health issues. Don't get ...
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when you are a new arrival to the mental health world, the road is long, the night is dark. it's ...
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You came into my life when I was all of seventeen years old. You wreaked havoc on my simple and ...
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Living in the world of trauma and mental illness, I have a special place in my heart for Tisha B'Av ...
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I’m an anxious person. Actually, let me rephrase that. I’m a very anxious person. I worry about anything and everything ...
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Editor's Note: This piece contains descriptions of the author's Sexaholism symptoms in general terms, which some readers may find uncomfortable ...
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I just recently turned 22. A birthday is always a good time to stop and reflect on the previous year ...
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When I first started watching This Is Us, I immediately fell in love with the relatable and compelling storyline: the ...
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Every morning when I get dressed (especially in the summer), I have a battle in my head, pondering this dilemma: ...
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“Relapse” has a lot of different meanings for everyone. To me, relapse is what happened in May of 2019. I ...
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PART 1: Today, I had an anniversary. It wasn’t a wedding anniversary or friendaversary. It wasn’t one of the “six ...
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Editor’s Note: There is more to the stigma of psychiatric medication than one may think: There are the stigmas of ...
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Editor's Note: This is part two of a two-part post. The first part discussed the tribulations of the author making ...
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It is understood today that people with autism are a common part of life. What isn't understood is how they ...
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Dear World: There are so many things I wish I could tell you, but I don’t out of fear that ...
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We all have heard, in some form or another, the horrors that occur within the walls of the psychiatric unit ...
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I remember just staring. Staring at her so helplessly. They don't teach you in kindergarten how to deal with your ...
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If you wanna know the truth about what it’s like to be an attempt survivor, you can ask me. Don’t ...
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Editor's Note: For victims of sexual assault, the recovery includes mentally healing in addition to physically healing. The following is ...
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I couldn’t catch my breath. “It’s all in my head,” I told myself. “I just need to relax, take a ...
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Editor's Note: In addition to inflicting physical damage, the goal of the recurring missile attacks on Israel from the neighboring ...
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I Didn't Know It started with small things. My daughter would take a nail clipper and pick at her skin ...
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Being postpartum is a confusing experience. You’re overwhelmed by mazal tov texts, calls, and visits, recovering from labor and delivery, ...
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Editor's Note: This is part one of a two-part post. The first part, below, discusses the tribulations of the author ...
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When I open up to my friends about my mental illness, the first question they often ask is “When did ...
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Dear Jewish Community: You might know me as that friendly teenager that comes from that really great family. You might ...
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I remember my first day in treatment... I walked into the group therapy room, and I couldn't stop crying. I ...
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I stand there, pacing along the length of my bathroom. I can feel the cool tile on my bare feet, ...
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One year ago, I was covered with bruises and cuts that never seemed to heal. One year ago, I was ...
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Author's Note: I’m a single girl in my mid-twenties struggling with mental illness. I’ve struggled with mental illness nearly all ...
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Editor’s Note: The following is written by a brave and determined girl describing her experiences trying to make sense of ...
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Post-Miscarriage I wrote this after I had a miscarriage that triggered some strange mental health symptoms. I was having extreme ...
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People often ask me why. Why do I put myself out there, on the frontlines of mental health advocacy, disregarding ...
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What's Not in The Picture See this picture I just posted? Me, out with friends, celebrating my birthday, laughing, looking ...
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I’d like to share something close to my heart. I’ve struggled with mental health all my life. I’ve had long ...
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My Dear Brother, Words cannot express the pain I feel as you go through these tough times. I remember the ...
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I’m embarrassed. I have been embarrassed for a long time because of the stigma surrounding mental health, and I still ...
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Author's Note: Upon graduation, each senior must write and deliver a speech on a given topic. This year’s was growth ...
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Going to a psychiatric hospital, or mental hospital as I refer to it doesn’t mean you’re “crazy” (whatever “crazy” means) ...
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you regale me with how you solved the crisis du jour your theories and declarations nonsensical my own mind spins ...
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Sometimes, a book can provide the clarity needed to understand one's life. I discovered the story of my life in ...
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I live with a sorrow that is buried deep inside that I competently hide most of the time. My life ...
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Sifting through the detritus of his life how much stuff there can be in a one bedroom we curse and ...
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I couldn’t live in your world exist in the shadows where you dwell your reality covered in mist like a ...
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Older brother first born, golden child cosseted and loved posed on the front steps shining brightly reflecting hopes and dreams ...
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I call you on the phone every few months fulfilling my duty with my uh-huhs you are verbose and tell ...
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It's pretty easy to count the challenges I face, battling through each day with anxiety, depression, and Sensory Processing Disorder ...
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I am often asked how I moved past being in the weeds of mental illness. How did I learn to ...
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Push away; push away. Exile my emotions as far away as they will go. "They aren’t there,” I insist. Push ...
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When I was young, I was selfish, narcissistic even. I thought the world revolved around me. Yet, within that self-centered ...
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As a society, we have an initiative in which we try to remove killers. One way we achieve this is ...
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As you know, my name is Eliana Sidlow. I am 18 years old. What you don't know is that I ...
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I am about to tell you why you should NOT care at all about mental illness. Yes, you read that ...
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The mask I wear is a pretty thick one. My mask is so intricate that no one would ever perceive ...
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How Society Views Women As a four-year-old, I vividly remember myself wishing to look as marvelous as Disney female characters ...
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Below is a poem about addiction. I know there are many many angles to view addiction from, but I'm coming from ...
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Dear Suicide, We’ve known each other for a long time. I’d say going on 20 years. We have quite the ...
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My name is unimportant. My exact age is too. Just because I'm sure you're curious, I'm in my late teens, ...
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I was diagnosed with depression a few weeks after my 17th birthday. The months leading up to my diagnosis had ...
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Here are some things you should know about me: I am 18 years old. I love to sing, draw, find random ...
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I listened to a lot of music when I had depression, and played a lot of word games on my ...
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Ever since I was little, I've been a positive person. As I grew up, I became capable of some degree ...
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I’ll tell you a secret: My real name is not Bruce Wayne. I’m not a billionaire who lives in a ...
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Therapy therapy therapy therapy therapy. I am an Orthodox Jew who goes to therapy. Maybe if I keep repeating the ...
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