Mental Health

Scott – Mental Illness Just Means I Need Help Now and Then

For as long as I can remember, I’ve struggled with mental illness. It got worse in my early 20s. All my friends used drugs and drank and, before long, ...

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Suzie — Teen Suicide Prevention Takes Root in Loudoun’s Schools

I lost my son, Ryan, to suicide. He had been bullied from a young age and struggled fitting in socially because he was different. One day, life just ...

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Tom — A Sanctuary Where Children and Families Find Hope Through Music

Music saved my life as a kid. Fleeing a terminally destructive household, I found church and church music. I learned how to sing and play the piano. ...

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Brianna – I Refuse to ALLOW Two Seconds to Define My Life

I was the victim of cyber bullying in 8th grade, and my counselor actually told me it was all my fault. I never realized how cruel kids could be. By ...

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Rick – Opiod ADDICTION is in Our Own Backyard

My daughter was 19 when she lost her mother to cancer. She was deeply troubled by her loss and turned to her mother’s opioid meds for an escape from ...

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Connie – It’s Time to Erase the Stigma of Mental Illness

If you met me, you would never guess I have struggled with mental illness my entire life. I have had a high-powered, lucrative career. I am married. I ...

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Veronica – Down’s Syndrome Cannot Silence My Voice

I was born in 1997 with Down's Syndrome. As a teenager, I felt all alone. I was a wallflower at school, just trying to avoid the bullies who teased ...

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Sean – Autism is a Diagnosis NOT a Life Choice

Since as long as I can remember, I have been different. I really wanted to be more like my classmates—to be normal. But I just couldn’t. Eventually, ...

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Ann-Charlotte: The Madness of Teen Suicide Has to Stop

William was a friendly, goofy, and popular kid who was diagnosed as bipolar and ADHD. We did everything our doctors advised us to do. But Will wasn’t ...

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