Update on U.S Navy Taylor Greiger’s transformation from suicide attempt survivor into suicide prevention awareness activist.
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From Wanting to Die to Yearning to Live; in Conversation with Levi Mericle | RDID; 212
As a teen, Levi Mericle wanted to die every day; now he wants to live, and wants to help others.
Suicide Prevention: Embracing the Light
Documentary about the making of EMBRACING THE LIGHT, a mural about suicide prevention and awareness created with community input.
Surviving Suicidality in a Wonderful World: Javier Ortega-Araiza | RDID; 205
A podcast interview with writer and entrepreneur Javier Ortega-Araiza about surviving suicidality.
Suicide Prevention: Embracing the Light (Short Film Preview)
Preview of short documentary about the making of EMBRACING THE LIGHT, a mural about suicide prevention and awareness created with community input.
Police Officer Trauma & PTSD: Officer James Jefferson | RDID; 202
Police PTSD, trauma, and suicide are discussed with Officer James Jefferson.
The Ambition of Recovery: Surviving Gun Violence, a Story of PTSD
This mental health recovery story focuses on Silas, who has survived gun violence. Through the pain of violence, Silas has found healing and continued growth. Read here to learn more!
Dreams Come True: How Escaping Isolation Relieves Depression Symptoms
Leif Gregersen found his response to his depression was to isolate himself away from the world, which in turn only made his depression grow. The fix he needed, it turned out, was not turning inward, but sharing his life with others.
Suicidality and OCD: A Writer and Actor Finds Her Voice with Rebecca Wei Hsieh | RDID, Ep 108
Rebecca Wei Hsieh, a writer and actor, finds her voice as she lives with suicidality and OCD.
I Now Sing the Songs Life Wants to Hear
This mental health recovery story focuses on Levi’s struggle with suicidality. As he learned to face this part of himself through the love of his family, he found a way to heal.
Help a Friend with Active Listening
College students from “CogWell” program at U of P promote active listening to help friends that may be struggling with mental health issues.
When Your Trauma is a Landmark
Short film that explores the role that landmarks can play in dealing with trauma, and how they can help us try to live with triggers and trauma.
Loving, Losing, and Remembering a Sister: An Interview with Author Kyleigh Leddy
Interview with Kyleigh Leddy, author of the film essay “When Your Trauma is a Landmark,” which deals with the legacy of her sister who died by suicide.
The Family Relied On Me. And Now They Can’t.
Third of a three-part series on older adult suicide awareness and prevention.
There Was No Answer At Her Front Door
Second of three-part series on older adult suicide awareness and prevention.
No Food. Can’t Think. I Want to Die.
First of three-part series on older adult suicide awareness and prevention.
Case Studies: A Conversation About Older Adult Suicide Teaser
Teaser for a three-part series on older adult suicide awareness and prevention.
From the Vault: “An Interview with My Depression” with Mike Veny
Through the magic of split-screen technology, mental health speaker Mike Veny interviews his depression.
Writing for Life: A Teenage Author’s Journey with Depression and Anxiety
Documentary short about Justin Kemp, a high school student who has authored a short novel informed by his own journey with depression and anxiety.
Abbey’s Bakery: Grief into Hope into Action
A family turns grief into action with Abbey’s Bakery, a suicide prevention and mental health organization in honor of Abbey Wolf, who died by suicide.
Can Hard Work Can Beat Depression?
Starting mainstream schooling later in life, Jonathan Riley had trouble making friends, speaking publicly, and reading at grade level. All of this piled on with depression meant they had a lot of work ahead of them.
Meet Monica (Again) – Mental Health & Chosen Family
Monica, a young transwoman, talks about her experience with mental health challenges, homelessness, and finding her chosen family at The Attic Youth Center.
Depression and Mental Illness: Disease or Condition?
A man wrestles with whether his depression and suicidality are diseases or conditions in this introspective and far-reaching essay.
A Goodbye Call in a Summer Afternoon: Noticing Suicide Warning Signs May Be the Difference Between Life and Death
When her uncle called trying to give a cryptic goodbye, Thaís Freita noticed suicide warning signs and saved a life.
Hell or High Seas: Suicide Attempt Survivor on the Big Screen
Tackling PTSD on the High Seas presents U.S Navy Taylor Greiger’s transformation from suicide attempt survivor into suicide prevention awareness activist.
Is This What Normal Feels Like? Finding the Right Treatment for Bipolar Disorder
Aneta Dabrowska felt the ups and downs of bipolar type II as a teenager, but no one around her knew how to react. When she entered adulthood, Aneta set on a journey to understand her illness on her own terms.
After a Suicide Attempt: What a Difference a Dad Makes
After a suicide attempt, Chris Brown, a young man living in England, realized that having a father who could hear him and be with him in that moment, made all the difference.
Why I Ignored a Bipolar Diagnosis in my 20s… and What I Learned in my 30s
Chris Russell, an actor living with bipolar disorder, writes about medication, realizations, acceptance, and managing his mental health.
An Extra Mile: Preserving the Literary Legacy of a Brother Who Died by Suicide
After his death by suicide, Raghav Thakran’s family discovered hundreds of poems that he wrote and published them in a book to keep his memory alive.
A Gentle Hand Reaches Out to Those Considering Suicide
Bharti Bansal reaches out a gentle, compassionate hand from India to a friend she has never met, another human being considering suicide, just like she did.
If He Gets It: Teaching My Son How to Handle Depression
Christopher Dale once received mentorship on how to deal with depression from a man who knew the disease well. Now he’s learning to do the same for his son.
He Did the Laundry: A Sister Becomes a Suicide Loss Survivor
Lisa’s journey into the world of sibling suicide loss is painful and, ultimately, hopeful and inspiring.
44th in the Queue: What Texting the Suicide Lifeline Taught Me about Life, Mental Health, and Toxic Masculinity
When bipolar actor Chris Russell was experiencing suicidal ideation, he called the Lifeline; this is what he learned.
Colours Went Flat: Losing My Brother to Suicide
Suicide loss is different than any other kind of loss, which Indian writer Raashi Thakran beautifully describes in her essay about her brother.
Dear Mom, I Want to Kill Myself
Dear Mom, I Want to Kill Myself is a heartbreaking and, ultimately, hopeful essay about overcoming suicidal thoughts and helping family members heal and grow.
I Want to Live, but I Couldn’t Always Say That
After several suicide attempts, Sarah Sharp now writes and lives with a passionate desire to stay alive.
The Reluctant Filmmaker: Surviving Suicide of a Son
Yolonda Johnson-Young has created a film titled Finding Elijah to help her answer the many questions she had after losing her son to suicide.
Letting Myself Go: An Artist’s Struggle with Depression, Addiction, and Suicidality
For the artist named Mederos, physical and psychological pain of depression is inextricably intertwined.
Singing a Lullaby to Myself | Anxiety & Mental Health in Rwanda
by “My whole life became worry,” Florence Mukagenzi, a medical student from Rwanda says about her world. “It all felt so unsafe.” And so begins Florence’s recovery journey from paralyzing anxiety, which she exquisitely...
And Then I Got Cancer: My Recovery from Depression Became a Battle for My Life
AnnMarie Otis is a fighter; doing battle with cancer and depression every day of her life, and every moment of every day. Join her fight and cheer her on.
Australian Mental Health | A Clear Voice on Bipolar Disorder from Down Under
Liza Brock is an Australian mental health writer who writes about her journey with bipolar disorder.
How do You Live Through Anxiety, Depression, and a Friend’s Death?
Leah Holleran’s mystery illness was as common as common could be: anxiety and depression, but she and her family didn’t know it. Leah eventually solved the mystery of her mental health challenge, but not before struggling with self-harm and the loss of her best friend to an overdose.
What Comes After a Brother’s Death? PTSD, Depression, Anxiety; and Hope
After her young brother’s death, Lauren Fraser takes us on her journey of recovery from mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, and ptsd in this moving personal essay.
Hereditary Depression, Unplugged: My Uncle understood my mental illness because he shared it. Then he died.
When Christopher Dale lost his Uncle Steve, he felt he’d lost a guiding compass for navigating his hereditary depression. Now he’s trying to carry on Uncle Steve’s lessons himself.
I Want to Live: Turning a Corner with Suicidal Ideation and Depression
This mental health recovery story focuses on Tina’s journey through a fixation on death, depression and suicidal ideation. Tina’s thoughts and actions felt out of control, guide by anxiety. Suicidal ideation was a constant in her life, how Tina sought help and learned that are her core, she wanted to live. Through therapy and a close encounter with death, Tina discovered her will to live. Read more about Tina’s journey!
I Suppressed Everything – A Story of Abuse and Bipolar
This mental recovery story focuses on Lisa’s journey of childhood trauma, abuse and eventually her diagnosis of bipolar. After years of physical, sexual and mental abuse, Lisa thought she had found stability, until her mania set in followed by severe depression. Lisa’s life felt like it was spinning out. Her physical, sexual and mental abuse dictated her life, her mania felt out of control, how Lisa came to terms with her diagnosis of bipolar and past trauma and found a way to heal. With time and therapy Lisa found ways to cope. Read more about Lisa’s journey!
Battling Depression: Fighting the Legion of Gloom
If you think only a super-human force can successfully battle depression, then you don’t know Shawn Reynolds, comic book aficianado and mental health superhero in his own right.
Sailing for Life and Surviving PTSD
Hell or High Seas follows veteran Navy rescue swimmer Taylor Greiger and friend Stephen O’Shea on the sailing adventure of a lifetime to prove that Taylor is stronger than his PTSD diagnosis.
How Can Trauma, Depression, and Panic Help you Hold On and Let Go?
Jenna Kohler’s life has been impacted by her boyfriend’s suicide, the Boston Marathon bombing, and other events that have shaped her exposure to depression and trauma.
Raised by a Broken Woman: Battling Depression and Anxiety Without Parental Support
A never-ending cycle: Broken souls having children only for those children to be shattered souls themselves. Because I know that millions experience this, I want to share my story in order to change a life or even save one.
2 Gabes in A Car Sharing Mental Health Stories
In addition to sharing a first name, they also share a passion for busting stigma about mental illness. Mental health advocacy brought them together, but something deeper created a connection.
Tackling PTSD: Hell or High Seas
Taylor Grieger was diagnosed with complex PTSD several months after his release from the Navy with little-to-no guidance on how to cope with his condition.
Now What?: Suicidality and Planning for an Uncertain Present
When I exhibited symptoms of C-PTSD and OCD, I was afraid and lost. I survived multiple major depressive episodes, all of them including suicidality.
How Audre Lorde’s Cancer Journals Helped Me Cope with my Depression and Suicidal Thoughts
I am determined to love and live intensely and fearlessly because, as Audre Lorde said, betraying myself into silence will not protect me.
What it Feels Like to be Passively Suicidal and Not Want to Die
The passive suicidal thoughts are still there, but I have started to recognize that they are only powerful if I give them the power.
Acceptance: How One Friend Helped Me Get Help for Depression and Anxiety on my Own Terms
As I battle with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, it has always been far easier for me to support others with mental health struggles than to admit my own.
I’m Just Tired: When You Dismiss Depression
“I can’t explain where I’ve been, and though everyone wants to understand, it doesn’t mean they comprehend. They can’t grasp where I am.” – Kathryn Rose Wood
From Depressed and Suicidal to a New Outlook
I went from unhappy to miserable to struggling to overwhelmed to depressed and suicidal. First I was diagnosed with post-natal depression, followed by treatment-resistant clinical depression. Then came the biggest clanger of all, diagnosis number three: borderline personality disorder.
Get Used to Life Without Me: A Dispassionate Road to Suicide with Depression
I crossed seamlessly from ambivalence and malaise into an area I’d never been before: actively planning suicide.
Walking the Border: The Delicate Dance of OCD and Borderline
Yes, I have been diagnosed with depression, OCD and borderline personality disorder. Yet, I am still a good person.
The Homeless Gospel Choir, Punk Rock, and My Mental Health Journey
I started writing songs about my feelings and sharing them with audiences throughout the country as a touring musician, under the name The Homeless Gospel Choir.
Beneath the Vest: Police Officer Alcoholism, Mental Health & Recovery
Joe has wrestled with alcoholism and the stresses of life as a police officer, a sometimes combustible combination.
Challenges of Writing a Bipolar Book When You Have Bipolar
I have bipolar disorder and I’ve written a book about my experience living with bipolar disorder and depression.
Faith and Academia Unmask a Psychotic, Bipolar Depression
Depression tricks you into thinking that you are completely alone when, in fact, you are the opposite. No one is truly alone.
From Mental Health Institutionalization to Advocacy
A journey from dark days of mental health institutionalization and repeated electroconvulsive therapy treatments, to a successful advocacy career.
Therapist Winden Rowe Talks About Trauma and Mental Health in the Armed Forces
Winden Rowe’s approach to sustained recovery for clients centers around the biological, psychological, and social implications of traumatic stress.
Bipolar Disorder: Never Giving Up
There is only one thing that gets me through the bipolar cycles and that is time. It is a cliché but, during my cycles, the only way is through.
Start Climbing: When Major Depression Takes Hold
I should probably explain a few things. I’m not crazy. I suffer from major depression, as well as generalized anxiety disorder. I’m basically a shut-in.
The Bottom of the World: Living with Bipolar in Australia
People are now openly talking about having depression or anxiety — BUT NOT BIPOLAR: I believe that the word bipolar in Australia is still scary.
Waves of Ennui and Depression
I start to feel a bit of ennui, a French word meaning, “general malaise.” This can go on for a while until the ennui surrounds me and depression sets in.
A Bipolar Diagnosis: A Life’s Mission Revealed
After my bipolar diagnosis I got married, got divorced, lost my job due to the stigma of mental illness, and attend two assisted outpatient hospital programs.
A Bipolar Diagnosis: Suicide Watch
“Honey, I will be checking on you every fifteen minutes.” I stared at her, puzzled, until she leveled me with a four-word gut punch: “You’re on suicide watch.”
Mental Health at the Mic: Childhood, Loneliness, and Suicide
This is the third in a series of videos of men who have participated in the Philadelphia’s Engaging Males of Color BEyond Expectations storytelling project.
Mental Health & Law Enforcement: Interview With Jeff Shannon
Jeff Shannon talks about mental health for police officers as well as the extra training required for responding to mental health related calls.
Q&A with Alison Malmon, Founder of Active Minds
Active Minds was founded by Alison Malmon when she was a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, following the suicide of her older brother, Brian.
Hospitalized For Depression: No Regrets
I’ve been hospitalized for depression so thick and so bad, my doctors didn’t think it was safe for me to go anywhere else.
The Letter To Mother: PTSD, Anxiety & Major Depression
I am still in the process of healing from PTSD, anxiety, and major depression with the help of a psychiatrist, a therapist, and the love of my life.
Once Upon A Time: PTSD, Anxiety & Major Depression
Recently, I underwent a slight psychological break. Determined to claw my way out of the darkness, I began to write about my journey and experiences.
A Molecular Biologist With Bipolar 1 Disorder
I have a wonderful life. But I would be lying if I didn’t say it has been a hard fought one. I suffer from bipolar 1 disorder. Here is my story.
Not For The Faint of Heart: Recovering From Co-Occurring Illnesses
Bipolar disorder and alcoholism left me exhausted and defeated. Hope came in the form of a co-occurring illnesses rehab facility.
How I Accepted My Anxiety
I once heard anxiety compared to a superpower. Once I stopped being so ashamed of it, I saw that anxiety was my superpower too.
A Life With Bipolar: Learning Coping Skills The Hard Way
I have bipolar disorder. Today, it is a big chunk of who I am, but thanks to these three bipolar coping skills, I know it is not the only chunk.
Climbing Out of the Rabbit Hole with ECT, DBT & Art Therapy
I finally I agreed to ECT (electroconvulsive therapy). I was both intrigued and terrified. After my ECT treatments I started to feel like a human again.
Best Day Project
To cope with depression, Grace Kim set out to do something scary every day, and the Best Day Project was born, giving Grace a new perspective on life.
A Journey Within
Monica, a young transwoman, talks about her experience with mental health challenges, homelessness, and finding her chosen family at The Attic Youth Center.