Are You Kicking Butt Despite Mental Illness?
April 13, 2008 by Kristen King
Filed under Women's Health
A 2005 study by Harvard University stated that 46% of American have or will develop a mental disorder at some point in their lives. With almost half of the population persevering through mental illness, you’re not alone if you have a psychiatric diagnosis. I’ve posted before about my struggles with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, along with some ADD and OCD characteritics. These are common comorbid condidions, so I know I’m in good company!
One fellow ADD/OCD-er who I love to trade war stories wtih is Mental Health Notes blogger Alicia Sparks. In honor of Mental Health Month next month, Alicia is running a great series to showcase those who are living full lifes despite mental illness. Here’s what she says:
In this series, I want to showcase the artists, the photographers, the writers, the business owners, the homemakers, the entrepreneurs, the athletes – EVERYONE who is making it happen and managing mental illness.
If this is you and you want me to showcase you and your awesome life or talent or occupation or whatever it is that makes you rock here at Mental Health Notes, simply:
- Download and complete this form.
- Email it to me at alicia AT writingspark DOT com with “This Is Why I ROCK!” in the subject line. Using this subject line is important; otherwise, I may mistake your email for spam.
My goal is to showcase one person on each of the 31 days in May; however, I will definitely try to showcase every single person who contacts me with the required information between today and midnight on April 30, 2008.
So, what are you waiting for? Gather up all the information and shoot me an email! Let’s tell the world why you ROCK this Mental Health Month!
Check out Alicia’s full announcement post for more details on the This is Why I ROCK! series at Mental Health Notes.
(photo via SXC.hu)
Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King
Tags: womens health blog, womens health, women, woman, health, mental health, mental health month, mental health notes, mental illness, prevalence of mental illness in america, mental disorder, psychiatric diagnosis, alicia sparks, depression, anxiety, bipolar, OCD, ADD, kristen king, lively women
Thanks so much for this Kristen!!
My pleasure, girl.
I was actually an in-patient this past month (April) ..I wound up being diagnosed as type 2 bipolar. I’m only 18, but I’ve also dealt with depression and ADD/ADHD since I was in the 8th grade.. I’m in college now, and doing better
There are still plenty of bumps and hurdles down the road, but it’s so nice to find a site like this. It’s been so helpful and SO empowering. Thank you!
Carmela, if you’re interested in participating in the This Is Why I ROCK! series at MHN, it’s going to be going on for a while – I’ve extended the deadline to “indefinite,” ha.