Depression. Anxiety. Bipolar. Schizophrenia. Trichotillomania. These are just a few of the many mental disorders that affect millions worldwide. What really happens when you or a loved one is diagnosed with mental illness? What therapies work best? Can a cure be found? Will life ever return to normal?

In Living with Mental Illness, ordinary people who live with different mental illnesses invite readers inside their world and open up to give honestand sometimes profoundanswers to common questions. Confessing struggles, fears, and hopes, the collection of heartfelt stories offers firsthand insight into the diversity of mental illness from nonclinical perspectives, and highlights the unexpected ways ordinary people find strength, courage, and hope even when bound by societal stigma.

Depression. Anxiety. Bipolar. Schizophrenia. Trichotillomania. These are just a few of the many mental disorders that affect millions worldwide. What really happens when you or a loved one is diagnosed with mental illness? What therapies work best? Can a cure be found? Will life ever return to normal?

In Living with Mental Illness, ordinary people who live with different mental illnesses invite readers inside their world and open up to give honest—and sometimes profound—answers to common questions. Confessing struggles, fears, and hopes, the collection of heartfelt stories offers firsthand insight into the diversity of mental illness from nonclinical perspectives, and highlights the unexpected ways ordinary people find strength, courage, and hope even when bound by societal stigma.

1 Starting Out

2 Suspecting the Truth

3 The Shadow of Stigma

4 Managing with Medication

5 Facing Social Barriers

6 Understanding Avoidance

7 Being in Public

8 Coping with Triggers

9 Managing Daily Life

10 Our Functional Status

11 Exploring Therapy Options

12 Confessing Resentments

13 Dodging the Rabbit Hole

14 Working with Health Insurance

15 Facing Our Fears

16 Identifying Our Obstacles

17 Describing How it Feels

18 Importance of Hope

19 Making Peace with our Journey

20 Meet the Writers