We have interviewed 31 people who have overcome struggles with the help of the right medication. These stories show that medication (if done properly) is one of the most powerful ways to overcome struggles of mental health.
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I’ve interviewed 31 people who have been helped by medication, and here are the top 5 struggles that these people have overcome:
In our many years of publishing helpful mental health content, we always received questions from our readers about specific situations. While we have a lot of helpful tips to share on how to be happier, we simply can’t offer advice for every situation.
That’s why I’ve set out to interview folks with every type of mental health struggle. My job as an interviewer is to categorize these interviews and present them in a way that is most helpful to our readers.
“After a very emotionally taxing month for me and my fiance, I had an actual mental breakdown. Unable to stop crying, I voluntarily admitted myself to my local psych ward and stayed for a couple of days, ultimately being released after assessment. I realized that I didn’t want to die, I just didn’t want to feel the way I was feeling.”
“Don’t hate yourself for the trauma. The path to happiness is not a single one. There are many ways to be happy so the impossibility to turn back time before trauma does not mean you can never be happy. You can be happy again. You can trust others again. Don’t lose your hope to survive. Someday, you will be thankful for your past self who did not give up your life.”
“At 19 years old I had lost all of my independence, I was unable to work, and I couldn’t even make a meal for myself 90% of the time. At this time I was also diagnosed with OCD. I turned 20 completely alone, I couldn’t even leave my room to have happy birthday sung to me.”
Helped by:
Medication
Music
Self-improvement
Therapy
“It’s hard to feel happy when it’s your own head calling you a failure. Since then I’ve been researching ways to help me feel better, and improve in all aspects of life. I know my journey is not complete, but when you’ve been dealing with all of this stuff since you were five, you tend to pick things up.”
“My worst moment was when my husband found me sobbing on the closet floor after I had just come home from work. My boss wanted me to work on something I had no idea how to do or any interest in doing. I already felt stupid and trying to work with a coworker on this project was only going to make me feel worse about myself.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Eating disorder
Helped by:
Medication
Self-improvement
Therapy
“The defining moment came in December 2021 when I was diagnosed with PTSD, a diagnosis that would forever change my life for the better. I now had a thing…something which I could identify…no longer just treat the symptoms but finally dig down to the root cause.”
Helped by:
Medication
Self-improvement
Therapy
“I skidded on my face and tore ligaments in my knee and shoulder. Other injuries include several broken bones in my pelvis and my skull had a fracture from my hairline to the top of my head. It took several stitches to close up a head wound. I sustained a contrecoup head injury.”
Struggled with:
Bipolar Disorder
Depression
Suicidal
Traumatic Brain Injury
“During the darkest moments of my struggle, I felt invisible and worthless, as though there was no reason to even get out of bed. The sense of defeat weighed heavily on me, making each day an uphill battle. The severity of my mental health struggles had a profound impact on my happiness, overshadowing what should have been an exciting period of personal and professional growth.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Depression
Helped by:
Medication
Self-Care
Therapy
“For months, no one knew I was struggling. I’ve always been a high performer, so I didn’t want to be vulnerable. Eventually, my husband noticed and I had to open up for the sake of our marriage.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Depression
Helped by:
Medication
Therapy
“I was on a very high antipsychotic dose and the side effects made me miserable. I made a plan to end my life but before anything happened my mom noticed my deepening depression. She helped me get treatment for depression and, just as important, both she and my brother spent time with me, offering constant reassurance that there was light at the end of the tunnel.”
Struggled with:
Depression
Psychosis
Helped by:
Exercise
Medication