At Tracking Happiness, we’re dedicated to helping others around the world overcome struggles of mental health.
In 2022, we published a survey of 5,521 respondents and found:
In order to break the stigma that surrounds mental health struggles, we’re looking to share your stories.
They say that everyone you meet is engaged in a great struggle. No matter how well someone manages to hide it, there’s always something to overcome, a struggle to deal with, an obstacle to climb.
And when someone is engaged in a struggle, that person is looking for others to join him. Because we, as human beings, don’t thrive when we feel alone in facing a struggle.
Overcoming your struggles is like defeating an angry giant. You try to throw rocks at it, but how much damage is one little rock gonna do?
Tracking Happiness can become your partner in facing this giant. We are on a mission to share all your stories of overcoming mental health struggles. By doing so, we want to help inspire you to overcome the things that you’re struggling with, while also breaking the stigma of mental health.
Which explains the phrase: “Let’s throw rocks together”.
Let’s throw rocks together, and become better at overcoming our struggles collectively. If you’re interested in becoming a part of this and sharing your story, click this link!
“I lost three family members in a short period of time and I felt like I was going to lose everyone (my father and grandfather also have serious illnesses) before I could go back to Japan to visit them. I couldn’t stop crying when I thought about what I had lost, so I just kept busy, working, and going out with my husband and his family.”
Struggled with:
Grief
Helped by:
Self-improvement
“The source to constant happiness is only found within you, and spiritual work is the pathway to find and make that fountain flow. In so doing, you’ll be able to take your challenges and turn them into searches for treasure. Open enough treasures, and you’ll even be able to instantly ignite happiness in those around you.”
Struggled with:
Depression
Feeling lost
Helped by:
Meditation
Spirituality
“One of the aspects of PTSD is depression and with depression comes irritability. Living with depression was like walking through molasses. Everything was more difficult, irritating, and unrecognizable. I knew something was in the way that needed to be cleared. It’s hard to be happy when you feel like that.”
Struggled with:
Depression
PTSD
Helped by:
Religion
Self-improvement
Therapy
“I constantly grappled with self-worth and struggled to find my place in a society that seemed indifferent to my pain. Even though I tried to mask my struggles, those closest to me sensed something was wrong. The stress and emotional toll were palpable, leaving scars that took years to heal.”
Helped by:
Self-improvement
“I have tried to reframe what depression is and rather than see it as a sickness, I see it as a state of my being. So instead of trying to fight it back, and remove it completely, which I have so far failed to do, I’ve tried to work with it as part of how I am. I find I suffer less as a result.”
Struggled with:
Depression
Helped by:
Reinventing yourself
Therapy
“At my worst, I would hurt myself so I had an escape and a release. There are points where I feel so out of control in my body that even breathing is a task. I hold my breath. In truth, I have night terrors about what my funeral would be like, who would show up? Would I be missed? Would people come out of the woodwork when I was gone? If I left this body here would I hurt less? I battle every single day with loss. Your mind begins to play tricks on you.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Cerebral palsy
Childhood
Depression
Suicidal
“One thing I did was to force myself to get back into the water, something I loved instead of staying in the house crying. Getting back to surfing began my journey to a new “me”. The ocean has a way of washing away whatever feels wrong. This was my best therapy. I strongly advise others to find something they love to do and rekindle their spirit to make good things happen.”
Struggled with:
Depression
Grief
Stress
Helped by:
Reinventing yourself
“In the span of 6 months, I lost my dad, was forced to move out of his house by family, and also ended a years-long relationship with my partner at the time. The pain that I felt was so deep that I spiraled into the deepest depression yet.”
Struggled with:
Depression
Divorce
Grief
“I did not have an internal sense of self. It didn’t matter how much I accomplished or how many people I helped. I only measured positive outcomes by how others perceived and recognized me or my actions. The sooner we let go of labels, expectations, or the pain of past experiences, the sooner we will feel joy in our hearts.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Cancer
Childhood
Depression
Identity crisis
“The first challenge was for me to acknowledge my own difficulty and accept that it was a struggle at all. I was so lost in perfectionism that, at first, I didn’t accept that I was struggling. Over time, I more openly sought out help and support from loved ones and friends.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Postpartum depression
Stress
Helped by:
Medication
Meditation
Mindfulness
Therapy