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View all ADAA personal stories of triumph (you can also search by topic/population on the right hand navigation of this page) to learn how people living with anxiety, depressive, obsessive-compulsive, and trauma-related disorders have struggled, coped, and triumphed. 

Do you have a personal story of triumph? ADAA would love to hear from you. We welcome guest blogs to share on the ADAA website and across our social media platforms. 

In a story of 500 words or less, please describe your experience with an anxiety disorder and/or depression and how it has affected your life. Focus on the therapy or other treatments that have helped you manage or overcome your illness. Please include how ADAA's website or resources have helped you. In order to publish you story on our website and to share it on our social media platforms, we require that you use your real name and include a photo. Please note that we do not accept advertorials (these stories should not include any call-outs for personal websites or publications or sell any products). We reserve the right to reject any story that we do not feel is appropriate to share. 

Submit your story together with ADAA's completed media release form via email to: ADAA Web Features.

We also invite you to check out the ADAA page on The Mighty: Make your voice heard and submit your story. “We face disability, disease, and mental illness together.”

NOTE: ADAA reserves the right to edit for clarity, length, and editorial style. We do not guarantee that every submission will be published. If your story is accepted, you will be notified. If you have not heard from ADAA within one week of submission that means that your story has not been accepted. Once your story is posted on this website, it is the property of ADAA.

Recent Personal Stories

by Rebecca G. Feinberg

“I’m fine; leave me alone” he says as I find myself, yet again, prodding, nagging, trying to help

The words hit me

So familiar

Not just in our own dance of push and pull

But also in that of another anxiety-ridden parent-child relationship, this one where I am the child

Was it only last week that I found my 44 year-old self saying these same words to my own mother

by Adam Joel

What if your mental health came to life as shifts in the weather? That’s the plot of my short film Under the Weather.

I made this film because I loved someone with undiagnosed depression, and we never really talked about it. Dark days came and went like weather patterns. When I tried to “cheer her up,” it was like sunlight burning her eyes. When she tried to push me away, it was like a windstorm blasting me out the door. 

by Sam Wickey

Growing up as a terrified Amish child was extremely difficult because I could not speak to anyone about my fears, nightmares, and personal illusions that were perceived as reality. My family did not believe in any form of expression or communication because we were in the strictest Amish sect. They did not even believe in hugging their children or saying I love you.

by Rebecca Feinberg


My child once said to me, as I was losing my patience and compassion
For what felt like the millionth time in his young life
That he asked me if I had washed my hands before touching something
 
And, he was right, as much as I tried, I (and others) could have had no idea what it feels like to live every single day

by Marci Goldberg

It seems so unreal that back in 2000 when I was first diagnosed with depression and anxiety that I could ever imagine I would have found the PERFECT tool for my toolbox and my BEST medicine; that would have helped me cope with all these important mental health issues that I face. I attend therapy sessions twice a month with my therapist but that’s not the way I cope best.

by Madison Jo Sieminski

by Darren Kendal

Growing up in chaos is the greatest gift I have ever received. But, when I was diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder it surely did not feel like a gift. I thought my diagnosis would follow me everywhere I go and limit me in everything I do. Little did I know, my struggles with mental health would allow me to feel completely empowered. 

by James Kirkendall

Hello, my name is James and I want to voice my struggles and successes with others that are suffering from mental illness and developmental issues. Ever since I was little I knew something was off. I was always told throughout my life that I seemed like a calm person, however that was far from the truth. The wheels were always turning in my head. I was intrigued by the success stories on ADAA and reached out to share my story.

by Khing Ceaze

by Gilad from Anxious and Abroad

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