"I was a very quiet, yet anxious child. I became depressed at around six years old. My grandmother had just passed away and I had been very attached to her. I was devastated when she died and was also a little frightened. My mother was also very depressed.

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Whether depression runs in my family or not, I don't think I will ever really know. My depression and anxiety eventually turned into mania by the time I was fourteen. My mental health condition is bipolar disorder.

 

I started drinking alcohol at around seventeen and quickly became addicted. I became an alcoholic and hit a very low bottom by the time I was twenty-three. I became suicidal and I was eventually hospitalized.

 

I was in the hospital for two months in 1995. I was very sick. I was suffering from mania, psychosis, and delusional thinking, while also being intoxicated. The doctors gave me a lot of medication. They suggested I stop drinking and I did.

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I took my medication after leaving the hospital and have been healthy ever since. There have been lots of obstacles along the way but I got through it with the support of my family and friends. I am grateful for everything I have today. I would not trade my life for anyone else's."