If you are having suicidal thoughts or feelings, contact 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or a qualified physician / mental health professional immediately.
...nuclear, dynamic household. Her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins—they were all temporary occupants of a bustling...
...from the Perry Castañada Library at the University of Texas at Austin around 3:45 AM with a couple of friends after a night of studying.
... due to several moves, lack of money, and a nasty divorce. From the time I was in 4th to 7th grade, I was also sexually abused by my...
I was five years old when my innocence was snatched away from me. A grown man clasped the little me, stroked me...
...“Oh, this is just me being a teenager.” Little did I know it was something serious… I was too young to feel this sadness, right? I mean...
...under the veil of a warm smile and a cool, calm demeanor. Hope this doesn’t take too many of my friends by complete surprise.
I was happy for 20 seconds, then it was on to the next one. Imagine a kid in a martial arts class, yoga class, or art class. Imagine a kid...
I always feared that I would be called weak if I expressed any vulnerability. So instead, I put on a “strong” face at all times...
“How are you doing?” people usually ask, whether or not they know I’ve lost family recently. I don’t answer these days. My external...
...asking for help. Whether I was struggling to solve a math problem at school or trying to reach the highest shelf in the kitchen...
My mother is physically and psychologically abusive toward me. Her mother and father were the same way toward her and her sister...
I managed to wake up every morning get dressed, grab breakfast, and dash out the door but it was a front. A facade. A routine...
In alignment with our mission to encourage others to #SpeakUp about mental health, we’ve created this blog – a passion project highlighting those who wish to share their stories with the world.
Open to anyone and posted biweekly, the series features personal anecdotes from members of the South Asian community who have struggled with mental illness – and the stigma that comes along with it.
In this bumpy and frenetic ride we call life, dance was usually my safety net. The days where either my stomach...
“How are you doing?” people usually ask, whether or not they know I’ve lost family recently. I don’t answer these days. My external...
...just a number, something in the back of their mind, or maybe even something that nags at them every day. For others, like me...
Ninety-eight pounds. That's what stared back at me. Ninety-eight pounds of skin and bones is what I had turned into...
...“Oh, this is just me being a teenager.” Little did I know it was something serious… I was too young to feel this sadness, right? I mean...
...asking for help. Whether I was struggling to solve a math problem at school or trying to reach the highest shelf in the kitchen...
I could talk about my experiences with mental health and how I was like a fish out of water in every aspect of my life...
...under the veil of a warm smile and a cool, calm demeanor. Hope this doesn’t take too many of my friends by complete surprise.
...nuclear, dynamic household. Her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins—they were all temporary occupants of a bustling...
My journey in undergrad started like any other "typical" South Asian. I was a pre-med student studying biochemistry stuck in a continuous...
I was happy for 20 seconds, then it was on to the next one. Imagine a kid in a martial arts class, yoga class, or art class. Imagine a kid...
Like me, my mother was born in India. Also like me, my mother has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. While we have this...
...The moment I had been waiting for months and months had finally arrived. The year was 2002 and I was finally about to see...
Too often, people think that mental health is easier to cure than physical health - but that is untrue. I know that from experience...
Fall 2011: “Congratulations, we are pleased to inform you have been accepted into our medical school.” It felt unreal. I’d gained admission into a U.S. Medical school I’d wanted since I was a kid. I was born severely premature, only 2 pounds, and medicine saved my life.
...and what I felt wasn't considered a "real problem." Middle school was a testing time for my personal life. My family was dealing...
MannMukti pledges to serve all South Asians, recognizing the power hierarchies in our communities, created and maintained by different identities of caste, language, geography, gender, sexuality, and religion that shape individuals’ obstacles while seeking mental liberation.