My struggle with mental health issues began at age 24 and has never ended since. I was originally diagnosed with SAD and severe depression, later bipolar I was added to the mix. I lived through crippling episodes of mania. Anyone who says bipolar is not a disability has no idea what they’re talking about. The way you feel after an episode is grueling. You just lie in bed and wait for the day to be over. I thought it’d be a miracle if I lasted five more years like that. I was sure no one would ever be with me, I couldn’t bring anything to the table. But I survived, and got married, had a son. I’ve changed medications many times, until I found a combo that’s working for me. Some drugs were not only useless but dangerous: they triggered mania. Others just didn’t do anything. I take a mood stabilizer and an antidepressant (this one took a lot of trial and error), visit a therapist once every two weeks, and I’m in the best place mentally that I’ve ever been. I no longer want to harm anyone, I’m not a shell of myself. I can work full-time – that’s the best part. The problem is my wife. She became interested in holistic medicine, and she drives me crazy. It’s not enough that she has changed our diet to eat “healthy foods”. She stopped giving our son vitamins because they’re “synthetic” and apparently harmful. Now she nags me daily about the article from several years ago that debunks the theory that bipolar and depression are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. She found it in an alternative medicine blog that breaks down a pretty old medical paper. My therapist said the article is total garbage; it oversimplifies the facts and is aimed at the general public. The only idea my wife absorbed was that it’s a huge conspiracy theory that made millions of people start taking antidepressants and other serotonin-balancing drugs. She wants me to stop taking them completely, arguing that I’m “healed” and my mood swings are very rare. The thing she doesn’t get is I am the way I am *because* of my drugs. She keeps sending me other suspicious sources claiming that chemical imbalances are not real, and she no longer accepts that mental health issues are incredibly nuanced. She pinned a list of all the products that are supposed to increase serotonin production to our fridge and says that if I believe in this scientific theory so much I can replace pills with eating more of such products. I don’t mind eating more dark chocolate, honestly, it just makes me sad she can’t support me. It’s like she wants to ruin all the progress I’ve made. I feel like I have no one to turn to, and my therapist is just angry at my wife. How do I get her to support me in this?

Hi, folks

Since many people here have struggled or are still struggling with mental health issues, can you please share your tips on what actions from your family helped you the most?

Due to my recent divorce, I’m returning to live with my parents for a while, which also means I’ll live with my younger brother. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression, at various times. He did some crazy things back then: crashed parents’ car, went out naked, hurt himself more than once. Back in school he used to say random weird things about magic and stealing all the money from the central bank. He was under the impression from the movie, of course, but it was at the back of his mind for years. Most times he was an average teen though, a bit eccentric and impulsive. He kept to himself, for the most part.

Truth be told, I haven’t seen him since college. My mother told me about some of his episodes in our video calls, but it was months ago. Lately, everything’s been quiet and normal. I want to be supportive and not a burden. Should I talk to him about it? I’ll move out as soon as I’m sure my new job is reliable.

Currently, going through a lot of shit that I think I don't deserve. In my family,my father took several loans againsts all assests out of which some got taken by bank through auction. Next is his business, which is not working, he's at home since August 2022 and doesn't even find any jobs. My younger brother is pursuing bachelor degree and is also not making any efforts to even score good in his college. My mom is a hardworking and strong woman who is still stick to papa bcuz she has no other options available. I'm a sole earner in my family, paying rent to grocery n other expenses come under my umbrella. My relationship is going well but I'm not even 1% satisfied with his family. They're from UP and are somehow ready to sccept me but....they want me to follow all the narrow-minded made rules. You guys can't believe, they want me to sacrifice my job, freedom, and even my family. I have never imagined such family can exist in today's generation where they want their daughter to live a happy life without sacrificing anything. But don't want their daughter in law like her. Their conditions are: you need to wear saree for the whole life with ghunghat no other options. You can't do jobs outside home, wfh is allowed but need to handle family, husband, job, sanskar, and relatives at the same time. You can't go out alone. Anyone of his family should be there. You can't post anything on social medua, if you want, you should not add any of the family members n relatives in your channels. You cant even wear suit at home or outside home. Only wear when you'll go outside city or state. You have to handle home like yours and oy you've the responsibility of it. His sister frequently come to his home (multiple reason or sometimes no reasons) but i can't go to mine bcuz his parents are ill nd I have to take care of them. I need to sacrifice everything including parents just to prove his relatives that they found a so called sanskari bahu with no grudges and disagreement issues. I don't know what to do. I love him I also know that he can't took my back when it comes to freedom. He can't stand against his parents. All he is doing is brainwashing me with the name of good girl nd family-oriented woman who can do anything for her love.

I'm even going through mental health issues. I've migraine (severe headache) and depression. Even visited psychologist n neuro several times. But that shit somewhere scares me a lot, idk why. Sometimes, I even got suicidal thoughts due to these big list of problems.

Pleasehelp me out with this. What actions should I need to take? What to do🥺 please help me

I became a father when I was only a teenager, and my daughter was born when I was just 17 years old. Her mother struggled with mental health issues, but her parents refused to get her the help she needed. Unfortunately, she eventually took her own life. Ever since then, it's just been my daughter and me. Some people might think it's not appropriate to consider your child as a friend, but I don't care. I'm lucky that my daughter and I always remained close, even as she grew into a teenager.

But on Wednesday morning, my world came crashing down. My daughter was driving to school when a drunk driver hit her head-on. She died instantly on impact. When I found out, my heart shattered into a million pieces. My daughter was everything to me. I had taken on a job I didn't particularly enjoy, but it helped me provide for her and make sure she was always happy and taken care of. Now I'm left with this overwhelming sense of loss and heartbreak.