A Day With Mental Health

At Headspace, these are some of the questions we think about, which is why we’ve launched the A Day With Mental Health series. It’s our mission to make the world a healthier and happier place, and that starts in the mind. Our hope with this series is to create better empathy and understanding. We would like to live in a world where it's not taboo to discuss our mental health, where it's OK to ask for help, and where help can readily be given. We are especially thankful for the willingness, humanity, and bravery of our contributors in sharing their stories; we do not take this privilege lightly. These essays are part of an ongoing series of personal stories on what it’s like to live with a mental health diagnosis. Each piece describes a singular and unique experience. These essays are not meant to be representative of every diagnosis, but to give us a peek into one person’s mind so we may be more empathetic to all. This series will publish weekly here on the Orange Dot. Below, read the essays that have been published so far:

• A Day With: Panic Attacks
• A Day With: Depression
• A Day With: Dyspraxia
• A Day With: Trichotillomania
• A Day With: Codependency
• A Day With: Stuttering
• A Day With: Antenatal Depression
• A Day With: Postpartum Anxiety
• A Day With: Social Anxiety
• A Day With: Being in a Mental Hospital
• A Day With: Body Dysmorphia
• A Day With: Autism
• A Day With: Borderline Personality Disorder
• A Day With: Agoraphobia
• A Day With: Insomnia
• A Day With: Schizophrenia
• A Day With: Hoarding Disorder
• A Day With: Anorexia & Bulimia
• A Day With: Sensorimotor OCD
• A Day With: Paranoid Schizophrenia
• A Day With: A Brain Tumor
• A Day With: OCD
• A Day With: ADD
• A Day With: Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
• A Day With: OCPD
• A Day With: DD-NOS
• A Day With: Complex PTSD
• A Day With: Bipolar 1

A Day With Mental Health series is brought to you by Headspace and Bring Change to Mind (BC2M). BC2M is a nonprofit organization built to start the conversation about mental health, and to raise awareness, understanding, and empathy. They develop influential public service announcements (PSAs) and pilot evidence-based, peer-to-peer programs at the undergraduate and high school levels, engaging students to eradicate stigma. Because science is essential to achieving this mission, BC2M’s work is grounded in the latest research, evaluated for effectiveness, and shared with confidence. Headspace is proud to partner with them as we shine a light on the day-to-day experiences of living with a mental health diagnosis. Submissions for the A Day With Mental Health series are now closed. We continue to explore and discuss mental health (and everything else that occurs around life and death) in our articles.

A day with dyspraxia

“Putting something on your skin reminds you where your body ends, and that feels nice.”

A day with trichotillomania

“I get this look often—people assume I have cancer. I say nothing because explaining trichotillomania makes those sympathetic faces morph into confused ones.”