I guess I was raised to believe mental illness was not real. So when I realized that I had some serious problems, it took years before I sought help. And I still feel shame, even though I know it's nothing to be ashamed of. My family was told by my mother I was disabled for physical reasons, so most of them don't even know that I have mental problems.

When I'm with friends from program, I have no problems when we call each other crazy or nut case because when I'm in program or with those friends, we already know that we all have problems and challenges and don't expect each other to act 'normal'.