Nano Quackers(for nanoers with mental illness)

Anyone out there? I know we'd been going strong for the past few years. Come on in, pull up a comfy chair, grab a snack. I brought donuts and nachos! Don't mind the squeaky ducks all over the room. Welcome old members and new! Please introduce yourself and tell us about your novel!

I'm Cathy. 25. Married mother of 2 little girls. This is my first Nano in years I haven't been pregnant! Going to attempt to win Nano this year, even with a toddler and infant. I was diagnosed years ago with bipolar, ptsd, borderline personality, and anxiety disorder. Struggled for years a lot but finally at a place where I can function mostly normal and take care of my family. This Nano I'm being a rebel. Deciding to write a memoir about my past struggles. I think I'm finally at a place in life where I'm ready for that.

So, what about you?

Hi, I'm Rachelle. I'm 31, and I have bipolar II and anxiety disorders. I've been dealing with mental health issues since I was 15. For the most part, I've been stable for almost 3 years. I live with my fiancee, one of our best friends (the one who introduced us, actually), two dogs, and one cat. It can get pretty hectic in our apartment, but I love the living arrangements.

This is my first time doing Nano. I've wanted to for the past few years, but first I was in undergrad, then grad school, and now I can finally write something other than a term paper! My novel is going to be a memoir as well, about my pregnancy and coming to the decision to place my son for adoption. I'm struggling with the language to use, because he's at the age where he wants to know about where he came from, what it was like when he was born, etc. (we have an open adoption), so I'd like for him to be able to read the finished product, but I'd also like it to be something both adoptees and birthparents can read as well, and since I was an adult when I became pregnant, I don't want it to be some YA teen pregnancy book.

Quack-quack-quack. Recovering from major depression here! I am doing a heck of a lot better than I was when I first started up NaNo, especially now that I'm in a relationship that doesn't suck and back in school to boot. I still have my down days, but every day I hope to remind myself and others that life is totally awesome, even when it feels like it sucks sometimes. I mean, we live in a world where pygmy marmosets are real. How can that be a bad thing?

Hi, I'm Aneith and I'm a borderline (in remission) and an abuse survivor. I also dissociate and suffer from low self esteem, certain schemas/core beliefs, and agoraphobia/anxiety. I often feel like my thoughts are on a completely different track than most people.
I am med free since I have a very bad reaction to them. Instead, I learnt and continue to learn skills to deal with my issues. I am currently in a self esteem course. *crosses fingers*
I have a two year old boy who I will also be teaching these skills to since pretty much everyone can use them. :)
I'm enjoying life for the most part. I still feel like I have a long way to go to get better. That would be ok since I like the journey except I've been stuck at the same place mentally for a few years. I would like to get better self esteem and stop being so afraid of people.
It's nice to meet you.

Hello, I'm Sue, 32 from Wales UK.

I'm new to NaNo but not new to the concept, I've just never taken part before. Interesting to read about yous who're writing memoirs - I'm taking a break from writing mine to do NaNo fiction. I've been writing about my mental illnesses for a couple of years and just had my old hospital lawyers give me the A-OK to publish what psychs etc wrote about me. I've worked hard on it but taking a break will be fabulous.
I do alot better now. I actually managed to fall pregnant (very, very lucky) and am now mum to Katie. I have a very long history of OCD and anorexia (years of hospitals, psychs, meds, CBT etc) and the end of my memoir is my giving birth etc...so I have a positive ending.

Wishing you all oodles of writing luck for NaNo 2011 :)
Sue

Hi everyone. I'm 26 and in London. This year has seen me face my biggest struggle with mental illness and I've had to and will have to deal with a lot of triggers. November is going to be a difficult month but I really want to do this. I was diagnosed with Bipolar for about 5 years then this year I moved and deteriorated and got diagnosed with Borderline personality disorder. I find writing a massive help and I think I'm actually going to start writing my autobiography. I've had a very chaotic life and people have been nagging me to write my story for years. I'm currently attending some therapeutic writing courses and they've inspired me to go for it. I think it will be difficult but could help me to finally begin to make sense of/come to terms with what I've been through which I think would make a huge difference to how I manage my mental health. Good luck everyone :-)

Hello! My name is Alex; I'm 26 and live in Humboldt County, California. I've survived depression for well over 10 years, and the last few years I've spent volunteering in mental health advocacy and awareness-raising. This is my second NaNoWriMo; last year I won pretty handily; this year I'm not so confident (I'm working 40 hours a week now; as opposed to last year when I was working about 40 hours less.)

This year will also the first major story I've worked on that wasn't primarily about depression (either literally or allegorically), though the majors themes include the cycle of violence, loss and guilt, which are more than just a little bit tangentially related to mental health.

I'm excited to get back to the grind; I haven't gotten much chance to write since last year's NaNoWriMo, and this year I want to do more than write 50k words... I want to write a complete novel.

I feel like I'm a little belated in replying to this, but maybe not? Anyhow, hi everybody! I'm Joelle and I was diagnosed several years ago now with severe OCD. (Also mild depression and generalized anxiety disorder, but the OCD is definitely the worst of it all.) I don't actually write about this at all, but it still affects my NaNo experience--especially when I'd rather be writing than checking the light switches over and over again. Anyway, I just thought I'd stop in and say hi. Looking forward to this year's NaNo!

Hi! I'm an old hand quacker.....been here since it's first year I think (no, no, don't try and remember me...I was under a different name them ^_^)

I'm a paranoid schizophrenic with a side order of ADHD, Depression and transgender...ness! (the transgenderness is something that wasn't mentioned in previous years...it's only very recently I've been able to talk about it....and now I'm on the road to become a girl ^_^)

Anyways....I recognized a couple of you, HI LILLY AND SPURS!! ^_^ and HI NEW PEOPLE I DON'T KNOW!!

I'm the local lovable failure ^^

I nearly missed this ^-^

Major Depressive Disorder or whatever they're calling it these days. I haven't had a major depressive episode in years though I've had periods of feeling very down. I keep an eye on my symptoms so that it doesn't creep up on me, and I try to stay healthy by exercising and taking St John's Wort when things begin to go downhill. I also have occasional bouts of anxiety and a random anxiety attack now and then.

(By the way, if anyone hasn't tried St John's Wort yet and you've had issues with [or don't want to take] prescribed medication, I really do recommend it. It works wonders with few to no side effects. Just talk with your doctor if you're on any other meds and remember it will stop the contraceptive pill from working.)

Unfortunately summer's coming up which always makes me feel down, because it's so abominably hot, being stuck inside is frustrating and the sunlight is just too bright.

Anyway I'm glad to find people here who... get it, I suppose I could put it. I'm not feeling at my best at the moment so it's nice to have this thread here.

You all sound like lovely people and I'm so glad we have this opportunity to get to know each other better and support one another!

I'm a recovered anorexic of 8 years (yay!) and I recovered anxiety/panic attack disorder of 7 years. I've suffered from major depression since I was around 13, and it took a full decade to find a medication that worked for me. During that time, I had about one bad episode a year (no joke; that's like ten percent of my life). I finally discovered Lamitrogene and haven't had a problem in two years! For any of you who are frustrated with the healing process, I offer encouragement; it's long and it sucks, but it does work.

Ever since I recovered from anorexia, I've felt a duty to tell my story, but I don't know how. Since my depression is purely chemical -- no abuse or divorce or anything like that -- I don't know what I would focus on. Maybe someday I'll find my way. Until then, I write mostly historical fiction and my book for this year is a retelling of the legend of the Amazon warriors.

Hihi! I'm back for another year...niceta see familiar names and some new ones, too!! ^^

I'm Nikki...I'm 28 years old, and I have Asperger's Syndrome (high functioning autism), General Anxiety Disorder, and OCD.
I see them as both a blessing and a curse, cause if it wasn't for the trouble I had with all of that, I wouldn't have turned to creative outlets such as drawing. Writing, I've been interested in since I was a little kid, but I didn't know I could learn to draw or would be able to draw until I started to to it as a way of dealing with anxiety.
On the other hand, they make it hard to find and keep a job. Being unemployed is great for focusing my attention on making a comic or writing (NaNo), but not so great money wise. -_-

Lesse...I like helping, just don't ask me any relationship questions, since I have the emotional level of a pre-teen! ^_~
I'll still listen, though! I'm not an auditory learner, but since this is the 'net, I'm a-ok with it! If I can make at least one person smile, I'm happy, so I'm one of the folks that you'll often see acting as a cheerleader and encouraging everyone. ^^

I want to raise awareness of mental issues, and that we aren't to be feared, and we're not psychopathic killers or anything like that through my drawing and writing. I have a couple ideas this NaNo, and one of them ties into promoting equality and tearing down the walls of discrimination against people that don't seem to fit society's standards.

Anyways, niceta meet everyone!

Another BP'er here - bipolar disorder. I have been episode free for awhile now, and thanks to a doctor who agreed to allow me something besides Lithium......I actually feel creative again (actually, I just feel in general again).

Hey everyone, returning Quacker here! This is my 3rd year doing NaNo, and my 3rd year as a Quacker. :) I'm Kat, for those who don't know. I have bipolar disorder, panic disorder with agoraphobia, and ADHD Combined type. I have been previously diagnosed with PTSD, but through a lot of hard work and clawing my way out I officially no longer meet the diagnostic criteria... something I am very proud of! :) Mental health aside, I work in IT support and am in the home stretch of a degree in Psychology.

The book that I've been outlining for the past couple of weeks is literary fiction (par for the course for me) and is the story of a woman who, through a series of events, is forced to return to the small town she grew up in and come to terms with the life she lived, the life she left, and the person she became in the process.

Anyway, it's nice to see everyone here, old and new. Can't wait to spend all of November frantically writing with you all!

Hey all, I'm still here. Just having a stressful few weeks. Sickness of whole family and my first time ever dealing with a sick kid turned into 2 sick kids, cough I had for 2 weeks that finally is mostly gone, and then found out my house somehow got lice...I haven't left my place in almost a month so it wasn't me! But of course since I have the most hair on my head, I had it the worst :( So been treating my hair like crazy(I sat for two hours straight going over my head with a comb. Before then my husband checked my head at least half a dozen times and I made him check after as well several times) We've all been lice-free for days now though and I scrubbed/sprayed/wiped down/bagged up/ and washed everything in my house. Floors/carpets/furniture were all cleaned and sprayed too. We overdrew our bank account partly due to buying the stuff lol. So, I've been going nuts over that. Gonna treat our hair again in a few days to make sure they are gone. Ick! Luckily my kids haven't noticed half of their toys missing. On the positive side: My house is super clean now!

Hi, my name is Jennifer and I suffer from diagnosed clinical depression. I have undiagnosed very mild OCD, (which makes it hard to stuff that inner editor in the box) hoarding disorder and overeater disorder. These are very mild, but they flair up from time to time.

The depression has been hitting me very hard the past few weeks, but I'm still here. My depression the past few weeks has been caused by my OCD flaring up and the need to be and the house to be perfect. My depression has casued my overeating disorder to flare up also. Such a vicious cycle.

Here's to a calm and successful NaNo

Hi all, I'm Kayla, the depressed Aspie. Well, not so depressed anymore, the meds are wonderful for me. I may end up writing a memoir one of these years, but first I want to get my baby (my novel, silly) out.

I was originally diagnosed as bipolar, but as I grew up (I was 9 then, starting puberty) and my hormones evened out, I got reevaluated and medicated for Aspergers. The downside is, the same meds that keep me from lashing out right now (I turned frustration into anger) are making it very hard to keep my weight down. The other part of it is genetics, my entire mother's side is full of overeaters. I might have a bit of OCD too, but not enough for me to worry about it too much. I'm monitoring it though.

Yes! All for a good NaNo and a good NaNo for all!

Hello all! I'm Jennifer. I have OCD, depression--mostly due to losing my mom last year--and some anxiety. For what is going on with me, I refuse to take medication--due to how one med I took did nothing, one med I took for something not even related exacerbated my OCD (prednisone) and my mom getting all the negative side effects of meds. I've worked through a lot of my OCD consciously and by using breathing techniques. My panic attacks lose their power when I remember to breathe. I think the depression is going to take some therapy, though. Even before my mom died, I began living a sedentary life style. My house is an utter mess and the fact that it is a mess is depressing and I can't always summon the strength to deal with it. I feel like I have more things relating to my mom to let go. She used to be my emotional rock in life and I've hard to learn how to depend on myself to get through my emotional stuff.

Hi everybody! I'm Katheryn. It's my third year in NaNo, and either my second or third year as a Quacker. I've been diagnosed with severe major depression with psychotic features and borderline personality disorder (in remission, thank goodness). I used to be diagnosed with PTSD as well, but no longer meet the criteria. (I suppose you can guess I am an abuse survivor, though as abuse goes, it was relatively mild -- but I had a very bad reaction to it.) My mother claims that I have OCD -- e.g., my having to arrange the dishes by type before I wash them -- and I also hoard and overeat.

Medication was not very successful with me (Prozac in particular made me feel very anxious and upset) till I found a psychiatrist six years ago who put me on the right combination of meds for me. (By the way, I took St. John's Wort for several months some years before I found the right combination of meds for me. St. John's Wort did not do anything for me -- either good or bad.) It took me a while after that for me to get my creativity back, and when I did, I started participating in NaNo.

Hi, I'm Jess, and I have depression/general anxiety disorder/social anxiety/disordered eating. Diagnosed with anxiety seven years ago, and it all just went from there, and I've been put on medication for the first time this year. (Lexapro, the wonderful thing. Make me manic half the time and sad the other half, and my short-term memory is shot to hell because of it. I'm not actually sure why I'm still taking the damn things). I'm not really sure what else to say... honestly, I'm coming to terms with the fact that 1/3 of my life has been taken by mental illness, and I'm not sure that it's ever going to go away.

On the bright side, I'm going to become a psychiatrist one day because I want to stop others from dealing with all this "crazy".

And y'all are inspirational. No, seriously. Being able to get out here and say your truth--it's something I've only learnt to do, and I admire everyone that can, whether it be online or in real life.