Bree Carey certainly knows how it feels to suffer from a mental illness, and she's willing to help others cope with it by creating an online community.
Sixteen-year-old Carey, who goes to school at Geneva High School in Illinois, was a bright student who was getting straight As in her classes and participated in a choir. However, she developed panic attacks and became severely depressed that she found going to school terrifying. Doctors recommended her medications, which only caused multiple hospitalizations. To cope, she also resorted to cutting herself.
After a serious conversation with her boyfriend one day over Skype, she realized she had to let go of the pain and committed herself to recovery. She completed it within three months.
Believing there are many others out there who are like her, she started an non-profit organization and online community called A Cutter's Guardian Angel, which has now grown to more than 3,000 members including those who lived in other countries like Australia. The community is currently being managed and designed for teens who want to express their feelings and share their experiences dealing with mental health. The organization also hopes to remove the stigma that comes along with teens and mental illnesses.
For this year, Carey and her team have decided to host an open mic session in their community's public library to bring more awareness of teen mental health and their organization. They also have a campaign in Gofundme.com.
Although the organization has extended social support to sufferers, it runs a disclaimer that the information found in the website must be used along with professional help.
A couple of days ago, the state of Connecticut through their Mental Health Services launched a website to help teens with mental health problems. It serves as an avenue for them to share their stories in different ways including videos. It also included hotline numbers to trained crisis counselors.
