Live Free 999 encourages everyone to speak openly about mental health. We have created a space to share the stories sent to us from our audience to inspire others to share their own journeys, creating a virtual story-telling chain of community and support.
Notice: Some of the stories shared may contain topics that could be emotionally triggering to some members of our audience. Topics such as suicide, self-harm, substance abuse, and trauma are discussed.
My name is Ryan, and for over 25 years, I lived in a haze, jumping from one high to another. From coke to benzos to meth, I thought I had it all under control. But that was far from the truth. I was born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania. My life was simple until my late teens, when I was
Hi I’m Kingsley, I’m 27 recovering from substance, pills addiction. I started doing drugs when I was in 3rd year in my country educational system. It was hard for me to differentiate between reality and fiction, I’d sleep and wake up with a different reality everyday thinking perhaps I’m better off dead than alive. So many hate and hurtful traumatic
My name is Taylor. I work as a waitress at a club, and I went in on my birthday to work. I was supposed to have friends waiting on the go ahead to come and help celebrate with me; instead, I had one of the most overwhelming anxiety attacks I’ve had in a while. I called my best friend, and
Hi, so I’ve been basically battling anxiety since I was about 4 or 5 years old. I witnessed a boy half my age or older die and drown right in front of me, and I’ve been traumatized from the past ever since. I blame myself for his death because I couldn’t be of help to him while he was drowning
I’m Jasmine and I struggled with anxiety since as far back I can remember. I was always in my head. My thoughts were my worst enemy. I still do. I also struggled with substance abuse for 13 years. It took over me and I didn’t recognize who I was anymore. My family and I all dealt with trauma and alcoholism
Hi, my name is Jordan and I live in the UK. I didn’t always feel this way but since I first felt love at the age of 14 with one of my closest friends at the time, spending 5 years together completely changed the person I was prior, who was bubbly and so happy just to be alive. It changed
I’ve started struggling with anxiety and depression at the very young age of 10. I felt like dying every time I went to sleep, and I was feeling at my lowest ever. I started growing up and life was getting better, and I started to think that what I was feeling was just a phase. Then the same issues hit
Hi, my name’s Nate, I’m 21, and I have been struggling with anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember. Recently I found out I have autism, so I feel very alone most of the time. I struggle with just keeping a job due to the stress and the effort it takes. I have had problems with alcohol
Hi everyone. My story starts out as a child with my mom and dad divorced and me stayed with my mom while my 3 siblings went with my dad. My mom was a drug addict, and I would wake up in the mornings and see my mom doing all types of drugs. She got so skewed up one day and
Experiencing a crisis? Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988
or Text the Crisis Text Line by Texting “LF999” to 741741.
