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’s Austin. I struggled with depression and self-harm beginning around the time I was 13. I started using drugs and alcohol to cope. It started out with weed and drinking. Within 2 years I found myself doing other drugs. I was selling weed and was using the money from selling to support my habit. Little did I know that
My mental health started getting worse when I was in grade 6. I was molested for 3 years by a senior guy who also happened to be my boyfriend (I know I was immature). When the news spread, everyone started slut-shaming and always cornered me. They all speak about me, but none spoke to me. I was targeted by teachers,
HELLO EVERYONE! My name is Justin, age 25, and I came here to share my story dealing/dancing with my demons of Anxiety, Depression, substance abuse and The Stages of Grief to hopefully help others going through similar situations understand they aren’t alone! High school is where I started to realize my emotions had a really strong voice in my head.
I’ve been through the ringer more than one deserves, maybe I’m that one. As a kid I had so many incidents where I came close to not being here due to injuries through recklessness as a kid. Like climbing high areas only to slip and fall 15 feet on my head and end up in the ER. This happened on
When I was 13 I started experiencing depressive episodes. I could tell that something was off but I was too scared to tell anyone. I started using drugs to distract myself, and numb myself. It felt good for a while but it started getting worse when I was sober. I finally found the courage to speak up after I heard
I type this as I struggle daily with bipolar disorder, I run through flurries of emotions in minutes somedays and others I will be an emotionless pit. I constantly catch myself falling into bad habits and situations again, but I still find a way to find peace here.
Hey, my name is Demetrious and I’m currently battling depression and anxiety real bad. I try to keep myself busy so I won’t think about it but it’s so hard when everyone and everything is depressing. I strongly advise to talk to someone, because I have been on the verge of suicide for a while and I’m working on it.
I am a Southside Chicago native, and a US Army Ranger Combat Veteran of 6 years. Both growing up in what I later came to realize was unfortunately very similar to a warzone, as well as being deployed to war zones around the world, I continued to rack up immense PTSD, depression, and crushing guilt with every life I took
From a young age life was a struggle. I am currently only 16 but I’ve seen a lot more than most people around me. When I was a child, my Mama was nonstop in the hospital due to medical issues and my father wasn’t really in the picture because he was trying to get back on his feet financially. My
Experiencing a crisis? Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988
or Text the Crisis Text Line by Texting “LF999” to 741741.
