Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aw right, an introduction thread! I love these!

Name: Mist, MELL, Katherine
Age: will be 16 soon
Likes: Zoning out, Ryou Bakura from Yu-Gi-Oh, pacing, writing, reading, slimjims/beef sticks, and my mom
Dislikes: Kurama from Yu Yu Hakusho, artist's block, Summer, socializing, skinny blondes hogging precious sitcom-space, forgetting things as they happen/I was supposed to do every other second, and my internet going off spontaniously
Favorite bands: Simple Plan, Linkin Park, Disturbed, The Used, Evanescence, Three Days Grace
Quotes:
"Have you ever noticed random food names are found funny? .. Fish and cheese, mainly? It's like hardwired into our heads, like the desire to turn blonde!"
"Do you ever..kinda..get the feeling you're being watched by aliens?"
"I dunno"
Interesting fact: I've dreampt about this red-eyed girl that looks like me, only laughs and smirks, sense I was like eight, all disturbing, intense dreams, in AUs.
Aand that was way too long.

HI Im Iris. IM 18 years old and have recently been diagnosed with DID or Dissociative Identiy disorder. I have always been interested in psychology..and now I have more reason that ever to do more research. ^-^

Hello, I'm Ticcy and I'm 14. I can't raelly spell so bare with me ^^;. I haven't been diagnosed with any mental illness. The reason I got into things like this was originally from theatre actually when you have to analyze characters. When I make it to my junior year(One more year to go cx) of high school, I plan on taking a physcoloy class to understand some more. I've never picked up a book on mental illness, but as of last night I started to look up Borderline.

Hey new-ish people

My name is Tserisa. I'm 26, engaged to my two wonderful fiances (poly), and a horseback riding instructor.

I am diagnosed with major depression, OCD, panic disorder and agoraphobia. I am also diagnosed with MPD/DID but I do not accept this diagnosis, and do not consider my manner of existence as a disorder and do not want to discuss it at this time (maybe in the future, we'll see) -- at any rate, I am a member of what is called a Empowered Multiple System. I am also not "out" as being a Multiple, and ask that my request that this information not be broadcast outside this group be respected. smile

Several years ago, I was housebound, unable to even go out and get my mail, due to the agoraphobia. I was completely disabled. Through meds, therapy, and efforts of my own design, I now have a job, live with my fiances, am able to go out shopping on my own to familiar places, and so on.

I am an equine-assisted therapeutic riding instructor, and work with disabled people using horses as a therapy tool. Horses are the reason I am no longer disabled by my agoraphobia. I work with BEAT Riding Center, a non-profit organization.

I work with many disabilities, including physical, cognitive and emotional, but primarily my students are cognitive and emotional, as I tend to specialize in that at the barn where I work (other instructors may take on more physical students, and so on). I work with a lot of autistic disorders, AD(H)D, depression and anxiety disorders, in particular. I also teach able-bodied (non-handicapped) riders beginner's dressage.

We get referals from a local counseling and psychiatric center, and it can even be covered as therapy by insurance in some cases.

So, I am mentally ill myself and work with the mentally ill professionally as an equine-assisted therapeutic riding instructor, and that's why I joined!

Welcome! whee

hi, i'm BloodlvsTxBvtterflies (bxb for short). I'm 16 years old and have Asperger's Syndrome, Depression (sedentary presentation), ADD/ADHD, and Anxiety.

I also suffer from two chronic pain illnesses, Fibromyalgia Syndrome and Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome, which significantly worsen my depression.

I've been depressed since i was ~6 years old, when my mother was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (she's fine now fyi).

I also have Chronic Sensory Overload, to the point that I can hear the electronic whine of a television that has been left on mute from outside my house (it cuts out ~30 yards from the house) and can see part way into the Ultra Violet and Infrared spectra (effing weird, I know. i've talked to my optometrist about it, he said that it was a bit odd but nothing to be worried about biggrin ).

I am a very high functioning Aspy, my IQ is between 185 and 200 (this is not necessarily a blessing, btw, it can be quite unpleasant at times).

I am currently on a regimen of 50mg Zoloft, for depression, pain, and anxiety, and 400mg Provigil, for sleep irregularities, the sedentary part of my depression, and it helps, to a certain extent, with my ADD/ADHD symptoms.