• Hard to Talk About, but Impossible to Ignore

  by D.Z.

  Names have been changed. Before I learned that I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), I thought the way my mind worked was normal. I bet everyone recites things to themselves before they’re allowed to fall asleep, 7-year-old me thought. I know everyone has to do a series of actions, touching and reciting things before they leave their house, but it is strange that no one talks about it…I thought when I was 10.

• Family Therapy Was a Lifeline

  by J. Huang

  I was 15 and living in a residential center in Denver, where I was being treated for anorexia and depression. In addition to individual therapy, I had a weekly family therapy session, where my parents and I were practicing communication. My therapist knew I had been struggling with suicidal thoughts for a while; part of family communication was sharing this with my parents.

• Learning to Live with OCD

  by Nola

  As a very young child, I never engaged with anyone outside my family. I was terrified of the world around me. I was scared of germs, lice, and disease. Around the age of 5 or 6, I slowly developed my first real obsessive habits.

• Embracing the Imperfect

  by Oscar Scribner

  When I got in, I was in utter disbelief. My parents sent email announcements to my extended family, and soon everyone who lived in my building in Harlem knew it: Oscar was going to Stuyvesant!  I had originally wanted to go to a high school with a special focus on history, my favorite subject.

• Seeing My Pain

  by J. Huang

  One spring evening in 10th grade, my parents asked me what should have been a simple question: “What do you want to eat?” But I had planned to purposely skip dinner. I told myself I’d gain the endurance to skip more meals if I skipped this one.

• The Quiet Library of My Mind

  by Arina Limarieva

  When I was 5, my family had to move from Luhansk, Ukraine, to Kyiv to escape the 2014 invasion by the Russians. From my earliest memories, there has been chaos, which I got used to. It’s taken me years to figure out that I prefer calm—and to find ways to achieve it.