NAMI Cook County North Suburban

Category: Mental Health Stories

Mental Health Stories

I AM AN AMERICAN SOLDIER | Suicide is Not an Option

I am an American Soldier. On the battlefield, there are two fronts that we encounter: There is the actual battlefield and then there is life after our DD214 and discharge....

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Mental Health Stories

Brent Sopel | From Stanley Cup Champion to Rock Bottom

For over 25 years, Brent Sopel, former 2010 Stanley Cup Champion and Chicago Blackhawk defenseman, hid behind hockey.  It was a place he could be who he wanted to be without anyone knowing the pain that lay deep.  When the last puck was dropped on his NHL career, he was faced with a reality that he had refused to accept since early childhood.  What would happen next would be nothing short of a mountain to climb. Brent Sopel grew up in Vancouver, Canada, where playing hockey was his passion.  Reading, writing, and arithmetic was something that seemed to haunt him.  He was...

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Mental Health Stories

Steve Milazzo | You Are Not Alone

Steve Milazzo and his identical twin, Nick, led seemingly normal lives. They were each other's shadows throughout childhood and adolescence. They were inseparable, until their lives were turned upside down for these two twins. This is the story of Steve and Nick Milazzo. Unfortunately, alone is exactly how I felt when my identical twin brother Nick was diagnosed with schizophrenia in June 2009. I remember it like it was yesterday: I was a fresh college grad, ambitiously attending night classes to earn my MBA while working full-time in hopes of saving enough money to buy an engagement ring. Looking back,...

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