Depressed and Suicidal: Jeanette's Story

"I was like a hot mess. I could not function in basic ways. I could not go to classes. I did not take care of myself. I rarely got out of bed. When I did, I did not participate in normal, social experiences. Every night I prayed that I would not wake up in the morning."

These are the words of “Jeanette” (not her real name) describing what she went through two years ago.

When she was a child, her mother told her more than once that she was going to kill herself and that it would be Jeanette’s fault. One time her mother told Jeanette that she hated Jeanette.

As a result of her depression in college, Jeanette tried to take a bottle of pills. Her sister walked in on her and knocked the bottle out of her hands.

What turned her around was the intensive outpatient program she participated in at a hospital, plus solid medication.

One thing that keeps her alive now is her dog—a certified emotional support animal.

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