Overcomming Mental Illness

My name is Luka Magnotta, I am now a professional model.
When I think about my life today, I think about Johnny Nash's song "I can see clearly now, the rain has gone," because ten years ago, my life was stormy.

I was a normal little boy to an extent, did normal things, rode my bike, played ball etc. I never thought or knew what a mental illness was...I thought people wjo walked around talking to themselfs were just crazy. I was wrong. I admit it. i was uneducated.

I am a survivor of mental illness and im not ashamed of it, Talking helps others. and so does education. I went throught a very traumatic childhood and in my teen years experimented with drugs and alcohal. At first I thought this was the problem...it wasnt. I am Manic Depressive or Bi Polar. One day im normal, the next i cant get out of my bed and then next week I want to conquer the world lol. Very confusing to someone who doesnt understand.

One of the major challenges of coping with a depressive disorder is dealing with the guilt and shame that one often feels about being depressed. I have felt that way for a long long time.

I never told friends and family due to rejection or being sterotyped. I kept silent.
"Clinical depression is a medical condition, similar to diabetes or heart disease," my psychiatrist responded when I confessed how I had concealed my hospitalization. "We need to stop making depression a moral issue. Is the person with a disorder of the pancreas or the circulatory system weak-willed, lazy or defective? Of course not. And neither is the individual who suffers from depression."

I have often wondered why it is so scary to be open about our frailties.