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Mental Illness: The Fight To Fit In by Jackson DiCostanzo

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Mental Illness: The Fight To Fit In by Jackson DiCostanzo

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Photo credit: NAMI.org

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This project is dedicated to my family, who taught me how to do my best to be kind to everyone because you never know what is going on in their head.

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This project is dedicated to my family, who taught me how to do my best to be kind to everyone because you never know what is going on in their head.

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Author's Note | Page 4
Ted Talk: Depression, The Secret We Share | Page 5
Art: The Scream | Page 6
Music: 1-800-273-8255 | Page 7
Music: Stressed Out | Page 8
Poem: Depression | Page 9
Short Story: So Dark and Deep | Page 10
Short Story: Conquering Panic Attacks and Reinventing Myself | Page 11
Short Story: Coming Out - My Journey With Anxiety | Page 12
Short Story: My OCD Story | Page 13
Novel: It's Kind of a Funny story | Page 14

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I personally do not struggle with any mental illnesses but because of the people in my family who do, my life has very much been affected along with my view of these illnesses. It is really sad how these illnesses affect the state and life of the person who struggles with it and I know that some people do not know as much or seen as much as I have about this. I made this project to shed some light on the problems and internal issues that some people have to suppress or ignore in order to fit in to society, or not be seen as "weak", "weird", "emo", or any other of the labels that society can put on people suffering with mental illness. In this anthology I will cover a couple of songs, poems, and books that help to educate people of the struggles that these people face.

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Ted Talk: Depression, The Secret We Share by Andrew Solomon

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Ted Talk: Depression, The Secret We Share by Andrew Solomon

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Summary:
The writer Andrew Solomon talks about the darkest times in his years suffering from depression. He takes us through his lowest lows in his life and then through his journey around the world interviewing people who struggled with the same things he did. Through all of it he maintains an almost poetic retelling of his struggles and his journey to climb back from his lowest point.
Analysis:
In the place where he felt he was all alone he found others like him, who shared his experiences and his feelings. This is very powerful when referring to depression, where being alone is all you ever feel. He talks about the medications and treatments, he comments on how they are problematic and ineffective and full of side effects but he is glad that he was treated now and not 50 years ago where nothing could have been done. He reflects on the fact that it feels irrational while your experiencing it but it doesn't matter. This piece earns a place in this anthology because it accurately shows how the people who suffer from depression are not alone even though the feel like they are and it can also change the way people view depression.

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Analysis:
The scream by Edvard Munch is a very famous painting, however what is commonly forgotten is that the painting symbolizes Munch's experience while he dealt with mental illness and trauma. The painting was his trying to explain his experiences through therapeutic painting. This piece deserves a place in this anthology because it shows what mental illness can feel like to someone who is struggling. It also shows a way that some people cope with mental illness, being in the form of art therapy or therapeutic art.

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Summary:
1-800-273-8255 or 1-800 for short, is a song about depression and anxiety. The phone number in the name of the song is the suicide hotline number. The song goes back and forth between a man suffering from depression and a hotline worker comforting the man with words such as "I want you to be alive," directly paralleling the man's words "I don't wanna be alive." The Double Grammy-Nominated song is a gut-wrenching  and powerful statement on the mind of someone who is suicidal and suffering from depression. It was nominated for "Best Music Video" and "Song of the Year" at the 60th Grammy Awards. He also preformed the song at the event.
Analysis:
This song is a deep dive into the mind of a person struggling with depression. The music video adds so much to the song because it shows the man getting bullied by his school for identifying as gay. The song has earned its place in this anthology because it does what I am trying to accomplish, It educated people and the people who related to what the man was going through called the hotline. Calls to the suicide hotline spiked when the song was released making it very important. Logic called it the "most important song (he's) ever written."

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Music: Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots

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Music: Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots

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Summary:
This song is about two people living their life wishing that they could go back to when they were kids and they didn't have anything to worry about. This song represents the constant stress of anxiety and how it is so hard to fit in when you are different.
Analysis:
The song references two people wishing that they could be kids again. Along with their stress symbolizing anxiety this song is also about growing up and having to wake up from the fantasy world that you love in when you are a kid and being thrust into the real world. This song also talks about how being thrown into the real world like that has large effects on the mind.

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"Who am I? Who am I trying to be? Not myself, anyone but myself. Living in a fantasy to bury the reality, Making myself the mystery, A strong facade disguising the misery. Empty, but beyond the point of emptiness, Full to brim with fake confidence, A guard that will never be broken, Because I broke a long time ago. I’m hurting but don’t tell anyone. No one needs to know. Don’t show or you’ve failed. Always okay, always fine, always on show. The show must go on. It will never stop. The show must not go on, But I know it will. I give up. I give up giving up. I am lost. I don’t need to be saved, I need to be found."
Summary:
This poem talks about the thoughts of someone struggling with depression and it does it very well. The cryptic writing perfectly describes the enigmatic thoughts of someone going through depression.
Analysis:
The symbolism and enigmatic statements do a great job at describing how a lot of depression is wondering what you are and what you are doing. This poem deserves a place in the anthology because it is one of the best pieces at describing what the depressed mind is like.

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Short Story: So Dark and Deep by Anonymous

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Short Story: So Dark and Deep by Anonymous

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Summary:
This story was anonymously sent to NAMI.org where it is shown today. This story is about someone who suffers from depression, anxiety, and OCD. The anonymous author talks about how they lost their friend to suicide and how they considered it themselves. They talked about how they took months to tell their closest friends that they had mental illnesses but all they wanted was to tell young adults struggling with mental illness, that they were not alone in their battle.
Analysis:
This piece is a great short story about the authors experience with mental illness and suicide. It does it's job to educate on how suicide effects people and how mental illness makes someone feel. This piece deserves to be in this anthology because it is too powerful of a message to be left out, and I feel only respect to this author for sharing their story to the world even anonymously.

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Short Story: Conquering Panic Attacks and Reinventing Myself by Tyler Ellis

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Short Story: Conquering Panic Attacks and Reinventing Myself by Tyler Ellis

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Summary:
This short story is about a man who was struggling with panic attacks and shows what panic attacks feel like. The way he describes his anxiety is very educational and accurate.
Analysis:
The shorty story deserves to be in this anthology because it is very educational and tells a lot about what a panic attack is like and how anxiety can affect someone's life.

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Short Story: Coming Out - My Journey With Anxiety by Hara Howard

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Short Story: Coming Out - My Journey With Anxiety by Hara Howard

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Summary:
This story is about someone who suffered their first panic attack at a very young age of 8. This changed the course of their life because the panic attacks and anxiety have a large effect on adolescence and how people interact with others.
Analysis:
This story shows a lot of the effects of Anxiety and it also educates about the treatments of anxiety. This story also teaches about the ways to cope with Anxiety and panic attacks. This story deserves to be in this anthology because it is very educational and informative.

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Summary:
In this story, Sam talks about how his life has been effected by OCD. He talks about the stress of living as an Amish child with OCD and how his life was changed when he attended seminars. He also wrote a movie about his struggles with OCD.
Analysis:
This story shows how your circumstances also have a large effect on how mental illness effects each person. Sam's OCD was severely worsened because of how he was treated by the other Amish people and also how the Amish people didn't deal with mental illness. This story deserves to be in this anthology because of it's level of depth of information regarding OCD and how his surroundings changed the severity of his mental illness.

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Summary:
This story is about a boy named Craig who is struggling with being stressed in school and likes a girl who is dating his best friend. Because of his stress and problems he has anxiety and depression. He is feeling suicidal and calls the hotline, he is admitted to a mental hospital and after a week he develops his own self identity and makes friends as well as conquers his depression and accepts himself.
Analysis:
It's Kind of A Funny Story is about Craig wanting to be back where he was before all of his problems and wanting to be happy again. While he is in this state, the books tone remains mostly sad but when he gets his wish and feels happy again, the tone elevates and becomes more happy and uplifted. This book deserves to be in this anthology because it shows a kids journey through the stress of school and a mental hospital, It also teaches kids what one of their options is if they are struggling with anxiety or depression and that there is always someone there for them.