Our Stories

Patrick: Controlling My Anger Towards Others

How did it all start? When did you first start experiencing symptoms or using?

I was diagnosed at age 8. I was always the odd one in elementary school and as a fact of that, I was made fun of and it led to my immense anger and harbored hatred towards society as a whole.

When I was diagnosed, however, I took pride in the fact that I had something that many other kids did not and I boasted and bragged about it for months until I got expelled.

What kind of help did you get at first? Did it work?

Therapy and group therapy was extremely helpful. I went to an alternate education school called Cooperative Educational Services, where I made awesome friends and also met my two best friends in the whole world.

Cooperative Educational Services made me realize that I could change myself if I really applied myself to what I wanted to do with my life, which is becoming a storywriter for role-playing games while working with Bioware or Bethesda Studios, two of the biggest developers in the world when it comes to role-playing games.

Were there any turning points where things really started to change for the better?

When I fell in love for the first time ever in 10th grade, it definitely taught me the importance of love and how passion and joy can quickly turn to hate and pain. It also taught me to learn when to hold onto love and when to let go.

What’s your life like now? What have you been able to accomplish, and what are you working towards?

My life right now has lots of ups and downs and many twists of fate almost weekly. But I’ve been slowly transforming into a person that I can be proud of. I’ve realized that I do not need anyone’s approval besides my own.

What would you say to people who are having a tough time? What’s helped you that you wish you had known earlier?

Keep being you. If society is trying to bring you down, ignore it and be yourself. If your friends try to change you, they’re not your friends. If your family tries to change you, don’t give in simply because you’re blood. Remember that.