By Nicolette Helling, FOX 21 News

DULUTH - Mental illness can be a stigmatized topic, keeping people from seeking the help they need.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Northlanders are working hard to get the right message out.

"I've experienced depression my whole life, even as a teenager, but it wasn't talked about back then," said Sharyl Nelson, who lives with depression.

Nelson is no stranger to the challenges of living with a mental illness.

"They tried to take my son away because of it," Nelson said.

Her depression was crippling, and Nelson says, she felt ashamed.

She wanted to deal with her problem on her own.

"People fear to be labeled, fear to be seen as less than who they would like to be," said Peter Miller, HDC medical director and psychiatrist. "These are physical illnesses like any other. They happen to affect the brain but they are not a cause for people to be ashamed."

Keeping quiet about her depression only increased Sharyl's loneliness and despair.

"I swallowed a bunch of pills because I thought my life was over. You know, I thought, my husband won't understand, my son won't understand," said Nelson. "I've let them all down. It was a very lonely, very scary time for me."

Realizing she couldn't do it on her own, Nelson made some calls and found help at the Human Development Center.

"We all feel like we are crazy and that nobody understands, but there are people who understand," said Nelson.

Nelson says the help she found at Human Development Centers taught her how to cope with her mental illness and how to live her best life possible.

HDC also helped Kitty Van Evera; who went from hospitalization and psychosis, to a job helping people just like her.

Recovery doesn't mean you never have a symptom again, it means you learn the skills to cope.

Van Evera lives with Bipolar Disorder and has been hospitalized multiple times.
Now she works for the Human Development Center, helping people with mental illnesses learn how to live in a community.

"We all have varying disabilities," said Van Evera. "You know, the person I'm talking to may have diabetes and that's something that they have to manage."

Year's after her last suicide attempt, Nelson's recovery is successful, but it is ongoing.

She says, just last week she felt the world falling in on her again.

But because she reached out and found help, those episodes aren't as scary anymore.

"If I do go down again, I have the encouragement that I will get out of it again. So it's a big relief for me," said Nelson.

Spending time with her family and doing what makes her happy, Sharyl Nelson is living life.

"I feel like I've come a long way and I'm excited about my future," said Nelson.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental illness, please seek help.
For more information, or to speak with someone immediatley, call these phone numbers

WI Crisis Number: 1•800•924•0772

MN Crisis Number: 1•800•634•8775

or visit the human development center website at www.humandevelopmentcenter.org