I suffered severe depression years ago. I got diagnosed with ADHD since my teenage, spent my whole life fighting ADHD. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my husband recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.

I broke down crying watching this Edit 1 year later: I now know the same freedom, peace, and joy for life Wil is talking about in this video. If you're struggling, seek help and take your life back, you got this 🙏✌️❤

Bro, you have no idea how much hope this gives me. Wow

"I'm learning how to human again."

I really like the phrase "Living life WITH depression instead of Living life THROUGH depression" - Thanks Wil.

Thank you for sharing this. It's like a weight being lifted off my chest to know that I'm not alone in this. God bless anyone else who's suffering

Getting to Step One: Admitting you have a problem is the hardest step. Most people with anxiety and depression have no idea what "normal" is supposed to be. Wil Wheaton performs a huge service here by talking about it and by leaving encouraging words for others. Thank you.

I admire Wil's courage. All types of mental illness are still heavily stigmatised, despite the fact that they are very common. We have a long way to go, but Wil is doing his part!

This makes me feel like I'm not alone in this

I may sound envious and that is probably accurate. Will is lucky he has his notoriety, financial, and emotional resources available to him and I am truly happy he found the help he needed. My experiences with mental health professionals have been very different. The system I live in is overwhelming and they are not invested in deep cognitive therapy. They give you pills administered by an RN in 15-minute appointments every 3 months, and you are assigned a therapist that gets paid enough to listen to you talk for 50 minutes, then they move on to the next person. And there is a high turnover rate in that profession so chances are you will have to start all over again digging through the trauma that brought you to therapy, all over again to bring them up to speed in your case, just to have someone to listen to you talk. It's been fifteen years since I was able to hold a job for more than a few months and I have been in therapy and medicated for most of that time with little improvement. My wife moved out and my children have grown up and moved out into their own worlds. If I was to go missing today, maybe 3 people would notice I was gone in a month's time. I know it's cliche, but it is easier to cry in a BMW with your wife than it is to cry alone on your bicycle. Will is correct, I am not alone, there are millions of mentally ill people living with the help of state financial assistance just getting from one day to the next. Sorry for being an Eeyore but that's my reality and again I am honestly happy Will found the help that works for him. And I am aware from what Robin Williams taught us that notoriety, financial, and emotional resources aren't always guaranteed keys to finding your happy place. But we have to admit that money creates options and access to a different level of professional help.

Being in a loud room, that's exactly how I've thought of describing it,

I have tried therapy and meds without much luck several times in the past. I signed up for a counselor but because I live in North Dakota in a small to midsize town there is a great lack of therapist. The only one that I found is in Bismarck about 90 minutes away. So I'm going to do Zoom calls for my sessions. My finally isn't until October 2023! It was 6 months from the day I made the appointment. Send positive thoughts my way please, hoping for a better outcome from previous attempts. Thank you Will for being willing to talk so openly about your life's journey.

Had anxiety my whole life and I can fully understand what he means by his head was so loud and once the medication kicks in it all goes quiet. And it's wonderful. It is almost like having a storm in your head and then it passes and the sun comes out.

Your description of the moment you realised your anxiety meds were kicking in is beautiful. I had a similar thing, I have GAD too, the day I woke up without a knot of fear in my belly was among the greatest moments of my life. Up there with my wedding day and the birth of my Son. I had lived with that knot of fear and anxiety for almost 20 years, just thinking it was normal, being free of it felt like I was floating (a difficult feeling to attain when you weigh 250 ish lbs lol)

It’s because of this my spouse broke down, cried and finally got on medication. They are so much better for it. Life is more manageable for them.

I have G.A.D and before medication, my life was always hellish. Everything was terrifying and really stressful. I hardly ever went anywhere, and every job I have had, my illness caused me to quit. I can't work anymore but my life isn't as stressful as before and with counselling from some very good people, I now live a semblance of a life and am grateful for every day.

Every time i need to explain my diagnosis to someone, i send them this video. Every time I think someone needs to seek help, I send them this video. And every time I do, I watch it myself and am touched all over again. Thank you Wil for your bravery and perseverance, we all love you!

I have generalized anxiety disorder and ADHD. Hearing your story helps so many of us realize we are not alone. Thank you so much for sharing your story.

“I’m learning how to human”. WOW. This was really helpful. Thanks.

When my happier days come, I can see colors more brighter. The way he explains GAD is dead on

You have no idea how much this means to me... I was already a huge fan of you, what with your getting to be the shameless gaming nerd I've always wanted to be, and being paid for it no less... ...but to find out that you've trod the same sort of dim-lit paths I've too often gotten lost in, climbed the same jagged cliffs as I've been unable to conquer... and you've emerged from these struggles, perhaps not into crystalline morning-light, but at least a brighter day than before... You, sir, give me hope.

Ive been having a serious problem with my anxiety today, and I was unable to sleep because of it. So I'm watching Star Trek TNG because I can't sleep and it's am episode mostly focused on Wesley, so I was just curious about what this guy is up to these days so I search for Wil on KZfaq and this is the video it gave me at the top of the list. What he described is exactly me and I spent a good portion of the day falling apart and feeling lost in an ever shrinking bubble of insanity. It's like the universe set this up for me, because watching this video gave me a little bit of hope that maybe I'm not fucked forever. This is an old video but 5 years later it manages to find me exactly when I needed it. Pretty fuckin' rad.

I’ve struggled with so many symptoms of gad and mental Illness for the last 24 years. I’m finally seeing a psychiatrist next week after years of cycling through various prescribed medications. I’m both optimistic and pessimistic, because I really hope I can start living instead of just existing, but I also know that if this fails, I won’t be here much longer.

You can literally see where the memories and trauma are taking him back to those dark feelings and he flat out snaps out of it in the moment. Beautiful work my friend. What an awesome spokesperson for the path to feeling better.

I needed this.. currently battling awaiting my first psychiatrist appointment today.. so many worries of not getting the right meds, or never coming out of this.. but once I’m better I will do my part to be an advocate for others.

Bless you, I have Type 2 Bipolar Disorder; a mood disorder where I don't have manic episodes but I suffer from crippling depression that is difficult to treat. It is something I do not talk about because people are so very judgmental when they hear "bipolar". Being medicated and in therapy was a huge step forward. Thank you for coming forward.

I appreciate this so much. I've lived with GAD and Depression since I was very young. I'm now fifty and so grateful for the help I began to receive nearly twenty years ago now. It's not shameful to have a mental illness. It's just something that some people have. The important thing is getting the help you need. Part of this is finding doctors you trust. It's worth investing the time and energy to find the right doctor because it can mean the difference between the beginning of a new life or an endless stream of ineffective medications with bad side effects. They need to be good listeners. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, women tend to be the best at this.

Wow. It's like he's describing my life. Great to hear this. More people should be honest and open about this x

I also broke down crying when he said I started to cry when I feel I'm like a human now I can feel this beauty. I feel exhausted from this chronic worrying, I need real help, I don't know what to do anymore... I wanna live like other people around me. please help me :(

GAD & depression rule my life, but I'm working on it (and have been for ~15 years). This meant a lot. Thank you so much Wil!

its not only about learning, its about chemical imbalances due to trauma or overwork, overstress for a very long time - the brain changed. so *first* medication, then therapy! good therapy, with a pro and trust. i love wil, i still watch tng and im sorry this happend to him! 💞

Seriously, +Wil Wheaton it is because of your openness about your anxiety and your path with treatment has been the motivating factor that's kept me trying to get help. I've finally found the right therapist and am on a medication now. My moment of realization was when listening to someone I realized I was actually hearing what they were saying. I was out of the loud room. Thank you. Infinity times thank you. I knew I could get better because of you.

I was 35 with an ex, a new wife, 4 kids to support and the absolute inability to deal with conflict with my wife and ex. The Bully in my head (anxiety and depression) had been kicking my ass for about 20 years to the point where in terms of conflicts with others, I would get dropped in the first round. A super smart doctor took the time to listen to me one day and put me on meds and after about a month, I began to feel a lot better. I slowly began to change the terms with which I navigated the ex and wife (now an ex) and they didn't like it. My only real cost to being on meds was some pretty serious weight gain. I'll be 59 in about a month and will be having a bypass operation soon. I retired from a super stressful occupation three years ago, have a great lady in my life, the kids are all grown and I greatly appreciate all that I have and God. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Have a nice day from Southern California.

"There are people who want to help you," is probably one of the hardest things for someone in deep depression to believe. It's true. People who haven't even met you yet want to help you. That's a nice thought.

And to add... Wil Wheaton is a perfect exampe of the fact that depression, self esteem issues, and anxiety can affect ANYONE! So if you ever think these things cannot affect someone who (like Wheaton) has a good body, looks classically attractive as a man and was practically angellic as a kid, is succesful or famous, intelligent, and seems to be more popular thank you, THINK AGAIN! What you might think of a person is not always what that person thinks of themselves, and what you think of yourself is therefor not always what others think of you.

Can relate to so much of this. Have panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, & PTSD. Been in and out of treatment for 28yrs. Still currently on meds for help.

Your not weak, if you show weakness! Your are strong!

I've had a similar experience, but it started in my early teen years. Explosive, blinding reactions to the smallest, inconsequential things. I started talking to a therapist because my anger was getting out of my control. I later realized the anger was full on panic attacks that were getting worse, as I was getting older. The part about being in a loud room, is an accurate analogy. I didn't understand where I was, until I started talking to a therapist, and until I started medications. Then, suddenly, I realized that my life could be very different, and dare I say, ok.

I have great respect for will as an actor and writer. Now I have respect for him as a person. Anxiety is awful. I think of dying all the time. Wil's last words touched my heart. We are not alone in our suffering.

Depression here, mildly so, and it sucks. There's nothing quite like a wave of hopelessness and despair crashing over you randomly to really stop you in your tracks and potentially ruin your day. I really feel for the people that can't manage to get out of bed for days and the ones that feel actual physical pain.

Wil, I am so very sorry. I have my issues as well. Every time I turn on the computer these days, I read of endless suicides. I am glad you got help. Hope you are better today.

Anxiety and depression often go hand in hand. Glad you found a medication that genuinely helps. Practising mindfulness can also help with the anxiety ny keeping you in the moment.

SSRI's saved me! I strated taking ssri 25 days ago, I've struggled with really severe anxiety/panic attacks/depression/ocd and I tried everything (sport-diet-meditation) it helped at the beginning then it became worse, I started taking meds and it feels like a miracle! I love how I can now feel steady,calm and happy again ! I really didn't know if I am gonna feel alive again! Mine is paxil (paroxetine) 20mg, I will never regret it !

5:12… I started crying when you said that I am not alone. Many times it feels like such a lonely road. Many people don’t understand how incredibly difficult it is to navigate with an unseen illness. I recently weaned off my meds and have been struggling with finding balance, wondering if I’m going to need to go back to the medication. This video helped me find some solace. Thank you.

I live with ADHD and bipolar disorder everyday. This video inspires me to keep trying to get better. I wasn't diagnosed until I was in my early forties. Life began to improve once I started getting treated.

I'm crying. So beautifully said. I was just diagnosed a week ago and I hope I feel this way soon. I can't ever remember a time where I wasn't worrying about something.

I've been dealing with, or not as the case may be, my depression for nearly 30 years. Recently I've been describing it as existing, not living. This worries me, because I want to live life. I'm 50, now, and have so many people who depend upon me and really have so many great things going for me, that I feel guilty for feeling depressed.

This really touches home. I have chronic atypical depression and social anxiety disorder, and it messed up my teenage to adult years so badly that I failed Uni, on my first attempt. I almost failed art school, 7-8 years later. It's not gone AWAY... but years of medication and cognitive psychotherapy gave me an arsenal of means to manage it so that, just as Wil Wheaton says here, "I live WITH my depression, not THROUGH it". And the operative word here is LIVE... not exist, on autopilot basic survival mode, fleeing from things, making up excuses. LIVE. If you're battling with this stuff - PLEASE get help. You're not alone. You're worth helping, and worth living - this world wouldn't be the same without you.

Living in a noisy room perfectly describes that feeling! I wasn't diagnosed as having anxiety and depression until about 20 years ago in my early 40s. This last year I had to be checked into a mental health facility because I reached a tipping point of being constantly overwhelmed, even with meds, and I made an attempt to harm myself. When I came out the other side, I felt reborn! It was the worst vacation I ever had, but it was the most revitalized I had ever been after one. 😆 Saved👏My👏Life!!👏 #MentalHealthTreatment #NoShame 💚 ;

Crying while listening to him, cause that’s exactly what i feel in my daily life, want to live my life, I don’t want to just exist.

Loved him so much in Stand by Me. Such a fantastic actor.

Fucking courage, man. I am a therapist and I so appreciate this sharing that I will share this with so many like-minded beautiful humans who suffer through this as you have. Thank you, thank you, thank you. xo

Wil, my dude, you look pretty young for a man in your 40's. I won't be hitting my 40's for another several years as a 1990's kid, but I'm going to keep on enduring through my own depression and anxiety so our youth can understand that not everyone grows old very fast. Keep taking good care of yourself, I'm here with you all the way.

It's really interesting that this happened at an airport. Stress is a common trigger for anxiety or depression. Travel triggers it in me. It's horrible. Glad he got help.

I can attest to what you have said Wil. After I started my medication, effects were felt quick swiftly, but it was 6 months for me before I came up to my parents, they were having a conversation about some new song they were writing, and I had, for the first time in my life ever, had felt normal, things felt "normal". I don't know how to better put it, this was almost two years ago, 31 at the time of this comment. It's a difficult journey indeed, but we are all here for each other.

I was diagnosed with anxiety and depressive disorder almost a year ago. It's been a roller-coaster but I've found equilibrium recently with the help of two medications. I never thought this could happen to me but....there you are. Wil's testimonial is heartfelt, articulate and honest and very much appreciated.

When he realized it was a beautiful day. 😭😭 It made me sad that he'd missed so many beautiful days but now he can see and feel them. I know exactly how that is. Two things that helped me (after meds) was watching the video about black dog depression. I would screenshot what the black dog was doing to me that day. I wasn't aware of doing anything with that information, just identifying and acknowledging it. The other was keto. It completely transformed my mind. I no longer take meds, I feel every single day. Sad, happy, angry, I feel it all and it's wonderful! Hope this helps someone. 🤗

I had a similar wake-up call many years ago. I broke down to a point where those around me just took me aside and said, 'we think you need to see someone.' And I did. I was l lucky enough to be successful with my first therapist, she was wonderful. I was diagnosed with cyclothymia, which is a mild form of bipolar disorder in which I can experience high highs and low lows. When she told me this it was as if my eyes had been opened, I could look back over so many moments of my life where I had been really upset, or really happy and hyper-manic, and understand why I was that way and recognize for the first time that it wasn't my fault. For so long I'd been carrying around so much guilt for feeling the way I did about certain things, or especially balk at comments from someone asking if it was 'that time of the month' when I was experiencing a particularly bad mood-swing. Surely the way I was feeling was entirely unnatural and it was my fault every time I got especially upset about something? Or cried for no particular reason? I think that's what a lot of what mental health should be about too, recognizing that it's not your fault for feeling the way you do. It's hard to be honest with those around you about your own mental health, to this day I haven't told my Mother about my diagnosis or about a lot of what I went through. So I just wanted to say Wil, very brave of you. I wish you luck on your future endeavors.

I live the fight with anxiety and depression everyday too, It led to me being alone to bring up my three children single handedly, it's truly not easy with an invisible illness no matter if you have support or not but it's great to hear from other people struggling and getting through this fight. I really helps to be reminded we're not alone in this even when we feel we are. Thanks for the video it will give so many others like us a nice boost in their day to watch this :)

Thanks! I went to the doctor today and talked about my chronic anxiety..he said it is more normal than you think. Happy I saw this video. I'm looking forward to getting help with anxiety after 20years!

I finally felt I was not just excisting, I am living. Yeah...It is such a great description what it feels like. When you are depressed you try to survive every day, you try to function but you do it with a constant feeling of fear and anxiety. Once you get the right treatment and medication you realise that you can go through a day without fear........or at least without letting fear control your life.

man this gives me hope to hear but at the same time it almost feels discouraging to hear because there is a part of me that feels i wont ever find that relief

This truly spoke to me today. I just recently got prescribed Prozac for my anxiety and panic attacks. I cried thinking about the idea of walking out of my own loud room. Your words really helped.

I think Wil was fortunate to find the right medication the first time, and to have that reaction only 10 or so days later. Some of us go through half a dozen or more before finding one that works. For me, the 5th one I tried worked only in the sense that it made me apathetic. I wasn't happy, but I wasn't sad either. I just didn't care about anything. And even on medication I had low periods I couldn't seem to climb out of, but rather than those low periods being like driving off a cliff, they were more like driving down a steep hill, with a softer landing. They were tolerable. The medication I'm on now is the 7th I've tried, and it seems to be working so far. I'm not apathetic, I'm feeling a little more energetic, but still have my low periods where I just want to isolate myself from the world and do nothing but feel sorry for myself. But the suicidal thoughts are (mostly) gone.

Thank you for this. Had my first psychiatry session this week, slowly learning to human again.

Thank you so much for sharing this, I had the same but I called them bad hair days where I kept changing my clothes and just break down crying or stress would make my clothes feel so restricting I would go home to take them off. 4 years of therapy etc changed my life.

Sounds like dysthymia. I call it the Eeyore syndrome. It's less about the crushing depths of despair and more an endless string of just feeling kind of down. Everyone has had "one of those days" but with dysthymia, everyday feels like one of those days. Thanks so much for sharing. :)

I suffer from general anxiety for more then 10 years. At first it was hell, planing everything, alway thinking, loosing patch of hair, then symtome of hearth attack 24/7, feeling very bad. The med help change my life. I tried mental therapy but doc finish by telling me that those med may be like correcting lens for me. It's fine.

Living life through depression! I couldn't said it better. For many many years I thought that I was a freak and I didn't understand how people could acomplish so many difficult things for me, and like him when I started taking medication I felt really good and gain the energy to do things, like everybody else around me, that feeling is priceless.

I remember having major anxiety attacks as a young child. I remember one dream as a three or four year old that was so terrifying and vivid, to this day I remember how horrified and upset I felt. Unfortunately, those attacks were mild compared to what developed when I was 12. Not long after my first period, I started having such horrible anxiety attacks, I literally could not leave the house. If I went outside, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I would feel like vomiting and I would curl up in a ball, just sobbing. It was awful. I ended up falling into a deep depression - I couldn't leave the house, I lost all my friends, the school was trying me for truancy, everyone thought I was making it up, therapists blamed my family, and doctors kept shoving pills at me. It wasn't until the most amazing child psychologist ever came into my life that I really felt like life might be worth living again. She listened and she understood. She told my parents they needed to stop pushing me. She told the school I was mentally ill and I wasn't ready to attend. She found the right medication to help me. And she gave me the tools to help me help myself. I owe her a lot, which is partly why I still continue to fight my depression and anxiety. I've dealt with it for more than half my life. It's exhausting and it sucks to know I will most likely be on medication for the rest of my life, but it's worth it to me. I still have boughts where all I want to do is sleep forever but it's not completely crippling anymore.

I’ve just been diagnosed with gad yesterday. The restlessness, worry and fear is torturing

So heartbreaking to learn of his trauma, but so uplifting to learn of his liberation.

I've always been a fan of Wil as an actor, but I'm an even bigger fan of him as a person because of all the work he has done for people. Thank you for being willing to talk about this, Wil...the more we talk and take this seriously, the more lives we will save.

I suffer from GAD and it has been getting better every time I listen to videos on the subject and I comment on them, and I say, "I also suffer from this"

This is so well done. I think the way he is speaking, and how open he is about his experience and struggles - so many people will be able to relate to this. I think it’s wonderful that he has chosen to go public with this and help so many people

Thankyou for sharing & chronic anxiety is horrible , specially generalized anxiety including OCD with social anxiety.

I'm pretty sure I suffer from ocd, anxiety and possible depression. My ocd makes my anxiety worse because I just get fixated on what my mind just said or thought (if you get that at all) and then It goes into overload and it's constant and I belive that all the thoughts and all the worry make me feel some kind of depression.... but when your driving, working or just sitting there and you noticed that it's gone it's like everything gets brighter. You see more clearly, and you feel relaxed. Like the weight was lifted off of you and the cloud that was there let the sunshine through and you realize that you are OK and that you'll be fine.

Wil!, My dang makeup is running. Thanks for sharing... I've finally succumbed to the realization that I have GAD, waiting for my script to be filled. Thumbs up.

This just gave me hope when I needed it the most. Thank you, Will!

Thank you so much for sharing this Wil!

Thank you. We needed this.

Oh that quiet mind......what an amazing gift. I know it so well and am so grateful for the people that helped me find it.

Born with OCD... So i know how it is ^^ Lucky for me. I don't need pills. But it is still a fight, every day.

Thank you for sharing this, *****

wow! thanks so much for this video!

This was great thank you!

Well said! Thank you!

Thank you for sharing your story Will

thank you wil. so much of this is what i have to go through everyday. hearing you talk about the walk when you had a break through is amazing. i had that moment a couple months ago and it was incredible. thank you.

This video is such a healing balm for my recovery. Thanks so much. 💕

Bless, i had no idea and after starting to suffer from Anxiety which i cant seem to get a hold of for the last 6 months i really feel for Will and anyone else suffering. I have tried 4 lots of tablets and they dont seem to be helping and are making my tinnitus really loud. Had CBT which helped but im just anxious about being anxious which is the main problem...i think...i guess but god, its horrible to feel on edge all the time. Best wishes to all who are dealing with this.

Amazing. I love how open he is, and the last minute was so uplifting. Thanks man.

Always loved Wil, always will! A lovely man with a kind heart and a keen mind.

to know that someone I look up to so much went through this is inspiring to hear his story and makes me respect him more

thank you so much!

thank you so much for this.

thank you so much. this message is giving a lot of strength and hope

Beautiful! Thanks Wil.

Wow! Simply wow. Very encouraging to see him do this and share this part of himself so bravely. Awesome.

Thank-you so much!