Wil Wheaton on Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Chronic Depression, and Recovery

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Project UROK is an initiative of the Child Mind Institute founded in 2014 by Jenny Jaffe. Our mission is to create funny, meaningful videos for teenagers struggling with mental health issues, made by people who have been there before. In doing so, we will provide not only practical assistance, but also a sense of belonging, a sense of comfort, and a sense of hope.

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[Space_Ghost_Hunter]

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 🙏✌️❤

[DepressionTalks]

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

[KimberlyJose-sisv]

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.

[KevinRMoore]

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.

[megamanmedia]

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

[ist]

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

[mayray]

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. <3

[a-aron]

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

[roberttegethoff]

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!

[AzureIncognito]

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.

[CGiBunny]

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

[ChaosWolf]

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.

[barefootwanderer]

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)

[cttcjim]

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!

[mslinstrot]

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.

[selenabates]

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.

[jonscott]

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

[TheJonathanc]

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.

[lionsrawr]

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.

[nozzzzy]

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 YouTube 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.