Nearly everyone remembers being moody as a teenager, but for some, it can be dangerous.
In Jamie Smith's case, she was 17 when the depression she'd been battling took a turn for the worse.
It wasn't until a friend accidentally caught Smith attempting suicide in her bedroom that it became clear the young woman was having a problem.
"My mom didn't realize it was that bad. We really didn't talk about mental illness in our family," she said.
Although Smith had complained of feeling unwell and hearing voices that encouraged her to hurt herself, no one listened.
Eventually, her mother relented and took her to a medical doctor who prescribed an antidepressant, but the medication didn't help.
Two weeks into the new prescription, the teen was hospitalized for swallowing a bottle of Tylenol and trying to cut her wrist when the over-the-counter pills didn't kill her.
Although initially diagnosed with depression, Smith, 33, since has been found to suffer from bipolar disorder.
[For more of this story, written by Lindsay Jones, go to http://www.semissourian.com/story/2282417.html]
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