Growing up in Ghana, virtual reality entrepreneur Mary Spio learned that technology can be not only mind-blowing but also mind-expanding. When Mary Spio was growing up in Ghana, members of the military took over the government. “Some of my schoolmates’ parents were shot to death by firing squad, and my own dad was tortured,” she says.

When writer Mary D. Esselman was in her mid-forties, her body began “conking out in completely unexpected ways.”. Despite being a runner and a healthy eater, she was now waking up at 2 a.m., hot and anxious with a racing heart (perimenopause). After working out one day, she lost central vision in her left eye (central serous retinopathy).

Anxiety, depression, and the nature of memory intertwine in Andrea Joyce Heimer's unforgettable paintings. Like many young artists, Andrea Joyce Heimer spent her early twenties stuck in an office job that she didn’t like while she tried to find her creative voice. Unable to afford art school, she was determined to teach herself to paint in a photorealistic manner — the only style she thought could convey the adolescent memories she wanted to depict.

Dyslexic in an era of rote memorization, origami master Bernie Peyton found the answers and peace he needed in a square of paper. Walking through Bernie Peyton’s beautiful home and backyard studio in Berkeley, California, is like going on an origami safari. In the entryway, sockeye salmon seem to swim up a pebbled paper stream.

Tap dancers Chloé and Maud Arnold have a knack for turning dance movements into social movements. Originally from DC, the duo founded the DC Tap Festival and the LA based tap troupe, Syncopated Ladies.

Grace Danico believes documentation is key to preserving creative culture. This commitment led her to earn a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the Pratt Institute in 2013. Today she is an archivist for a private collection and also serves as the press and publications subcommittee chair for the Los Angeles Archivists Collective.

For Patti Niemi, becoming a professional symphony percussionist meant first coming to terms with her anxiety. When percussionist Patti Niemi plays, you hear it. Down in the pit, among the San Francisco Opera Orchestra’s other musicians, there is no hiding the sound of her hitting the snare drum, bass drum, glockenspiel, marimbas, bells, or chimes… let alone the calculated crash of her favorite instrument, the cymbals.

How the famous American singer-songwriter found new ways to hope after his Huntington’s diagnosis. In October 1952, Woody Guthrie, the great troubadour of the downtrodden, wrote a rallying cry for his own life: A month before he penned “I Ain’t Dead,” Guthrie had received a devastating diagnosis, one that he’d feared his entire adult life: he had Huntington’s chorea, the same illness that led to his mother’s institutionalization shortly before his 14th birthday.

Kai Brach is the publisher, editor, and founder of Offscreen Magazine, a print-only publication that explores the human side of technology and the Web. Kai makes the most of being his own boss. He chatted with us about what it’s like being a German living in Australia, the lasting impact of his backpacker year, and the continuing importance of travel in his life.

After her own bilateral mastectomy, Dana Donofree began designing clothing for breast cancer survivors. Designer Dana Donofree began AnaOno to make bras, robes, camisoles, and other clothing specifically tailored for breast cancer survivors. But she didn’t fully understand her apparel company’s mission until she found someone crying in a dressing room.

Now that airlines are charging for checked bags and flights are often fully booked, the battle for bin space has reached Game of Thrones intensity. “Airlines have had to get stricter about carry-ons, especially since they started levying fees on checked bags,” says Paula Froelich, travel expert for HSN and the founder of A Broad Abroad, a travel and lifestyle company.

Yinka Ilori may be an artist and furniture designer, but he’s also a crafty teacher. Underneath the playful West African fabrics and whimsical touches, sits a deeper message. Born in London to Nigerian immigrants, Ilori grounds all of his work in traditional Nigerian parables, and he uses those pithy lessons to transform discarded furniture into complex narratives about sexuality, religion, poverty and hierarchy.

After moving into their new 50,000-square-foot space in the Innovation and Design Building, a former military depot on the edge of Boston’s Seaport District, Elkus Manfredi Architects faced a lot of blank walls. “We instinctively knew that we did not want to be self-aggrandizing and fill our office with photos and models of our designs,” says Elizabeth Lowrey, a principal and director of interior architecture at the firm.

Charles Darwin’s own illnesses may have influenced evolutionary theory. Here’s how. Charles Darwin, whose theory of natural selection inspired the phrase “survival of the fittest,” was, for much of his life, rather unfit. A mighty array of illnesses plagued Darwin for decades, including insomnia, eczema, and heart palpitations, but his most constant companions seem to have been anxiety and terrible gastric distress.

Saks was just a teenager when she started believing her thoughts could kill other people. But with treatment, her schizophrenia didn’t stop her from living a fulfilling life. One morning, when Elyn R. Saks was in high school, she suddenly decided to leave class and head home. During the three-mile walk, the world around her started “becoming very intense,” and she began to think that the houses were sending her messages: Look closely.

Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo knew he was a great ballplayer, but when it came to his diabetes, he didn’t think he was extraordinary. On a hot August afternoon in 1967, Chicago Cubs player Ron Santo walked up to the plate at Wrigley Field and saw three Bill Singers, a pitcher with a fierce fastball, staring back at him.