Blog for Mental Health 2014 Pledge

Today, I’m hitting two birds with one stone. I’m participating in the A to Z challenge with the theme of mental health and I’m doing my pledge. Today’s letter is “B” and B is for the Blog for Mental Health 2014 Project. I thought this project was a great idea. It’s a community of bloggers that write about mental health among other things. The idea is to share experiences and raise awareness.

I pledge my commitment to the Blog for Mental Health 2014 Project. I will blog about mental health topics not only for myself, but for others. By displaying this badge, I show my pride, dedication, and acceptance for mental health. I use this to promote mental health education in the struggle to erase stigma.

For more information, check out A Canvas of the Minds

My Story, the Abridged Version

I have depression. I started treatment in 2006, but it began long before that. I think I was born hating myself. Mental illness runs on both sides of my family. It must be in my genes. I was always a very serious child. People would say I was moody, which I suppose was true, but it was more than that. I had terrible stomach aches and threw up a lot when I was younger. I guess I didn’t understand how I was feeling so it manifested physically. As I got older, the physical symptoms waned, I developed body image issues, anxiety, perfectionist tendencies and the moods got harder for me to handle. Eventually I stopped going out, I stopped sleeping, I stopped functioning and I prayed that I would just disappear. Since it was unlikely that my prayers would be answered, I did the next best thing. I got help.

Currently, I’m functional…most of the time. Some days are easier than others. I’ve come a long way from where I was, but I still have a long way to go. Depression is a battle I will fight for the rest of my life. I am on medication and I have had therapy, but I’m trying something new. I’m sharing. I’m starting by pledging my commitment to Blog for Mental Health 2014.

I blog mainly for my own benefit. I try to put whats going on in my head into words or at least doodles. It’s my way of keeping track of life, especially the good things. I wear many different hats; wife, Ph.D. candidate, lab manager, daughter, depressive, mum to a cat, etc…I get overwhelmed a lot and sometimes I need a reminder that I have had happy times and no matter how bad I feel, they will always come again. I have found comfort in being able to relate to people expressing similar thoughts and feelings. I’ve made new friends from all over the world through my few weeks of blogging. It’s been a relief to know I am not alone. I’m hoping that sharing my experiences (both good and bad) will help someone else, like it does me. That’s the idea anyway.