You have what?

What I posted in my personal/Facebook blog today


Today is World Mental Health Day.  October 10th.  Every year.  And, with the exception of last year, it wouldn't have even been a blip on my radar.  Another "World Something" day, I would have muttered as I looked at Facebook.  There seems to be a day for everything.  But after living with a mental health disorder for the past two years, well, I guess I view it a little different.

I know some of you already know this, as I posted it once and very briefly on my Weight Loss blog...but for those who don't read that one, I have been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder within the past two years.  Severe and recurrent.  I take medication.  I see a therapist twice a week (LOVE HER).  I have been hospitalized for it.  More than once.  I have had 12 sessions of ECT, which I would never do again and wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.  It's a daily struggle to do basic things: shower, eat, take care of the kids, take care of myself, work.  I have good days, and I fully embrace them when they happen.  I have bad days, when I crawl into my bed and don't move for hours on end and literally want to die.  But I always pull through.  I have learned that there are more good days than bad, and I just have to hang on or sleep the day away and it WILL get better.

So, why share this?  I think that mental health is still widely misunderstood.  And stigmatized.  I think that there are more people out there living with mental health issues than we are aware of because they are too afraid to ask for help or don't have the resources available to them to get help.  Maybe it's you.  Maybe you realize that you are having more off days than on, but don't know what to do or where to go.  Or maybe you have a loved one who has a mental health issue and you don't know how to talk to them or what to say.  Because there are probably a lot more of us out there than you think.


I am not defined (totally) by my disorder.  I am a Mom.  I am a Wife.  I am a Worker.  I am a Brownie Leader.  I am a Daughter, a Sister, an Aunt.  I am an obsessive Starbucks Junkie.  That's who I am.  I just happen to also have this extra bit of "joy" in my life.  One more hurtle to overcome in my journey.

So go here...  APA or here...WFMH  Read about it. Learn about it.  Don't be afraid of it.  Get educated.  Ask questions.  Ask me questions.