• Anxiety

    Social Anxiety – An Open Letter

    Dear friend, You are not alone in your social anxiety. I see your struggle behind that smile that fools so many. I see how badly you wish it would stop. Maybe you wonder what’s wrong with you – things that are easy for others might feel panic inducing to you. Social anxiety comes in countless sizes, shapes, and colors, but whatever version resides in your chest, I see you, I feel for you, and I am right there with you. As a child, I was painfully shy. Chances are, if I didn’t know you, I wouldn’t talk to you. Tears would crowd my eyes as I stood in a room…

  • Anxiety,  Depression,  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,  Perfectionism,  PTSD,  Recovery,  Schizoaffective Disorder,  Schizophrenia

    The Weight of Mental Illness – The Invisible Burden on a Lifelong Struggle

    Trigger Warning: Mention of Self-Harm From a young age, I began finding things along my path. I’m not sure which came first – depression, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, but they clung to me. And over the years, they swelled and shrunk at varying rates, but I could not shake them altogether. Each in turn flourished, multiplying symptoms. It became too much to carry in my hands, out where people could see. I felt the need to keep them out of sight, and tucked them into a backpack. Through the highs and lows of my childhood, this weight remained settled heavily on my shoulders. In junior high I found myself so…