Eight Years ;

 Mental health is important and serious, It needs to be normalized and not such a taboo topic for people to discuss. It should never make people uncomfortable.

For those who are proud of themselves and unashamed that they have some kind of mental illness, you're absolutely incredible.

For those that don't understand, it's okay but please educate yourselves so you can help those around you.

Mental illness does not make people weak, just like having an injury doesn't make people weak. It makes people human.

Understand that, everyone is different and everyone copes with their own mental illness differently. Not right or wrong just different. For me personally, joking has always been my go to defense mechanism. Throughout my mental disorders, discomforts, or injuries, I always try to make light of the situation so I don't break down. I know several people who have similar coping mechanisms because at the end of day we are all human and it's okay not to be okay. 

Yes, I have mental disorders and I don't talk about it as much as I should and that is because unfortunately we live in a world of people who don't understand and are uneducated with the mental health world. This will cause situations that are highly uncomfortable such as, I feel my anxiety start acting up out of nowhere and say I need to sit and focus on my breathing because that will help ground me, people have responded by saying things like "oh just calm down" or "what do you mean? just breathe" and I understand that they don't understand but it's not very helpful especially in that moment. 

Another thing people even in my own family don't understand is yes, I know I come off as lazy however, I am not actively trying to be lazy. I simply have depression which drains my energy more than the average person. Yes, some days are better, I will have a ton of energy and can be very productive but that is not the case every day. I am not being lazy, I am simply exhausted from life and need to recharge more often than normal. 

I have had it on my heart for some time to share my story and it is definitely a dozy but, only to those that are interested. My story is something I am damn proud of because it helped me become the person I am today.

I was diagnosed with severe anxiety and panic disorder as well as major depressive disorder eight years ago but most likely had it my entire life. 

I am unapologetic and unashamed. This is who I am.