Within 48 hours, the world was struck by two shocking suicides – Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. Two brilliant minds. Two incredible people who made a true difference. Two lives gone in an instant, seemingly without warning. Depression is silent and SO deadly. I would know. I’ve been suffering from depression since I was about 17 years old. I was diagnosed way back then and have experienced different forms of treatment. In the past I’ve opened up about my depression, because I feel like being honest may help someone else. I’d like to continue sharing my story, because I’m not ashamed. And if you suffer from mental illness, you shouldn’t be either.
I Misplaced My Motivation
Lately my dog mom life has been….um, what’s a good word for it…oh yeah, challenging. That’s a good word for it. Challenging. I’ve been tired, emotional and lacking motivation. I know I put my motivation around here somewhere, right?! Right??? *Taps the microphone* Is this thing on?
Dog Mom With Depression: Speaking of the Stigma
Depression sucks. Depression really, really sucks. How do I know? I have clinical depression. It runs in my family and unfortunately it’s just one of those things that I was (insert sarcasm) lucky to inherit. Depression is something we don’t talk about enough. People hear the word and they think “Oh my God. That’s so bad. We can’t talk about depression! How DEPRESSING!” Well, okay. That makes zero sense. With all of the social media and internet capabilities in our hands today, it’s my belief that those of us who have suffered from depression should speak out about the struggle and what helps us cope. For me, it’s my dogs.
From Banker to Blogger
I graduated from Arizona State University in May 2011. I was 22 years old. Needless to say, I was pretty proud of myself! A Bachelor’s degree already at the age of 22 and I now had my entire life ahead of me. But I also needed a job. That was fine with me – I was ready to start making money instead of spending it on student loans. The problem? I couldn’t get a job in my field of study, which was history and culture. I went to school to be a high school history teacher but by the time I was ready to graduate with my Bachelor’s, I still needed to get certified as a teacher. Forget it. I started applying for jobs. On August 1, 2011, I started a job as a banker. Little did I know, it was the beginning of a miserable career that would turn into a dream come true.
