I recently had a conversation with a friend I’d not seen in a while about depression. She thought she was feeling depressed and I shared with her my own struggles with depression and she was totally shocked. Most people seem to think I manufacture rainbows and butterflies and when they discover that I’ve struggled with depression they’re shocked.

What shocks me is that people are surprised, it makes me wonder if perhaps my own clown face is a little too well painted on. However, I was so proud of her for opening up to me. I’m so glad that we as a society seem to be more willing to discuss mental illness, but there is still a major stigma associated with it. My depression at its worst came in the form of post partum depression where I was seriously contemplating suicide. Luckily for me, I sought help and had excellent out patient care, much like you’d find at a PCH Treatment center.

The truth is, more people than you realize are probably walking around with a bottle of anti-depressants in their purse (myself included). Which is why it’s so important to be mindful of the people around you, because sometimes it’s hard to tell who may sparkle like a star to the world, but on the inside is fading and falling apart.

xo

The preceding was a partnered post, all thoughts and revelations, my own.