The Topic of Depression: May is Mental Health Awareness Month

I haven't been shy about sharing my struggles with Depression with family and friends.  Despite being thought of as the "common cold" of mental health issues, Depression can be a life-threatening illness.

Self-care is the mantra of the empowered.  Place your air-mask on before attempting to assist others.  Even if you're fully neurotypical, you're still living in a world that needs You to be fully present in the moment, with your own air-mask on and your hands ready to assist your fellow man.

The upshot of this is that I travel with activities to distract myself (knitting, reading material, a sketchbook), I participate in a support group for women dealing with similar illnesses, and I recognize when it's time to speak up and self-advocate for additional assistance.   Today was one such day.  I reached out to two excellent medical professionals who were able to help me combat the symptoms of acute Depression on very short notice.

We are an incredibly adaptive society, in an enlightened state of mind when it comes to recognition and treatment.  It is time to destigmatize mental health issues.  The brain, after all, is an organ in the body.  It deserves equal rights to medical treatment, does it not?

Although I've stepped away from Facebook for a few days, I have an algorhythm in place that will pick this article up and post it for me after a little while.  I have no doubt that some will question the professional wisdom of sharing this sort of struggle online.  However, to those questioning I believe I can answer with complete sincerity--destigmatization begins with individuals standing up and owning their own struggle. 

Sharing the struggle is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Be well, fellow Introverts.

Almost Forty and (Mostly) Fearless

White Plains High School (WPHS) wasn't my favorite part of life, but it was an important piece of the puzzle.  My class is turning 40 this year (happy birthday to the class of 1996!).  It's made a bunch of us think about the good, the bad and the ugly.

Here's what WPHS did for me:  Between the good, the bad and the ugly, it fully prepared me for life out in the world.  I am (mostly) fearless, and I have been since graduation.  The overwhelming message from almost all of the faculty and staff at WPHS was simple but beautiful (and wise...and kind...):  You can try for anything you want to do, just be willing to put forth the effort.

Math and innate creativity (encouraged by the rigorous arts at WPHS and SUNY Potsdam and the legendary MPA program at Seattle University along the way) have been the keys to a whole series of unique opportunities and amazing experiences in my life.  Here are a few examples:

• Being included in a college concert (isn't it fun that music is a language of math?) as a child.
• Being included in the Hurley's Nightclub Album 2000 during my time at SUNY Potsdam.
• Moving across the country (where I knew precisely no one...) to work with AmeriCorps*VISTA, Seattle Education Access, and Refugee Women's Alliance.
• Budgeting for the MTA for a few years which led to a guided tour of a tunnel boring machine sixteen stories below Manhattan.
• Becoming a Lion and participating in an amazing number of volunteer projects over the past four years.
• Including a sculpture I made during my time at SUNY Potsdam in the Bicentennial Time Capsule (we'll see it resurface in 2066!).
• Designing my own dashboards in Oracle Business Intelligence.
• And the best of all, my current job!  I wanted to be in nonprofit administration when I was 22, but I lacked the experience necessary to arrive.  Now I'm learning at the feet of the Jedi Master of Data (Beth Bellardini).  It is never, ever boring!

In nine days, I join the ranks of most of my WPHS '96ers and turn forty.  I am grateful for the blessings of my life.

Be well, fellow Introverts!