Blog for Mental Health 2013

I pledge my commitment to the Blog For Mental Health 2013 Project.  I will blog about mental health topics not only for myself, but for others.  By displaying this badge, I show my pride, dedication, and acceptance for mental health.  I use this to promote mental health education in the struggle to erase stigma.

Thanks to Anxiety Adventures for introducing me to this campaign and even more thanks to Canvas of the Minds for maintaining this incredible movement.  I also have to express extreme gratitude to Lulu at Sunny with a Chance of Armageddon for having the original vision to make this happen.

By taking this pledge, I have agreed to write a short biography of my mental health and what this means to me.  So here it is:

For the first time in a long time, I have hope.  It's sometimes very close, almost close enough to grab, and other times it is so far off in the distance that I can barely see it.  But I know it is there.

Depression has impacted my life for 16 years, 14 of those being diagnosed.  It's been a constant battle with failures and victories.  Many medications and numerous treatment options have been experimented with to varying degrees of success.  But right now, while I'm perhaps at one of the most uncertain and terrifying times in my process, I have hope that I may beat this into submission so I can fully live my life the way I know I can and should.

This campaign and my blog are important to me.  I use my blog to share information that I've found about dealing with mental illness.  I share my own experiences, bring out my demons and show them to the world, and use it as a means of recording my journey.  It is also a place for me to come and write about anything.  I have also created a safe space for me where I can work through my thoughts and feelings.  The campaign is amazing.  It's nice to know that others out there really want to help those dealing with mental health issues by sharing their own stories.

I'm also supposed to pledge 5 other bloggers.  I cannot.  I do read some blogs and check around, but this blog is mostly for me.  I have directly invited many close friends and family members to view my blog, not asking for any sort of comments or commitments.  I know of some who read it faithfully, some who have never looked at it.  I know it has struck a chord of familiarity for one person and provided insight to another.