What a difference

A year ago, the woman in this picture walked out of the office (and started a blog) intending to spend three months recovering from major depression. I had this vague notion of starring in my own personal remake of Eat Pray Love. Oh, how mistaken I was.

On that day, only a few weeks removed from planning to end my life, I was in worse shape than I could appreciate. It didn’t take me three months to find myself. It took me a year. And I am still a work in progress.

Today, the woman in this picture started back at work.

I’m happy to be alive. I’m enjoying being alive. For a long time, neither of those two statements were true. It’s taken a lot of therapy and working on myself to get to this point, but it has been so worth it. I share my story not because I think it makes me special or heroic, but because I want others who are struggling right now or who know (or think they might know) someone who is struggling to know that they are not alone, that help is available, and that there is hope for the future.

This isn’t the end of my journey to mental wellness. However, it may just be the end of the beginning.

To all of those who have come along with me and supported me in my recovery: Thank you! Your encouragement means more than I will ever be able to express.

Now, to figure out how to reset my password and get my email back on my phone…