Let me just start this one off with a big thank you. The response to my first post was overwhelmingly positive. I had no idea I knew so many people who could relate to some of the  things that I’ve been going through. I was happy to see this, but also a little disheartened. It is a shame we are all so hesitant to talk about depression and anxiety, mental illness is such a common thing. I don’t like that word “mental illness”, its too harsh. Yes, I do suffer from anxiety and depression but, quite frankly, I would be offended to be classified as simply mentally ill. We’ll call it brain quirks. 

It’s a bond thats hard to describe when you find out someone goes through similar brain quirks as you. Anxiety can make you feel like no one in the world understands what you’re going through. When people are constantly tell you to “not worry” or to simply go do the things that make you anxious, it makes you feel like your brain is broken because you just can’t. But when you find out other people who go through the same thing, its a such a boost of confidence. You realize you're not broken. 

Sometimes even the people closest to you can’t understand what you're going through. It’s not that they don't care, they could care a whole damn lot, but if you've never experienced anxiety or depression it is so hard to relate to. There are very few words to describe how you feel during a panic attack or when you wake up with a gut feeling of depression. It’s usually easier to not say anything, rather than trying to explain it someone and ending up feeling like a misunderstood, frustrated idiot. But if there is anything I’ve learned from countless psychologists, you’ve gotta talk about it. Seeing therapists is not something I’ve ever been embarrassed about, I think that everybody could use a third party to talk to. Even if not about mental issues, it’s just nice to be able to talk without consequence. 

I started this blog to talk about my life with multiple sclerosis. But I guess that’s not all it will be, because multiple sclerosis isn’t my life. I’ve been learning that getting things off your chest is half the battle. Sometimes simply sharing you're thoughts out loud, or I guess on the internet, is enough to help things heal. So lets work on that. You’ve got issues, I’ve got issues, lets talk about it.