I am on anti depressants. I remember the first time I heard someone, outside of my nuclear family, openly talk about this. I clutched my metaphorical pearls that she was confident enough to admit to not only NEEDING help for depression but actually SEEKING it. On top of it all— She. Wasn’t. Ashamed. And rightly so. This was YEARS ago. I was unmedicated, and also completely unaware how bad my own mental health really was. You see, my brain? She’s a LIAR. My brain says things like: You CAN do it, you’re just too LAZY. Everyone else is THRIVING—this is a YOU problem. You’re a burden. No one cares. Among other heinous lies… And I spent a lot of years internalizing these things. But I’m older now, wiser, and arguably better at detecting that I am being lied to. WHAT. A. BITCH. My own brain! Betraying me like this?! But, to the random mom on a play date who casually mentioned how antidepressants changed your life, thank you. You normalized needing help at a time in my life when I didn’t even realize I needed it. Now I didn’t run right out and get medicated, though I probably needed to. I did what any normal person does. I pretended everything was FINEEEE and I clawed my way through life with the weight of depression and anxiety sitting on my back for a few more years — you know, the *healthy* way to deal with things. But when things came to a head and I realized I couldn’t keep living like this anymore, I felt a little less shame knowing someone I viewed as a totally normal person, and not at all failure of a mom, was on anti depressants. Needing help doesn’t make you weak. Seeking help doesn’t mean you are a failure. And if knowing you’re not alone dealing with mental health struggles helps— Hi, I’m Jessica a totally normal person with anxiety, depression and ADHD, and medication and therapy changed my life. LTKSeasonal LTKgrwm LTKootd