My five-year-old daughter begins kindergarten this month. This means my cautious, anxiety-prone, oldest child starts a new adventure in a new school building with new friends and a new teacher. For the first time, she’ll be away from her little sister and away from me for six hours a day, five days a week. She…
My mother left behind a legacy of depression. I inherited her struggles with mental health. I remember standing outside my mother’s walk-in closet, listening to her sob for what felt like an eternity, on multiple occasions during elementary school. My mother taught me to hide pain and tears behind closed doors. How I found my…
I have struggled with depression, anxiety and even panic attacks since adolescence. Some of this has been hormonal, some has been situational. My mental health affects my physical health, zapping my energy, my appetite and my immune system, and I end up plagued by weight loss, frequent illness and chronic sinusitis. And, inevitably, it affects my marriage and my…
