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• Kate Spade. Cheerful! Happy! Successful!
• Anthony Bourdain: Dark. Twisty. Successful!
• Me. Content. All Things. Not Famous But Successful?

What do we have in common? Depression. It does not discriminate. It is a real and ugly disease. I’ve been in that tunnel of never ending darkness…of not wanting to exist. And I bet, for everyone reading this post right now, you have no idea that someone you love also battles depression in silence.

If me sharing my story helps just ONE PERSON it is all worth it.

We have to share our stories to help others feel safe enough to share theirs.

It will NEVER make sense to me that one can say “I was diagnosed with high blood pressure or I had a heart attack or breast cancer…” but mental illness is still shamed. It breaks my soul apart knowing how many people I’ve met and talked with who suffer quietly, embarrassed. I remember talking with a young woman with depression….she said “you told your boyfriend you take Zoloft?” YES FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. It was heartbreaking and enlightening to learn that she felt too ashamed to even consider this an option.

I’ve lost family and friends to this disease. People talk about depression and suicide in whispers. It’s a disease, it takes lives just like other diseases do. There should be no shame.