In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, I thought I would share my mental health journey. There are so many people impacted by mental health, but there are tools and resources that everyone can use to make a difference in their life.

When I was in my mid twenties I started to feel lost in my life. My friends were married, had careers and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life. I started to feel really down and I guess depressed. I decided to go to a therapist to find out what I could do to make myself feel better. When I told my mom, she was not supportive. She didn’t think anything was wrong with me.

After seeing the therapist for a few months, I began to understand why I felt the way I did. She taught me about not liking myself and not having a good self esteem. It really helped me feel better about myself and my life.

Things definitely turned around in my life after that period. I got married and had 3 children. I almost felt that life was too good to be true. Until one day, things came crashing down.

A few months after the birth of my 3rd child, I received a call that my mom had passed away. I couldn’t believe it! My mom was my best friend, my confidante. I spoke to her every day even though I lived 100 miles away from her.

Things definitely took a turn for the worse for me. I had trouble getting out bed and I was crying most of the day. It was so bad that my husband insisted that I see a therapist. At this point, I did begin therapy and was put on antidepressants. It helped me a lot to cope with the loss of my mom but also to be a part of my family again.

I stayed on antidepressants for the next 10 years or so until I felt I no longer needed them. It was a mistake to stop, but I didn’t want to be dependent on them. I felt that I could handle life without them.

Two years ago, I realized I needed to go back on them and it was the best decision I could make. I have never been happier in my life and I have begun to enjoy each day whether it is good or bad. I know my time here is limited so I need to make it the best that I can.

While antidepressants can help a lot there are other tools that you can use to turn around your mindset. I use Positive Intelligence (PQ) which helps change your mindset to a more positive one. We all have saboteurs, those voices in our head telling us we are not good enough. PQ teaches us to use our sage mind to explore why we have these negatives thoughts and it helps turn around your mindset. Learn more about PQ here: https://upliftcareercoaching.com/new-positive-intelligence

I wanted to share my story so that people can see that they can recover and live happily even if they suffer from depression. I hope that if the person reading this is struggling with their mental health, please reach out to a mental health provider. Every day is so precious.

Here’s to your success!

Best,

Rene

If you are struggling, please call 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.