Fightthestigma

I am a suicide survivor, thirty-one years and counting. I got my semicolon tattoo last summer to celebrate thirty years (I had wanted a semicolon tattoo for a long time but couldn't find an overall design that resonated....until last year. Inspired by a line from Paying My Way, one of my favorite Dropkick Murphys songs 😁😎❤️)

Anyway, what you can't see in the photo (because the light washed it out) is the scar under the ink. I took steak knife to my wrists at the age of 15. I was living life and trying to get through school with two undiagnosed mental illnesses and an undiagnosed learning disability (my clinical depression, anxiety, and ADD were not diagnosed before adulthood). Plus I tried to deal with the self-inflicted oressure of being my big sister's little sister......a real cocktail of stresses.....and that night , while doing my homework, I snapped and blanked out.

I won't lay out the details, even though much is still crisply delineated in my mind. Just know that I have traveled incredibly far since that night and I am incredibly proud of the woman I have become. Five years ago, I finally broke through the stigma and went on an antidepressant...I feel soooo much better in many ways, even though I do still struggle with situational depressive episodes at times. I recognize I am lucky and blessed. I am here for anyone who might need a friendly ear and a broad shoulder to lean on. ❤️

#Depression #Anxiety #ADD #SuicideSurvivor #Fightthestigma #MentalHealthAwareness

For darkness came and she felt at ease. Oh how it gave her comfort. For no one could see. No one could judge. The shadows were gone and only the feared came out in the dark. Them she is not afraid of cuz it is with them she feels normal. The slighted will stand tall and the battered rise from the ash. For it is the “disturbed” that will last night long nights to come. #Gothgirl #Bipolar2 #warrior #Survivor #Depression #Anxiety #CheckInWithMe #Fightthestigma #Befree #StayStrong