About

Psalms 30:5 ...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

I was inspired to start this blog following the death of a coworker, who lost her life-long fight with mental illness in 2011. Like many of the hundreds of people who knew her around the world, I felt a devastating loss. I have struggled with sadness, with guilt, and with fear. It has not been easy to discuss these feelings with others.

If she had been an asthmatic, she might have mentioned things that triggered her attacks, medication she took to ward off or fight attacks, or the physical damage done by an attack. Instead, her illness was a mental illness, and despite the advances made in psychotherapy in the last hundred years, as a society, we are still ill-equipped and nervous when discussing mental health issues. I find it hard to share my experiences with others, except those I know have experienced the same thing. Only to them have I said "You can have my Prozac when you pry it from my cold, dead hands." In these conversations, though, I have found strength in sharing. It is encouraging to know that I am not alone in my struggle.

Yet there is a tendency when discussing problems to wallow in self-pity, which I am not keen to do. I want a place to acknowledge my illness and that of others, to discuss the impact that it can have on our lives, but also to have a place to remember that life can continue, can get better, and that there will come a time when all illness will be done away.