Thanks for joining me!

In the words of my favorite movie and book Steel Magnolias, ” i’d rather have few seconds of something wonderful than a lifetime of nothing at all.” This is one of the most empowering movies for a young person who struggles with mental illness or any illness that prohibits you from accomplishing your goals. If you’re familiar with the movie that main character, Shelby, has been diagnosed with chronic diabetes. Doctors warn her and her family to not put too much stress on her and definitely don’t have children. Shelby wanted to be a nurse, and eventually fell in love, got married, and then conceived a child. Throughout the movie, Shelby’s mother does everything in her power to prevent Shelby from exceeding her limits so when Shelby announced her pregnancy her mother was supportive and feared for her daughter’s life. Shelby faced many obstacles but she never let anyone CHOOSE the future of her life. Even if she had one second to live and enjoy the Earth, she would want to do life HER way.

In regards, to depression…its important to live your life according to what fills you with joy. Establish a happy place, for me, mine would be anywhere with open space and view of the sunset. As we know waking up with depression is task within itself but being able to notice how beautifully the sunset descends showcasing the fact that I made through another day, empowers me. My boyfriend, Chris has many happy places but his favorite is out at the Art Wall in Downtown Atlanta. The Art Wall is a block or two filled with street art from various artists, it was a special time when Chris allowed me into his happy place. To me, it signified that we were sharing a happy place together and he told if he ever felt the need to disappear this is where i’d find him. Pay Attention to moments like this with your partner , just in case an emergency arises, you’ll at least a have lead.

Luckily, you’ll hear a lot about Chris and I’s journey with Love vs Depression…

Love is a beautiful thing to share with another individual, but its even more impressive when you learn to love your partner as who they were created to be. I was watching a dating video six months ago when Chris was having a lot of suicidal thoughts and outbursts and I heard a woman say, ” our relationship evolved when I took the time to love you exactly as who God created you to be , instead of trying to love the parts I like about you”. This statement changed the way I viewed Chris, I was no longer looking at him like he checks off boxes on my list, I started to look at who he was as an overall person. I started to wonder what triggered sadness vs him being content and how did I measure up? Was my presence bettering his environment or was I harming him with my presence? This is the best time to have a conversation with your partner but SAY very little this is a time to listen and understand what depression is like for them. Don’t be afraid to ask how you can help!

I promise a love like this is worth it & its even harder to do it alone.

Be Back Soon,

Faith