Being A Writer With Mental Illness
Writing for many has been a saving grace. For the past few years, blogging, online writing, etc, has been a lucrative and satisfying career. Tons of writers have made a comfortable living just from the knowledge and creativity of their minds. But for those like me struggling with mental illness, It can be difficult to form a single sentence during a depressive episode.
My Experience
When I was a young girl, 15 years old to be exact, I was able to write for hours on end. I would have almost 5 chapters written in a single day. Ideas and thoughts would flow from me like a waterfall. I wrote a whole book in a week which I recently found out was not common.
After I had my first anxiety attack at 16, my mind was no longer the same. Ideas and stories no longer came so easily to me and I barely wrote anymore. All I wanted to do after school was sleep.
My mental health greatly affected my life outside of writing as at that time, I dedicated my life to contemporary ballet, which after a hip injury I couldn’t continue to pursue regardless.
It wasn’t until the fall of 2015, I was able to pick up a pen and write again…
