What I Wish More People Understood About Mental Illness

They mean well, but some have it all wrong.

Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash

The first time I went through an actual depressive episode, I was only twelve years old. Nobody in those days talked about anxiety or depression or mood disorders. Ironically, my mother had just moved to another state after having a “nervous breakdown,” leaving me to stay with my father in a small…