The first time I was ever prescribed mental health medication was when I found myself on an involuntary hold in a mental health hospital. Ironically, I went to see a psychiatrist that I’d found online for the first time, thinking that he would prescribe me a few pills and send me on my way, but turns out people who want to end their lives don’t get sent along their way. He had me admitted as a danger to myself, and the psychiatrist at the hospital prescribed me Prozac and diagnosed me with Major Depressive Disorder.

This blog post has 2 purposes.

1. To remind me that my brain does lie to me so that I can create distance between myself and my thoughts. That distance makes the thoughts less powerful and allows me to move forward in my recovery.

2. So that others can get a glimpse into what it’s like inside the mind of someone who struggles with mental illness.

In this post I will give you 3 common ways that we avoid grief, hopefully you will be able to recognize these signs in yourself if you are avoiding grief, and give yourself permission to grieve, feel the feelings, and allow them to heal you.

I will never forget the day I went to clear out my desk and officially submit my letter of resignation from the teaching job I’d held for several years at one of the most prestigious schools in the county. I had prayed for this job. Other teachers would kill for this job. It was the dream job….someone else’s dream that is.