I've decided to not be anonymous any longer.

A little while back, I decided to go anonymous on this website in fear, partly, because the repercussions of some things mentioned here could backfire.  The question is now:  Do I care?  Not so much.

See, the one thing I feared most was that someone would read this blog and think, "Oh my god, this girl is crazy because she's dealing with depression and severe anxiety on medication for some crazy mental disorder."  The stigma for suffering from a mental illness is stifling, scary, upsetting and disappointing.  If I so much as get upset, about anything, I'm labeled "crazy" which is sometimes fun.  (That was a sarcastic fun, by the way). 

I do hope that women reading this will know they are not alone.

And, so, this is me.  Nice to meet you. 

My name is Marisa and I was diagnosed with major depression and generalized anxiety disorder 11 years ago.  When my son, Austin, was born in 2009 I suffered the biggest relapse I've ever known and it took me 11 months to completely climb back out of a bottomless, black hole - Postpartum depression.  Unfortunately, my husband was not well versed in the symptoms of PPD and, therefore, we ended up walking down a very dark, narrow and windy path.  My psychiatrist had a waiting list of over 2 months for a new patient at the time. 

More help needs to be made available to women suffering PPD.

I'm now much, much better and still continue to check in with my doctor.  And I feel extremely lucky for the help I've received.  Below are some links with more info on postpartum depression, major depression and generalized anxiety disorder.

Postpartum Depression Symptoms
Major Depression
Generalized Anxiety Disorder