Continuing the Connection of Support and Awareness

Some of you may have noticed that I have not posted to the MyDepressionConnection portion of the HealthCentral Network of health information and support pages lately, as I have begun posting and sharing over on the MyAnxietyConnection pages. This is not to say that my management of depression has reached its end; that is still on-going. Rather, I will be focusing more on the issues of anxiety as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Depression related issues will still pop-up, as depression and anxiety overlap considerably in my personal diagnoses.

My interest in advocacy and awareness about depression has not waned, nor has my desire to communicate within the community I have been welcomed into here on the MyDepressionConnection site. The choice made by all of us to share supportively and honestly in open dialogue is something I value and appreciate about this community and why I desire to maintain the "connection" made with you.

I take great personal interest in learning from all our stories and journeys, and discovering with you what works and what doesn't work. As many of you are aware, I experienced the majority of my life living with undiagnosed mental illness, and then several more years of feeling very stupid and alone for not being able to create an attitude adjustment (even within the context of treatment) in a timely fashion in order to quickly move past it or get over it already. I had to gain the knowledge for myself that I was dealing with an illness, not a personality defect.

Understanding the importance of what treatment management looks like for me is what has enabled me to move into a place of recovery with my illnesses. I use the terminology of being in "recovery" rather than "recovered" as I still require treatment and medication and most importantly, awareness for continuing self-care.

My latest post on watering down the realities of mental illness can be found on MyAnxietyConnection as well as a PTSD myth quiz and an article on treatment options for PTSD generated for policy makers on the Hill.

Just wanted to let you know where I've been.

Until we post again,

Kimberly Tyler