Anyone who has ever been on vacation (and returned from said vacation) will tell you that post-vacation blues is a real thing. Vacations allow us to break away from reality and live out a dream, even if only for a few short days. But returning to that reality can be tough.

Recently, my wife and I went on vacation to a tropical Caribbean island for a friend’s wedding and decided to spend a few extra days there. It was glorious. Good food, drinks, a picturesque beach, good company, you name it. But on the trip home, I found myself feeling less than ready to return to the reality I call life.

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What are the facts?

Some of the statistics are:

• 1 in 5 children and youth have a diagnosable emotional, behavioral or mental disorder.
• 1 in 10 young people have a mental health challenge that is severe enough to impair their functioning in school.
• Many estimates show that even though mental illness affects so many of our kids aged 6-17 at least one-half and many estimate as many as 80% of them do not receive the mental health care they need.
• About 50% of students ages 14+ with a mental health condition will drop out of school.
• Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for 15-24-year-olds.

What Does It Look Like?

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It is far easier to love someone else than to love yourself, in my opinion. But it is crucially important that we give the same love to ourselves that we give to others. This article may come off as a bit conceited, but I promise that is not the intent. The whole point is to put aside our self-destructive, non-useful (unuseful?) thoughts of ourselves, and remind us to give ourselves the love we deserve.

I am beautiful

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Disclaimer: This article is not written by a certified health professional. I am not qualified in any way to give advice on whether or not to take any type of medication for symptoms of mental illness. The reason I am writing about my own experience with medications is to further emphasize that my mental conditions are of equal importance to my health as my other medical concerns. I have struggled over the last twenty years with decisions on what medications, if any, to take. I  hope to shed more light on this challenge and to let others know they are not alone. Similarly, Challenge the Storm and its representatives are not certified mental health professionals. For any questions regarding medication, please seek the counsel of your health care provider. See our Disclaimer page for more information.

What you will get from this piece

I would like to accomplish at least these three things with this article:  share some of my own history with prescription medication, give you some pros and cons from my own experience, and talk about what all of us can do to further break down barriers between the people who need help and the professionals who give their help. The goal is to work past the stigma and to challenge ourselves to believe we are worthy of help and helping others by spreading our message. When discussing this piece with my therapist, I explained that my number one goal in writing about my struggles with mental health issues is for normalization of mental illness to any other illness.

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a text conversation with your depression? Well, wonder no more! Here are some fun little examples. But remember, no matter how insurmountable your depression may seem, there is always a way to beat it. By developing healthy habits, and sticking to a healthy routine, you can up your odds.

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