Part 1: Major Depression Wednesday; Suffering is the Opposite of Self-Care

Remember during the Covid lockdowns when we were all practicing self-care because life as we knew it was changing permanently and in real-time and felt like an out of control nightmare?

That's what mental health crises feel like, except there is no pandemic and the nightmare is all in your head. It's a nightmare that festers and grows out of control until you yourself lose control. And self-care? Wtf is that? It's all you can do to get out of bed in the morning.

For this 2-part series on mental health, I discuss Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), anxiety, and bipolar disorder with friend, colleague, and Appalachian Trail section-hiker Luke, aka Trademark.

Me and ol' Trademark go deep into diagnoses, treatments, and our personal stories about dealing with lifetimes of mental health issues. From not seeking treatment to inadequate treatment to meds that cause suicidal ideation to meds you can't even afford, the mental breakdown is just one component of a mental health crisis. The rest of the crisis comes from family, circumstance, and substance abuse.

Trigger warning: this episode covers the topic of suicide.