Why I'm Here
Hi there. I'm a middle-aged American woman who is both a wife and a mother. Feel free to call me "Mom". After a lifetime of seemingly inexplicable struggles with depression and twenty other symptoms, I was finally diagnosed with both Bipolar 2 Disorder and Type II Diabetes just days apart. I was 43 years old when I got the names for my ailments, and it was a giant relief to simply identify a reason for why I, quite literally, wanted to die. I worked with my physicians - particularly my psychiatrist - for over four years, tinkering with medications until things had improved. The endurance one needs to withstand the various side effects during those years of trial and error is - for those of you who've never dealt with mental and/or chronic, incurable illnesses - is enormous. Eventually, my doctor and I arrived at a place where we could do no more to fine-tune my medications. I had tried every prescription medication that could be given to me, in multiple combina