I have a lot of health challenges and have been on a diagnostic odyssey for over 10 years with no diagnosis. But what I know I do have are MDD and GAD. Anxiety drives a lot of the things I do, honestly. Anxiety about the past, the future, and the present. I try to use it to motivate myself to complete projects, but it’s not always sustainable. It tells me I have to go go go all the time, when I really need to learn how productive it is to do nothing. How kind to yourself you’re being when you take a break. To me, depression looks like breakdowns and feelings of failure and struggles to deal with the upkeep of chronic illness. It looks like laundry done weeks ago and never folded, piles of dishes in the sink, a dirty shower. It looks like post-breakdown migraines and feeling so heavy at work I can’t type on my computer. I’m thankful that I have access to a therapist and friends who also have mental health challenges because I know I’m not the only one; I’m not alone.