Did you know that it is estimated that 40 million adults struggle with an anxiety disorder, 15 million adults struggle with depression and 5.7 million of adults struggle with bipolar disorder in the United States? That’s a TON of people! Statistics also say that many of these people don’t get treated for these problems.

Could it be that people who struggle with these problems don’t ever vocalize it with others because it’s something that is seen as shameful? Could it be that the friends you hang out with daily struggle with one of these disorders?

I struggled with anxiety basically my entire life. When I got into middle school it turned into an anxiety disorder called OCD. I remember fighting this debilitating problem by myself knowing that it wasn’t my true self. I never really brought it up to others but my family because I just wanted to defeat it and move on. And when I did mention it to others, it would make me feel weak and empty.

I thought I could fight it on my own, but realized that my way of fighting anxiety through the OCD rituals was not the way to freedom. One day I had a realization that I was doing this all on my own. My pride was keeping me in the never-ending cycle of OCD. I surrendered my ways of doing things.

I became real and honest with my problems. During this time I realized that I was unconditionally loved. I didn’t have to do any rituals to be accepted. I was already accepted. I believe that the root of anxiety is not feeling good enough or the fear of being rejected as a person.

The reason why we decided to start this blog is so that others going through the same struggles could experience the same freedom I received by simply being honest and open. If you are reading this and you don’t struggle with anything I’m describing, that’s ok! We all go through many different struggles and you are needed in this community as well!

In my struggle, I also realized that people didn’t know what to do when I would talk about my OCD tendencies. I wish I could have had a community to surround me during this time who understood what I was going through, and knew a way out! Let’s do this life together and bring things to light so we can heal! Isolation never helps us when we are struggling!