Meet Kalie – You know, when I was diagnosed with depression in my early 20s, there is a lot of complicated feelings around it, partly relief because there is an answer. But I remember also feeling really scared to tell people because it felt like I was broken and I feel really sad for young me thinking about that. But that’s the case for many, many people. So moving into the pandemic, which came many years after my initial diagnosis, you know, by that time I had really learned to navigate my mental illness decently well.

I’m still learning how to do it. But by then it was just like, OK, these feelings. Right now I’m very anxious about this. I’m very anxious about this pandemic and about just the future in society. You know, as someone who is intensely introverted, I didn’t have the same struggles of. You know, missing out on too many social aspects, at least at first, I definitely miss them more now a year later, but I would say a real, especially in the beginning months of lockdown, a real lack of routine and consistency for me was definitely a struggle.

I’m a person who likes to dream, like I’d love to work from home and or not work at all that be great or just spend my free time making art and, you know, petting my cat. But I, I don’t do well when I don’t have consistency and routine. So that was a big one. And then the other one and I think a lot of people can probably relate to this is just. I’ve already struggle socially with my anxiety, but, oh, my word being apart from people for so long, it’s like any social skills I might have had or just gone like and it’s not like I had a whole lot of them to begin.

I know people have been through a really rough time this year. 

And so and just personally, like I said, I’m struggling socially and without any regard for the idea of like, I have to be around people again, like, I don’t know if I’m ready. I think just. If we can all keep in mind, just to be kind and gentle with one another, moving forward and kind of rolling with the awkwardness and the growing pains, that would be really helpful for me.