At Live a Well Life, Rose pens a letter to her former self. “I want you to know, that this body of yours, the one you berate, the one you use to control the chaos that is your life right now, this body is going to do something amazing one day.”

“I remember going for a walk in the woods behind my house instead, finding this tree and carving my initials into it, pressing the sadness and rejection into its innocent bark.” At Kindred, Kerstin Pless Grant recalls being 14 and rediscovers a tree she had hoped to return to someday.

Joséphine Mwanvua on the difficulty of asking for help as a person of color: “Here, in the West, black communities and other POC communities still carry a taboo around mental health issues.”

Simon Thomas on depression, anxiety, and grief:  “Right now all I can muster is the strength to hold onto that rock and try my best, to try and be as Godly a Dad as I can for Ethan and trust that out of this fog of grief all that I felt before will clear…”

Derek Powazek comes to terms with his lifelong companion, depression: “I cannot keep doing the things I always have done. I can’t let depression define me, I can’t fight it, I can’t pretend it away. I have choose to do something else.”

“An old wives’ tale. You can’t predict the weather with bones, I’d say. But my skeleton says other things. I take two aspirin and get back into bed. My head is too full of clouds. My face burns and my hands hold a fever that cracks like firewood.”

“My children grew despite my hollowness.  They smiled and ate; played and worked.  I wonder if they saw me pretending to live or if they were fooled by me too.  Lola, the masterful charlatan.”

“It’s possible that, along with grunge, Generation X’s other great gift to society is depression.” In his tribute to Chris Cornell, Rich Larsen reflects on despair, aging, and his generation’s struggles with mental health.

Evelyn Shoop on postpartum depression: “I need to have somewhere to come to remember how deep and raw the wound of postpartum depression felt, so that it can hopefully, maybe, allow me to approach others with deep compassion even when the memories fade.”

“Sean knows me, recognizes these lows after 18 years together, and has mastered worrying from a gentle distance.” When Amanda feels herself sliding, she trusts those closest to her to shepherd her toward the sunshine.

For Alex DiFrancesco, coming out as transgender — even to themself — wasn’t possible without first disappearing.

Alexis Kanda-Olmstead contemplates finding faith in the depths of her despair: “Depression is like being dead in a world that is cruelly alive.”

#BellLetsTalk is a day devoted to ending the stigma around mental illness: “So please, allow yourself to grieve and feel. Seek help, talk to your peers, talk to your doctor, find a support group, reach out. Life is too short to be depressed but even cancer warriors get the blues.”