Photo Essay: The Reflection

As a photographer, the thought of an essay based solely of photography sounds incredible! Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed creating this, but attempting to find photos that connected was difficult. Then I realized I was going the wrong direction; Rather than finding photos that worked together as a story, I decided I needed to write the story and then connect it with pictures. I'm not sure why I thought I needed to base the story around photos. I blame the Upper Respiratory Infection and its effects on my brain. Any who, this was a great essay to write, and it's something I've never done before.

The story I told was one that I've told many times: the story of my battle with depression. The only difference is I’ve never incorporated photos. In this case finding photos wasn’t an issue. One of the major problems I had was trying to cut my story down into the slide show. There’s so much that happened over a three to four-year period, that condensing into a PowerPoint form became difficult. Although it was difficult, I feel it improved that skill.

As someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety for so long, I was kind of hesitant to discuss it. Bringing up those memories wasn’t something I wanted to do. Being an advocate for mental health awareness, I know that every person’s story is different. For some, discussing their battle with depression is a difficult thing. Though I thought this would be difficult, it came quite easy. I had to continuously remind myself that yes, I did experience these things at one point in my life, but I’m here now. I made it though the bad periods, and the even worse periods, but I made it.

The reason I wrote the essay on the topic of my mental illness was to get my story out there. I have a lot of friends who struggle with mental illness as well. I want people to know that it isn’t the end; That there are options out there. Yes, I want through multiple medication changes. Yes, I went to multiple different therapists. Yes, I did admit myself into the psychiatric ward. But all that shit was worth it. I wouldn’t have the career path that I have. I wouldn’t have the beautiful partner that I have. I wouldn’t have the supportive friends that I have. None of that would exist if I didn’t. So if you’re reading this, and you’re struggling with your mental health, I promise you it’s all worth it.

To check out my photo essay, click here!