04/16/2026
Just a reminder: the photos below are what someone in a mental health crisis can look like. You never truly know what someone is going through.
Last spring, I felt completely alone. I couldn’t pull myself out of my darkest thoughts. I felt like a failure, like I had no purpose, and I truly believed my husband and my boys would be better off without me. I wrote letters to my children, my siblings, and my husband. I sent goodbye texts. I made a plan.
One night, sitting in the bathtub and crying, I called my sister. She suggested I come visit her and her husband in Florida for a few days by myself. At the time, it felt like my last hope… my last push to step away from my thoughts, to breathe, to find even a small sense of clarity. I agreed.
I was terrified. I had only ever flown once before when I was 13, I don’t like being alone, and self-care has never come naturally to me. But I booked the flight. I said goodbye to the boys and all our fur babies, and Tim dropped me off at the airport.
Over the next few days, I cried, laughed, reflected, and slowly gave myself permission to breathe again. I can’t say that trip “fixed” everything, but it gave me something I didn’t have before: hope. It reminded me that I still had strength, even if I couldn’t see it at the time.
Life is hard. It’s okay to not be okay. But please know this, you are not alone, even when it feels that way. And if you’re in that place where it feels impossible to climb out of your thoughts… you can. You are stronger than you think.
