Erin Leigh Weatherhogg

The voices in my head are in a constant battle for dominance, and somehow the obnoxious one always seems to win.

These are three things that might immediately leap to mind when you hear someone lives with MDD--but for the love of God, don't say them.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Seasonal Affective Disorder are two conditions with similar abbreviations, but very different symptoms.

That's PMDD. Getting your period can feel like getting the flu--or at least mean a comparable level of feeling crappy. Every. Month.

PMS can vary from woman to woman, month to month. A disorder is diagnosed when symptoms are super-severe every month.

MDD is one of the most debilitating conditions in the world, with severe depression rated in the same disability category as terminal cancer

What I do want to say is that in real life mental illness is way different than you may be picturing it. It is often invisible.