Are you experiencing mood disorder symptoms for the first time during the pandemic? Read this article for tips about how to acknowledge and treat mood disorder symptoms for the first time.

There are many ways to show that you love someone who is struggling with a mental health condition, and giving a gift is one very important method. Read this article to learn about the importance of gift-giving and how to find one for someone who is struggling.

My name is Brandy Eaklor, and I’m excited to be writing for the Getting Through Tough Times blog at HealthyPlace. I am 24 years old and have been struggling with anxiety and depression since I was around 12 years old. I lived in a toxic environment as a teenager, with a stepmother who did not want me to have a relationship with my father. The alternative was to live with my mother, who had abusive men in and out of her life. This pain also lead me to emotional eating and binge eating to cope with my emotions. I felt alone, unaccepted, self-conscious and unworthy.

The mental health lessons I've learned while writing for HealthyPlace will serve me well as my life changes. I am not a stranger to major life changes. I've undergone quite a few in the last few years, and there are about to be a few more. For this reason, I have to say goodbye to HealthyPlace this week, but not before sharing my mental health lessons and asking you for yours.

My name is Martha Lueck and I'm very excited to be writing for the blog Getting Through Tough Times. I have experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety all my life, but I wasn't officially diagnosed with these conditions until after college. Throughout my education, I struggled with severe test anxiety. I also had learning disabilities which caused me to feel stupid compared to my peers. When I was 17, I lost my father who was my best friend. This loss affected my outlook on life, relationships, and even self-esteem.

I’m Ashley Horsfall and I am excited to be writing Getting Through Tough Times. I have been dealing with depression and anxiety since before I was even a teenager, and I’m now in my mid-20s. My conditions were not diagnosed until just three years ago, and today I still struggle. My journey with mental illness has not been easy, and it certainly hasn’t been consistent; however, I am passionate about helping people like me learn how to cope with depression and anxiety of their own.

My name is Hannah Crowley, and I was first diagnosed with anorexia nervosa in 2003 when I was just 13 years old. I was a young, sheltered, over-achiever with absolutely no concrete idea of what my diagnosis meant. Weren’t anorexics all just stick-thin models who were far too vain for their own good? Because that’s what I had heard, somewhere. That’s what the papers told me. That’s what my parents said. That’s what I read in the pages of magazines I had hidden covertly between the covers of English classics. Bronte, Dickens and Austin. Anorexia was stupidity. It was a sin. I should probably just eat, get over myself, and grow up. Right? Wrong.